JP*
%■
Lotus 1-2-3
One-week classes
for students who want,
to learn this popular
spreadsheet program
Cost $35.00
Sterling C. Evans Library
teaming Resources Department
Room 604 845-2316
Feb. 6-10
Feb. 27-Mar. 3
Mar. 27-31
Apr. 17-21
2- 4 p.m.
5-7 p.m.
3- 5 p.m.
4- 6 p.m.
Page 6
The Battalion
Wednesday, February 1,1989.
Scientists paying volunteers $100
per day to take recreational drugs
Oscar winning musical-comedy of epic proportions
inema/
Classic FHm Series
mm
m m wmmvm
.s
A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum
r
Wednesday. February 1
7:30 Pm in MSC 201
$2.00 w/TAMU ID
Purchase tickets at the Rudder Box Office
BOSTON (AP) — “Wanted: People aged 18 to
29 to take recreational drugs as part of a scien
tific study. Earn up to $400 in four afternoons.”
That recent newspaper advertisement is on
the up and up.
It’s part of the quiet battle waged by drug com
panies and the federal government to find ways
to curb recreational use of prescription drugs.
Scientists hire the volunteers to learn what
makes some drugs so pleasant that they are likely
to be abused.
They hope to use that knowledge to develop
drugs that are as effective but not pleasureable
enough for illicit use as their more habit-forming
counterparts.
Drug companies use the studies to decide
whether to market a new drug, and in what do-
Drug companies have been trying for years to
develop painkillers as effective as morphine but
not as addictive, Boren said. So far, none have
been found.
66
sages.
Federal
We want people who have
taken sedative drugs recently and
taken them often enough that we’re
reasonably sure nothing’s going to
happen to them.”
— Dr. Jonathan O. Cole,
psychopharmacolgist
agencies use the data to decide
whether to approve a drug for sale or impose
certain restrictions on how it may be prescribed.
If the drug made subjects euphoric, they are
asked whether they would take it again for plea
sure, and how much they would pay for it on the
street.
The four categories of drugs that cause the
most trouble, and are most scrupulously tested,,
are painkillers, diet and sleeping pills and anti
anxiety drugs, said Dr. John J. Boren of the Na
tional Institute on Drug Abuse.
Jonathan O. Cole, chief of psychopharmacolo,
at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility whitt
a Harvard University teaching hospital.
“We want people who have taken
drugs recently and taken them often enoughl
we’re reasonably sure nothing’s going to ha
to them,” Cole said.
Occasional users and those who appear
tally unstable are rejected. Usually about
third of the applicants are accepted.
For the BuSpar study, Cole recruited subjf
who had taken Valium or barbituates for
sure but seemed stable.
On four different afternoons, they were
Valium, BuSpar, Quaaludes or a placebo
“dummy” pill with no effects, but werenotto
which they had taken.
The subjects found the Quaaludes verv
However, pharmacologists have been able to
invent new sleeping pills that are less habit-form
ing than the traditional form, barbituates, he
said.
Abuse-proof drugs are medically desirable,
and they can also be immensely profitable, since
doctors are likely to prescribe them with a freer
hand.
One such money-maker is the anti-anxiety
drug BuSpar^ which was tested in Boston byQDi\
oft
phoric, the Valium about half as euphoric,
the BuSpar not much different from the place!
The Food and Drug Administration appron
the drug for sale in 1986, and it is now one
most successful drugs that Bristol-Myershasti
launched, according to Janet Lindholm,
parry’s manager of consumer affairs.
BuSpar now competes with other anti-ana:
drugs including Valium, Zanax and Atavan
market worth $600 million to $700 million
year, said Scott Litherland, another compi
spokesman.
Lack of witnesses may stall investigation
SAVE 50%
on
HOUSTON (AP) — Police were
trying Tuesday to piece together the
events of a shooting in a predomi
nantly Vietnamese area that left two
people dead and three others in
jured.
Their efforts, however, were
handicapped because witnesses fled
the area near Givral’s Sandwich
Shop before police arrived Monday
afternoon.
“There was nobody here when the
police arrived, just bodies and hulls,”
police spokesman Sgt. Dan Turner
said.
A businessman near the shooting
scene said the Asian community is
very tight-knit and unlikely to go to
police.
Homicide Sgt. Brian Foster, how
ever, said he didn’t think investiga
tors would have a problem obtaining
information because of a language
barrier or anything else.
No charges or arrests have been
made in the case, police said Tues
day. A motive for the shootings also
has not been determined. Turner
said investigators had not yet found
any evidence showing that the shoot
ings were gang related.
The killed and wounded were all
described as Asian males.
One of those killed was identified
as Minh Nguyen, 19, of Port Arthur.
The other Asian teen killed has not
been identified, police said Tuesday.
The names of the injured were
being withheld for their own safety,
police said.
A 14-year-old youth was listed in
stable condition in the intensive care
unit at St. Joseph Hospital after suf
fering being shot twice in the right
leg, hospital spokesman Robert Ca
hill said. One bullet remains lodged
near his right hip while the other-
bullet entered and exited near the
right knee, Cahill said.
A 22-year-old who suffered a
gunshot wound in the lower back
was listed in fair condition at Ben
Taub Hospital, spokesman Roger
Whidmeyer said.
The third injured person, a 22-
year-old man, remains in stable con
dition at AMI Twelve Oaks Hospital
after undergoing surgery for a gun
shot wound to the abdomen,
spokeswoman Claire Rowland said.
The shooting scene is in an area
near downtown that has a heavy con
centration of Vietnamese buisnesses
and is commonly known as “Little
Saigon.”
looked like they came from then-
in the car.
“It looked like he was firing
Uzi because I never saw the bam
light up, and the shots werecoi
slant,” the man said. “It soundedlie
the Fourth of July.
A witness, who asked to remain
anonymous, said he saw three to
four men in a white car approach
the area and open fire.
“One of them got out of the car
and opened up fire. AH the shots
“I saw one guy get shot by
taurant and one run across the sire
and fall down,” he said. "Th;
when I leaned over in my seat
didn’t get back up until I heard
rens. It really shook me upbecausi
kept thinking they were
come over where I was.”
Turner said a large number
bullet shells littered the sande
shop, indicating the shootings
place in the store. One of the vide
died in the sandwich shop
other ran outside and fell dti
across the street behind a cat/'
ALL SWEATS
House members draft
WHILE THE SUPPLY LASTS
bill to strip Secretary
of election officer power
AUSTIN (AP) — Three Demo
cratic state legislators Tuesday intro
duced a bill to strip the secretary of
state of his power as chief elections
officer and give the authority to a bi
partisan commission.
The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Alex
Moreno, D-Edinburg, said it was a
response to “a partisan approach to
dealing with election matters” by Re
publican Secretary of State Jack
Rains’ office.
Rains called the allegations “wild,
undocumented charges,” and said
much of the criticism of him was
“partisan doggerel.”
“We have innumerable letters
praising the conduct of the elections
division for its professionalism, dis
charging its statutory and constitu
tional duties,” Rains said. “The num
ber of letters of complaint I can
count on one hand, and each of
those has been investigated and
dealt with.”
In Texas, the secretary of state is
appointed by the governor and over
sees elections, among other duties.
Although there have been prob
lems with Democratic secretaries of
state in the past, Moreno said
partisanship has increased since
Gov. Bill Clements appointed Rains
two years ago. .
“Particuarly during this last (No
vember 1988) election, the secretary
of state’s office in several instances
showed it was operating the election
process in a partisan way, a highly
discriminatory way, at least as it re
lates to South Texas,” Moreno
charged at a news conference.
“Certainly this is not an isolated
incident or strictly the responsibility
of Secretary of State Rains,” Moreno
said. “(But) under this administra
tion, it’s risen to new heights. It’s
now to the point that I think we need
to do something about it.”
Moreno was joined by Reps. Re-
nato Cuellar, D-Weslaco, and Juan
Hinojosa, D-McAllen, all of whom
complained about the way the secre
tary of state’s office handled a Hi
dalgo County ballot problem last
fall.
Their bill would create a State
Election Commission to oversee
voter registration and elections.
Such a change has been endorsed by
the Texas Democratic Party.
Under the bill, the governor
would be required to appoint three
Republicans and three Democrats to
six-year terms on the panel from a
list of candidates offered by the
chairmen of the two major political
parties.
OCA to ‘Unmask the Magic’ of Mardi Gras
Off-Campus Aggies will bring
the magic of New Orleans to
Texas A&M with its third annual
Mardi Gras celebration Thurs
day.
With the theme “Unmask the
Magic,” the day’s festivities will
include a 90-minute parade, a
free jazz concert from 11 a.m. to
1 p.m. at Rudder Fountain and a
Mardi Gras Ball at 8:30 p.m. at
Graham’s Central Station.
Admission to the ball is $2 for
women and $4 for men. Cos
tumes are not required. The
dance will feature jazz, in addi
tion to country-western and Top
40 music.
The parade will begin at 6 p
at Lot 49 near Cain Hall and \
end near Lewis Street.
About 30 on- and off-campus
groups, are planning either to
march or enter floats in the pa
rade. These groups include Par
sons Mounted Cavalry, the Sail
ing Club and various Greek
organizations.
Individuals on the float
throw traditional Mardi Gras
treats, such as beaded necklaces,
doubloons (imitation gold coins)
and wrapped candy and gum,
the crowd.
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Cancer Society sponsors nutrition programs
The American Cancer Society
will have nutritional training ses
sions Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.,
and Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the Ameri
can Cancer Society Building on
3207 Briarcrest Drive.
The classes, taught by regis
tered and licensed dieticians, will
concentrate on good nutrition in
preventing cancer. For more in
formation, contact Dr. Alice
Stubbs at 823-7128.
—
Parking lot closed for Mardi Gras Parade
Parking lot 49, a blue lot be
hind Cain Hall, will be closed
Thursday, Feb. 2, from 5-7 p.m.
The lot will be used for Mardi
Gras Parade assembly and
judging. No vehicles will be al
lowed to enter or exit the lot dur
ing this time.
IU you will need your vehicle
during this time, you must re
move it from the lot before 5 p.m,
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TEXAS ASM UNIVERSITY
The
88 Video Aggielands
Are Now
Available!
If you’ve already purchased one you can
pick yours up in the English Annex,
bring your I.D. If you haven’t purchased
one yet, there are a limited amount
available for sale.
If you purchased an 88 Aggieland the
Video costs $30. plus $2.25 tax
If you have not purchased an Aggieland
the video costs $45. plus $3.37 tax
The NBA
Feb. 11 in Hi
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Celtics but,
Lakers own
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