Apr 14, 2020
Suggested Reading
Tuesday Links:
Cannabis and the coronavirus, College in the fall? Keeping Trump honest, Plus twitter highlights…
***Please note that a posted link or tweet does not necessarily equal an endorsement of the author or the ideas expressed in the link or tweet, sometimes I may completely disagree with it, but nonetheless think it’s worth sharing for educational purposes. Thank you for your understanding.***
1. What to Know About Using Cannabis Right Now
“I could spin you a story quite easily, and I could back it up with science saying either that cannabis would be catastrophic to take in the presence of a viral infection or that cannabis could prevent or relieve viral infection,” says Phillips. “We just don’t know.”
Ashley Laderer writes about smoking cannabis in the age of coronavirus for Elemental.
So, should you risk smoking a little pot right now?
The answer seems to be probably not. In fact, you probably shouldn’t be vaping or smoking anything if you can help it.
But read for yourself and see what you think.
American Lung Association spokesperson Cedric “Jamie” Rutland, MD says smoking specifically damages type 2 pneumocyte cells in the lungs — cells that are crucial to providing support to the lungs.
“It turns out the coronavirus also binds to the type 2 pneumocytea and causes significant illness that way,” Rutland says. “If you already have less type 2 pneumocytes, your lung is already under a significant amount of stress. So if you smoke and you contract the coronavirus, you’re probably going to be that much worse off.” [bold/emphasis is mine]
2. A twenty-year professor on starting college this fall: Don’t. — Diane Kline
Still thinking of starting your college career in the fall? Diane Kline says skip it. Don’t go.
My favorite reason: it’s probably a bad time to be making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.
But as always, check it out and read for yourself. Most importantly, think for yourself.
3. A Month After Emergency Declaration, Trump’s Promises Largely Unfulfilled — NPR
In a Rose Garden address, flanked by leaders from giant retailers and medical testing companies, he promised a mobilization of public and private resources to attack the coronavirus…
…NPR’s Investigations Team dug into each of the claims made from the podium that day. And rather than a sweeping national campaign of screening, drive-through sample collection and lab testing, it found a smattering of small pilot projects and aborted efforts. [condensed for length]
NPR evaluates the claims and promises made by Trump and his administration against the actual results over the last month.
As you can probably guess, the results do no paint a rosy picture (pun intended).
4. Twitter highlights…
As always, thanks for reading. Please stay safe, stay inside, follow the guidelines, and wear a mask if you can.
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