14
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, September 27, 1967
Schwegler speaks out on drugs
By Janet Snyder Kansan Staff Reporter
Is marijuna habit forming? Is it physically damaging?
Dr. Raymond A. Schwegler, director of the Watkins hospital, says it is not.
But he views LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) as a harmful drug because it can cause permanent mental damage. Taken in sufficient quantities, LSD can impair the function of the mind.
LSD creates mutations
A difference exists in that marijuana creates a psychological dependence in its users, he said, but does no physical damage. However, a correlation between LSD and mutations has been indicated in research.
Two scientists at the University of Wisconsin found that LSD in pregnant mice creates abnormalities in the newborn mice. No ill effects result from marijuana.
It also has been found that LSD can damage human chromosomes in babies whose mothers have taken the drug during pregnancy.
LSD more dangerous
Compared with marijuana, LSD is more dangerous. Both drugs create euphoric feelings, but marijuana usually doesn't damage the body.
Schwegler said many people use marijuana as an escape mechanism to relieve depression.
"They escape from reality," he said, "because they can't solve their problems and try to forget them."
Hallucinations set in
The users "quit being doers and begin to look at things on the wall," Schwegler said. "These people are non-productive, and you can't run a nation that way."
Also, marijuana makes a person think his mind has been expanded, and he thinks he can see and perform better. LSD causes a heightening of perception and distortion of time sense. Its effects may cause one to change his pattern of living.
Liquors destroy organs
Physical damage will occur when a person drinks excessively. Alcohol can cause destruction to the heart and liver. In moderation, Schwegler said, alcohol is "quite safe physically."
Psychological dependency can occur, as with marijuana, when a person wishes to escape from problems.
There's a difference, however, Schwegler said, between people at a party and those who "drink
Post grads to share a grant
Eleven candidates for the master's and Ph.D. degree in speech pathology and audiology at KU will receive tuition and training support through a $51,288 grant from the Vocational Rehabilitation Administration this year.
The grant also supports staff personnel and provides equipment for specialized study, according to Dr. James B. Lingwall, assistant professor of speech and drama and project director.
The training program is done in Lawrence and at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City. The project coordinator at KUMC is Miss Sandra Edson, Mission, instructor of speech and drama.
Those supported by the grant are:
Moe Sharon Adair, Lawrence; Mrs.
Kathleen Burgerdall; Mrs.
Jean Burgardt, Des Moines; Kay
Heims, Kansas City, Mo.; Gary Hold-
man, Kansas City; Elizabeth Chanute; Mrs. Barbara Martin, Kansas City, Mo.; Ruth McKeown, Barris,
Olivia Olthrath; Barbara Stokes, Manassasville,
Patrick Waugh, Redwood Falls, Minn.
when they get up in the morning to keep them go."
There is also demonstrative damage with cigarettes. Schwegler said excessive smoking (one pack or above a day) will produce destructive lung changes, and can affect the caliber of blood vessels.
Schwegler also said a heavy
smoker can knock eight to ten years off his life expectancy.
Both LSD and marijuana are stimulants. Alcohol is said to be a depressant. Schwegler said he's never sure if cigarettes are a stimulant or a depressant. "Maybe it's an oral dependency, maybe we just need something to put in our mouths," he said.
Statistically, death cannot be physically attributed to marijuana. Schwegler said death can be caused by impaired reflexes. LSD and alcohol affect a person's reflexes, and death can be physically attributed to them.
Sociologically, alcohol is the most widely accepted. Alcohol has
been used for centuries, and it is often used in religious ceremonies.
Marijuana is less socially acceptable because it has the name "drug" attached to it, when technically, it's not addictive.
LSD is fairly new, and it's hard to decide what the social reaction is.
IN LAWRENCE,
THE NUMBER ONE CASHABLE CHECK
IS A JAYHAWK CHECK IN A
HANDSOME KU CHECKBOOK.
When in Lawrence, do as the Lawrencians do: write your checks on Number One, The First National. But write them on your own Jayhawk check, and you're immediately identified as a Number One Student. (Makes check cashing as easy as back home!)
Even small accounts are practical; there's no service charge on Jayhawk accounts. Just a dime-a-check as you use them. Helps you keep your balance.
Stop in and get your first 50 checks, free. Get known at the First, and you're known where it counts—at cash registers all over Lawrence. Come in to the Number One Student Banking Center, right downtown, Eighth and Massachusetts. Now.