07 16 13

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Issue 13, Volume 123

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Marijuana grows more acceptable

ORNL and UT work together on new printing technology McCord Pagan Staff Writer

Victoria Wright

effects of smoking weed. “I think a majority of people focus on “side effects” as a negative thing. Marijuana has potential positive side effects, and yet, it seems the good never outweighs the bad,” DeMarcus said. “While the focus might be on ‘drug use,’ ‘lung-cancer,’ ‘memory-loss,’ and ‘laziness,’ one could argue that it is also ‘muscle relaxing,’ ‘pain-relieving,’ and ‘seizure/migraine/MS preventative.’” There are some studies of long term use of marijuana that show positive side-effects of smoking the drug, such as smaller waistlines and lower levels of insulin. However, the findings weren’t enough to prove that long term use of the drug keeps users slim and fights disease. As the discussion of national legalization of the drug continues, studies will continue to be

At the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility of Oak Ridge National Labs, men such as Suresh Babu, James Earle and Philip Keller are creating the future with small plastic beads and a giant hot glue gun. Additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, has taken off in popularity in recent years as a cheaper, more efficient method of creating everyday items. While this technology has only reached the mainstream market in the past few years, UT and Oak Ridge National Laboratory have played significant roles behind the scenes. While the first 3D printer was made in 1984 by Chuck Hall, it has only recently become commercially available. The technique involves first creating a computer design for an object, such as a ball, and then telling a computer to then slowly add layers of plastic from the bottom up until the product is completed. This technology shows immense promise, not only because of the dramatic drop in time required for a part (a model of a car door can be made in as much as a day with a printer, while the same part made of metal would take as much as six months or a year using traditional methods) but also because of the sharp decrease in price. Here on campus, students Andrew Cousins, Eddy Kiombe and Kyoungho Cho have created their own startup company, Volan Technologies, that is built around 3D printing, and are looking to grow. “It almost started as a joke, but now we suddenly had all this interest,” Cousins, a senior in biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, said. Since putting up fliers at 11 p.m. on Thursday night, Volan Technologies had 11 people apply for a job by 9 a.m. Friday. Volan created their own printer, modifying some of the designs they found online for their own purposes. Cousins remains positive for his company’s future, noting that additive manufacturing has large potential for architectural and engineering students and firms, and that quickly creating a 3D model of a design would streamline much of the process. “For example an architecture firm might be designing a house for somebody, and they could show somebody a computer generated model, but it would be really expensive for them to hire somebody to make a model of the house,” he said. “But all we have to do is upload the CAD file and print it off.” More traditional methods of manufacturing involve creating a mold of an object, and slowly taking away material until one has the desired shape, resulting in much excess material, and more time required.

See MARIJUANA on Page 2

See PRINTER on Page 2

Editor-in-Chief

CAN YOU SMELL IT? There’s a growing scent of approval in America today, and its not just college kids or musicians. The Pew Research Association conducted a survey, showing that 52% of Americans approve of the legalization of marijuana. The report, which was conducted in March among 1,502 adults, found that young people are the most supportive of it. While a distinct culprit cannot be tied as to why the approval rates are rising, a clue could stem from the ever present representations of marijuana and other smoking practices in the media. What’s not always shown in the movies, however, are the health effects of using such practices. Films such as Book of Revelations comedy “This Is The End,” (2013) starring popular comedians Seth Rogen and James Franco, centered much of the dialogue and character development around weed.The same concept was seen in the movie “Ted,” (2013) which featured Mark Walhberg befriending an animated talking teddy bear slacker with a vulgar tongue and a constant trail of marijuana smoke streaming from his sewn-together mouth. While popular media seems to be filled with images and messages of weed, it’s just that; the less glamorous aspects of the drugs are often omitted, such as the studies behind the longterm usage of the drug. Rosa Thomas, a wellness coordinator for UT Student Health, said many of the health concerns revolve around supposed decreases in memory and learning. It is also widely considered a hindrance to a person’s long-term ability to organize and generate complex information. “If you can’t focus and you can’t concentrate, then it would make it really difficult to study,” Thomas said. Thomas said that the practice of smoking mariuana is dangerous in similar ways as smoking hookah. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the charcoal used to heat the tobacco in hookah contains toxins linked to lung cancer. But despite the health implications, smoking

•compiled by Dillon Canfield with research from the Pew Research Center

The gradually increasing support for legalizing marijuana may have contributed to the 2012 legalizations in Colorado and Washington. “ganja” seems to be on the rise. In the same study, a reported 48 percent of adults admitted to trying marijuana, with 12 percent saying they smoked within the last year. Senior in theater Thomas DeMarcus said there is a skewed depiction of weed in the media, but not necessarily in a positive way. “The media-majority would have everyone in fear that the passing of certain marijuana laws will lead to ‘reefer madness’ and a society of broke, jobless hippies,” DeMarcus said. “Movies have a knack for portraying marijuana smokers as dysfunctional losers whereas I have friends who are fully-functional (and occasional) weed-smokers. Moderation is key. We have no problems pointing the finger at alcohol abuse and obesity and yet alcohol and fast food are legal in all 50 states.” DeMarcus said that the media also places a substantial amount of focus on the negative side

Public defender conducts book drive for inmates R.J. Vogt Managing Editor UT libraries hold more than 2.7 million books. The Knox County Public Defenders Community Law Office (CLO) is in the midst of a month-long book drive to collect titles for a much smaller collection: the inmate library at the Knox County Sheriff’s Detention Facility. Directed by Jessica Greene, an assistant public defender, and UT rising juniors Shivani Goyal and Chris Ludtka, the drive hopes to bring 1,000 new books into the detention facility in order to promote literacy. Greene said the idea began in 2010. “I had a client who told me about how bored he was in jail, “ Greene said, adding that he had a serious charge. “When you are charged with some of the more serious offenses, you end up in a situation where you spend 23 hours a day in your cell and you’re allowed one hour out of your cell each day. And during that one hour, you may be able to walk around, but the rest of the time you’re in a very small space with very little to do. “And he said that he really would like to be able to read.” After contacting the Detention Facility, Greene discovered that the preexistent library was short on books. She worked with Chief Pete Garza, the director of inmate programs, in order to find a solution,

and the ensuing book drive has provided 2,700 books during its first three years. Ludtka, who despite a major in chemical engineering has been volunteering at the CLO through a service program with the Haslam Scholars, said there are some restrictions on which books can be donated. ““The jail prefers books that are either Hispanic – because they have a lot of Hispanic inmates – or self-help books,” he said. “And they did say they wanted us to screen out sexually explicit books and overly violent books.” Despite these guidelines – which also include a ban on hard copies, which could be dangerous – the project hopes to continue the holistic approach initiated at the Public Defender’s Office by Mark Stephens, the district public defender. At the CLO, summer programs in art and music provide underprivileged children and parents a respite from the heat, and a small basketball court offers year-round recreation programs; the accompanying stage provides space for both speakers and performances. “By treating each client as an individual person with specific needs, the goal is to decrease recidivism rates •photo provided by Knoxville Public Defender’s Office and break the positive feedback loop of socioeconomic disadvantagement Public Defender Intern Chris Ludtka sorts through the donations at the Community Law Office with and incarceration,” Ludtka said. Jessica Greene, an assistant public defender. The books will benefit the nearly 1,500 inmates at the See BOOK DRIVE on Page 2 Knoxville Detention Facility.

INSIDE THE DAILY BEACON: Page Page Page Page Page

2 . . . . . . . In Short 3 . . . . . . Arts & Culture 4 . . . . . . . Opinions 5 . . . . Arts & Culture 6 . . . . . . . . Sports

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Check page 3 for a review of “Pacific Rim”


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