Happy New Year!
- DrugWarRant.com, the longest running single-issue blog devoted to drug policy
Join us on Pete's couch.
Send comments, tips,
and suggestions to: Recent Comments
on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “German author Norman Ohler’s newest book Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age reveals the…” Apr 24, 22:44
on John Walters and William Barr linked to Nazis: “More on opiate receptors. I had a physician who recommended Salvia Divinorum. He later asked me to keep his recommendation…” Apr 17, 11:40
Happy New Year all.
I posted it at the motel thread but it bears repeating.
Obama signed away the writ of habeus corpus and a right to a hearing,,now how long before the ONDCP uses this anti-terrorist law to lock up marijuana legalization advocates?
After all,we are attempting to remove the justification for 2/3 of his budget,,we are therefore attacking a US government Agency,,we are domestic terrorists in his eyes..
A happy and safe new year to all. If you decide to drive, be extra vigilant. With Cab services providing lifts and designated driver hotlines all over, there should be no reason to drive after drinking. See you all next year…
.
.
This one belongs in the “stuff you never thought you’d hear even in a million years” file. The URL says it all:
http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/ron-paul-on-iowa-caucuses-im-going-to-come-in-first-or-second/
.
.
Dr. Paul is certainly kicking the asses of the also rans in the online poll attached to that article. 78+% and almost 50,000 votes just for him. Mitt & Newt in a statistical dead heat but not even 10,000 combined. Yes, yes I know, online polls are blah, blah, unscientific, blah.
Same category as the story linked above. Marc Emery endorses Ron Paul/Gary Johnson and encourages potheads everywhere to register as Republicans.
Heads up. Good for a laugh, but we’ll see this material again:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2080842/Cannabis-users-born-smaller-brain.html
Most prohibitionists are born with a geranium in the cranium.
Well, just after a perusal of the abstract, I think it’s mostly a non-starter. I’ll have to pay to download the whole piece but I’ll do that and get back in a couple of days.
Here’s what they looked for and what they say. I need to look at thier methodology, but I suspect there’s heavy game playing afoot. They were looking, ostensibly, for a marker in people who go on to heavy cannabis use. They looked at their sample and , yep, it looks like a signficant number had a smaller orbitofrontal cortex. Significant is what the abstract doesn’t say: for instance whether ALL of the folks who had a smaller orbito frontal cortex, or a significant number, or a small number made up that cohort of potheads. It tells us, yes there’s an association. It (the article, or the abstract) tells nothing usefull. It’s also a damn small sample of 121 kids in a single cohort that they tested. It is more a pre-study than a true study, so it needs to be replicated and expanded upon befor it can be considered verified.
The Mail isn’t exactly known for thier accurate treatment of facts on the topic of marijuana, so I’m deeply suspect there. The University of Melborne is, IIRC, the origin of a number of previous reefer madness non-studies. I think there is an Austrailian Government anti-drug agency associated with some of their work. Anybody interested in going all “Google” on thier ass, while I get and digest this piece of crapola? That abstract doesn’t give the whole picture, is my guess.
As far as brain architecture is concerned +/- 6% for frontal features is well within what is considered normal variation, at least among adults. I’m guessing it would fall within normal limits for adolescents but I’ll hafta look further… I’m done with the google and this for tonight. Happy new year, it’s 8:02 on the left coast. darkcycle out.
.
.
Is there a definition of “heavy cannabis use” or how that “heavy use” became known to researchers? I guess next they’ll say we’re born with small peckers to go with our man teats. Hey, don’t laugh. It may be small but it sure the heck gets me off. Not to mention that I haven’t looked at an issue of Playboy since the teats grew. They are spectacular.
———-
If you stand in a darkened room and put a flashlight to a prohibitionist’s ear you will see the light escaping from the ear on the opposite side of his head.
I read somewhere that if you smoke marijuana all your babies will be born with no clothes on,,then they can get you for endangerment of a child because the kids shivering.
ps: 354 days,,have you hugged someone today.
No definitions of terms in the abstract, no indication of what constitutes heavy use, no raw numbers. If I were to write an abstract designed to misrepresent my findings, that is what it would likely look like. Not kidding, it really says next to nothing about the research. It looks intentionally vague and like they deliberately left out anything at all that you could use to apply any interpretations of your own. The abstract is a piece of crap in its own right.
It’s self report. That’s the only way to get that information. Which means, essentially that those who SELF REPORT heavy cannabis use have smaller orbito frontal cortexes. Like I said, it looks for all the world like crap. I want to read the thing myself before I come to any judgement. But on it’s face it looks like every other piece of research that puportedly “finds” some abnormality in potheads.
Hey Duncan, you’ve piqued my curiosity, what’s yer bra size?
That IS a Hoot! Last time I heard that comparison, it was my Granny talking about the brains of blacks. LOL Didn’t fall for it then and sure won’t this time.
Well just a few minutes ago the last 4:20 of 2011 passed into history.
Some prohibitionists take things too far.
Been through there on the way down to that big bridge that goes to Newport.
I got a big laff because the first store I passed coming into town was a liquor store or supper club.
January 1st, 2012. Happy hangovers to you drinkers. I was up bright and early at 6:00 to watch the sun rise. Today, I go for a motorcycle ride (1st ride of the year, don’t you know, January first, regardless of conditions), and clean my garden workshop. I keep the growing areas clean all the time, but I mix soil and store items, keep reservoirs and air handling equipment in the workshop area. It gets dirty and it sucks to clean. Lucky, there is a stereo (a good one), a refrigerator (for perishable garden items, and the occasional soda-pop) and wireless from the house. I spend a significant ammount of time in there every day and I likes my creature comforts. It needs to be done. badly.
Progress!! Not as much as I’d like, but it’s breaktime.
darkcycle,
How can I contact you?
Facebook, Curtis Creek is the name. I’m pretty much an open book at this point.
I just sent you a FB message. That is, if you’re the one in the pix with the good-looking blonde. 😉 I’ve alerted the bar bouncer to move you right in. Just look for the stool with your name on it. Just say “Howdy, yall. Sled sent me.”
really? _Sledhead?_
No, Ezzy, Mine is the guy with a cow on the motorcycle…don’t say a WORD about my wife… 😉
…it’s a Cow-asaki.
Sent to the cow pix this time. LOL
No, allan, as in “Sledpilot.” I refer to my Harley as my “sled.”
ez… one of my early mentors in online drug policy was a MAP newshawk, went by the handle of Sledhead. I owe the man a tip of this oldman’s hat…
I have my scooter up on the jack for a new rear tire,,so no ride this year until Tues,,when the tire should be here and bike back on ground.
I am doing the same spring cleaning in my cabinet,,cutting new plastic for the floors,wiping walls down with bleach water and cleaning all fans,lights,etc.
No hangover for me,,I had one cognac and coke for the toast and we sat around and ate oatmeal raisin cookies with about 1/2 gram in each along with smokin anything that showed up.
Hemppy New Year! May our cause move forward on all fronts!
Gary Johnson 2012
We need to return to the good old days, just after Leonardo diCaprio invented the helicopter. They’d remove your belly button just for farting downwind.
With your rights to a hearing and habeus corpus removed,,we may be closer than you think to that.
I cratered around 10 last night. Spending today washing the car, the Harley and the scooter. Six years ago today, I had my head-on on the Harley. Bike just bounced and putted off on it’s own. Cosmetic only. That’s what led to my enternment in Audie Murphy VA in San Antonio.
I start 2012 with 6 months of freedom under my belt. Not from Murphy, but, from HER! Didn’t share that episode with you, did I? Got fed up and walked out! PLUS, I’ve had her removed from any and all spousal benefits, now or after. Talk about shooting one’s self in the foot!!
Besides, gotta be available for battle plans this year. I just gotta see it before I head out to Fiddler’s Green.
.
.
I wasn’t paying much attention. But by happenstance I noticed that it was 2012 at 12:21 (ET) and thought that very amusing.
Oh fer crissake. That mayan Calender thing. What a bunch of horse puckey.
You know WHY it ends there right? If not I’ll put an easy explanation out there. You see, the method the Mayans used to calculate their calender was very laborious. They didn’t have Roman numerals, they used astrological observations and apparently counted the days with HASH MARKS. It would take years of observations and weeks of calculation to get the calender for simply one year. They made the astrological observations because their agriculture depended on it, but the projection? That required a priestly class with time on thier hands to sit around and count hash marks. That means a production surplus to support the priest class. Their weather changed, they lost their surplus, and likely burned their priests because it’s THEIR job to mediate and keep the gods appeased, or failing that, at the very least, provide a “heads up” that they are pissed. They clearly botched THAT call because their civilization ain’t around anymore. The preists stopped calculating because they were likely eaten, and the new priests made up stories about why the calender ends where it does. The knowledge to calculate it was likely lost in the turnover, and the end date of solstice 2012 marks the point they had reached when the people with torches and pitchforks came for them.
mine is a simpler explanation,,the day the Mayans disappeared that was the date the carver completed that day,,it would have ended 12,22,2012 if he had worked a little overtime,although the finding if the grasses frozen under the edges of continuous snow caps in every mountain range elevated enough to have continuous snow caps,has carbon dated to the beginning of the Mayan calender makes for some wonder.
Clay, december 21st is the Solstice. The perogee of the star’s yearly traverse, that’s where their calculations start, so it follows they calculated one year at a time right up ’till the end. Their end, that is.
.
.
I used to scoff about the Long Calender predictions but then Ron Paul went and got himself double digit support. If that doesn’t prove to you that the end is nigh you just must not be paying attention. After the entire universe collapses I am going to so laugh my ass off at you!
BTW it isn’t the Mayans’ calender, it’s the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar. What’s not to like? They’ve got imperfect gods that had to jack the sky up off of the ocean to let the sunshine in and they had a dickens of a time doing so.
That’s more or less how I very recently explained it to my 12 yr old.
dissection may begin any time:
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/lambert/111231
He quotes couch fave Roger Morgan so he must know what he’s talking about…
.
.
Oh cool, I thought it would be illegal to dissect prohibitionists. I think I’ve found a new hobby! Wait a second, I’ll bet they really stink when you open them up. Does Vicks Vap-O-Rub under the nose really work?
No comments section. I’m shocked. Should we teach them how to make comments sections software work?
I made two comments Duncan.
.
.
For the last couple of months some comments sections have been goofing on Firefox. The software used by MLive and some others will not allow me to log in using either my login or Facebook. I’m not banned because I can pull up Safari and logging on and commenting is no problem. At least the comments columns show up along with the login box. The system attached to the column above is completely invisible. Maybe it’s a Facebook problem, I don’t know.
If others are using Firefox the problem may be Firefox for Mac. Apple software just sucks out loud. I think that it was likely written for and by left handed people. It works about as easily as a pair of left handed scissors. If you’re using a PC clone and Firefox works for comments I wouldn’t be even mildly surprised. I really need to sell this stupid machine and buy a Windows box.
Regardless, I still think that dissecting prohibitionists sounds like jolly good fun. Let’s start with Mr. Sabet, mmm-kay?
(PS if you’re a leftie I’m sure you love stuff designed for you. But there’s nothing for me to buy at Flander’s Leftorium.)
Duncan, stuff like that made me switch to Chrome.
yeah, they’re on some weird platform… I can only see 3 comments and get an error msg telling me I need to close my browser and try again. Not… takes long enough to load at a roaring 14.4 kbps. I’ll loan my obsidian blades if anyone wants to try them. They come with the oem instructions. Stone tablets are hell on shipping rates tho’…
I have no doubt, that as a Californian anti-drugnut, this young feller is closely associated with Miz Taylor. I think for some reason, they’re canines. They all seem to enjoy eating other critters’ poop… as in what goes in must come out and, as all that comes out is poop…
The guy is a real estate agent. Maybe he’ll understand this:
http://blogs.anderson.ucla.edu/zimancenter/2011/12/thirteen-ways-drug-legalization-could-improve-real-estate-values.html?cid=6a0115710a4d7d970c0162fe9e9a5e970d
He also write for several Christian publications,,which I have never understood how Christians could believe that the God they worship would create a plant for mankind to use and that they were smarter than Him and prohibit it.
I would give anything to be a fly on the wall listening to preachers explain to Him how He was wrong.
yeah… that’s a tough disconnect for me to grok as well. When I was writing for my college paper (back in the day) I commented on the possibility of Jesus wearing hemp sandals and my comments were not well received in a certain quarter. Of course I was hard on homecoming celebrations, agent orange, the Shah of Iran…
I’m sure clay, that conversation would be full of foot shuffling, downward glancing “yeah, but…”s
I had to quit bitching about agent orange,,I get $370 a month for it.
But it proved beyond a shadow of doubt that whatever you think is the worst your government will do to you has not been experienced,,,cause you ain’t dead yet.
I’ve one close acquaintance here in Eugene who fought the agent orange thing for decades – diabetes, lesions… it wasn’t but a few years ago his claim was accepted. The wheels of civilization grind slowly. Unfortunately they grind us along with them as they go.
I had a sociology prof that really piqued my interest across a broad range. She was a tall powerful black woman that appreciated a vet in her classes. One factoid I found back then (w/o the interwwweb!) was that we defoliated 10% of VN’s land. Even back then, public apathy about such things pithed me off. My college days just opened my world up – drugs, politics, women, nature, other cultures – and I had a blast lending my abundant energies where I could. And lord if I ain’t gettin’ tuckered out w/ fighting the machine. I wanna go fishin’… see my chica more… spend more time camping.
When I was doing the anti-nuclear weapons thing, it was more affordable to be political outside of the having-to-make-a-living world.
Have I mentioned Ron Paul in 2012 yet?
Ron Paul/Gary Johnson in 2012!
And on that note I think it’s important, even if one doesn’t support Paul/Johnson that they at least pretend to until they mark their ballot this coming November. Let’s keep ’em nervous, poke ’em and prod ’em for the next 10 months. I love making ’em dizzy. Then I get to say… “oh, they’re no fun, they fell right over.”
.
.
Even better, had the Christians really believed that the law was inviolable as a matter of principle the religion itself wouldn’t exist. They spent the first few centuries of the CE underground and hunted by civil authority.
Come to think of it we’d probably still have slavery because the Christians were heavily involved in the underground railroad and instrumental in getting that law changed. Yeah, it was a “say what??” moment for me when I learned that bit of American History.
After the Roundup:
The remaining Clairton dealers who weren’t locked up were paralyzed with paranoia that their phones, too, might be tapped.
“First few months after it happened, everything [in the local drug market] just shut down,” Sgt. Giles said. “I had informants tell me you couldn’t even get cocaine around here.”
The dealers, though, weren’t about to seek regular jobs, he said. A scramble for drugs began.
“You got a very little bit of cocaine coming to a big void here, and everybody wants it,” he said. “You start getting violent crime,” including dealers robbing dealers. “We’ve had more burglaries this summer than we’ve had in 10 years past.” ..
.. The local drug market, meanwhile, endures.
“It’s always a plus to get that negativity out of the neighborhoods,” Clairton Councilman Richard Ford said, “but in reality, it seems as though, well, you ever seen that game where they take a hammer and hit a head and another one pops up?”
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12001/1200599-55.stm#ixzz1iJ8X2ZFJ
http://www.alternet.org/story/153586/kids%2C_minivans%2C_and_drug-dealing%3A_how_the_recession_pulls_ordinary_families_into_the_weed_game/
Alternet with a good story on personal finances.
Well, I posted this in response to the Alternet story, but I seem to be having trouble getting my comments to come up recently (Duncan, I’m using explorer)…
Interesting to me that the Black Market is illegal, while the truly criminal acts that trashed our financial system occurred in the sanctioned markets. Yet the people engaged in the black market are hunted and prosecuted, while the true criminals of our economy are protected and REWARDED with public funds so that they may continue to steal with impunity. At the same time, the Black Market at this point is the only functioning segment left, and by some accounts was the only source of liquidity left after the bubble burst….
It’s a good thing that I appreciate irony. Because there’s nothing else in this situation to smile at. As for the “Dans”? In a sane world they would be the winners, the folks who were able to adapt thrive and GROW in response to systemic challenges and changing conditions.In our current, dangerously crazy reality? I hope (truly, with ALL my heart, for reasons known to me alone), they are able to stay free, stay happy and continue to thrive. That would be the justice they deserve, after all, living well is the best revenge.
Seriously, I do not seem to be able to comment normally, Duncan? You still having problems? What’s going on? Discuss, Huff Post, wordpress, if I’m able to sign in, my comments go unposted….
Oh well, if anybody is able to access discuss through Alternet, I’d appreciate a helping hand…
Well, I reposted a THIRD time and it seems to have come up.
It’s DOWN agin! they pulled that comment, word for word what you see above DOWN!
.
.
My problem is not new. There just hasn’t been a reason to mention it here until today. If I had to make a less than educated guess I’d say it’s a combination of Firefox for Mac software (and I’ve upgraded to Firefox 8, then 9 but the problem persists) interacting with Facebook and the problem is HTML5. I don’t have any problem posting, it’s either logging in or just seeing the comments column.
HuffPo’s problem is their pathological need to “moderate” anything even remotely controversial. Christ, they won’t even post any of Harry J’s most popular quotes because they’re racist. Damn right they’re racist and that’s exactly why they should be seen. Also, I’ll bet sometimes comments are routed to a “moderator” who is jerking off to Internet porn instead of doing his job. It’s got to be a minimum wage job. Oh, with no way to object to their decision for those posts which they reject I’ll betcha that some of their moderators reject posts simply because they disagree with the content.
Matthew, I tried Chrome. That browser is not ready for prime time IMO. Safari works but like I said I think it’s left handed. Great for lefties but I’m very, very right handed. Yes, yes, yes, the world is built for right handed people. I’m sorry about that but I have as much trouble using stuff built for lefties as they do using stuff built for right handed people.
Ron Paul Would Pardon Nonviolent Drug Offenders
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o–S_5tffY
Looks like Rick Simpson is headed to jail:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/5081.html
.
.
How about an objective clinical diagnosis DC? I think Mr. Simpson is nuttier than a fruitcake and I really wish he’d shut up. But I wouldn’t wish jail on him, no doubt. Still, he’s doing us no good preaching like a bible thumping snake oil salesman. I can’t let my belief that he’s right about his ‘hemp oil’ cover the fact that his presentation isn’t helping his cause, not even a teeny tiny little bit.
I’ll betcha he doesn’t get a day. He is in Canada and Harper hasn’t pushed his bullshit through yet. The Judge appears to have telegraphed his intention to skip the prison term when he didn’t revoke his bail.
———-
Excerpts from the Hippocratic Oath below. I wish I had looked this thing up years ago. It’s a friggin’ laugh riot. Has the argument over abortion really been going on for thousands of years? Remember, hands off the slave girls, and that doesn’t mean the slave boys are fair game either:
Not enough for any sort of diagnosis, but I got a strong impression from Mr. Simpson. I do not think he’s crazy, any more than any other “true believer”. He firmly believes he’s right. He does show the tell tale signs of a head injury victim, but he WAS a head injury victim. I do not believe he should be going to jail, and as shocking as it may seem, he may be on to something. After all, studies have recently confirmed what he claimed about melanoma and cannabis (in vitro), and the results with CBD and breast cancer are also astonishing. And I wouldn’t have likely believed those claims from Mr. Simpson….I think there may be a point in the near future when people are no longer laughing at Mr. Simpson. While I think his claims are wildly optimistic, I also think that he’s on to something.
He shouldn’t be going to jail, and guess what? People take unapproved treatments for virtually every illness out there. They actively seek them out and are willing to spend huge ammounts of money to get them. My Maternal Grandfather had COPD, and sought treatments in Mexico, treatments with high dose steroids which ultimately killed him. So it’s a fact of life, and most of the people providing those treatments are unethical and in it for the profit. Mr. Simpson doesn’t make any money from his operations. That is a sign right there that I have a hard time ignoring.
Rick Simpson should not be going to jail. He should be working with researchers at a University somewhere, sharing his methods and his insights with scientists who can test his claims.
.
.
You might find it surprising that I fully believe Mr. S. is correct. I just don’t see his delivery as helping. I hope I’m wrong because there’s no way we’re going to shut him up anyway.
Did you know there are still people using laetrile? You could have knocked me over with a feather when I read about that. I thought I was looking for history, not current events.
I read a story today that Steve Jobs was sorry that he didn’t start conventional treatment because he might have lived longer if only he had stuck with FDA approved treatments rather than the alternative treatments he sought. The article went on to say that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 8 years ago in 2003. It also mentioned that the survival rate for that disease is less than 20% at one year and less than 4% at 5 years. It’s really convenient that Mr. Jobs is dead cause I’d like to hear it from his mouth. Less than 4% at 5 years? Oh gosh, the medical establishment is doing such a good job keeping pancreatic cancer patients alive, why in the world would anyone think of alternatives.
You’ll have to pardon me. I’d like to keep my dinner down and I’m getting nauseous.
Goodness, you must have an effective anti-emetic RIGHT NOW. I’m a Doctor, man (well, the PhD kind), you should heed my advice!
.
.
Apparently the lady is a fan of Justice Breyer.
Seriously, can we set up a demonstration outside of the Supreme Court? We get 15 LEAP guys to borrow 15 sniffer dogs and get 15 “alerts” because somebody who shall remain silent doctored the door with the right kind of oil. That part really wouldn’t be hard to do. Finding the dogs to borrow would be the hard part.
You know, something has occurred to me. It amazes me that more people aren’t simply claiming residence in a medical state and traveling to fill their prescriptions. People travel to Canada all the time to get prescriptions there, and return with drugs. It would be a simple matter of obtaining a local “For Sale” throwaway, locating a clinic, travel to the appointment, register at a local dispensary and return with whatever you wanted, hash, pot, clones, it’s all availabe for a couple of hours work. Is it that people haven’t thought of this, or is it just virtually impossible to get caught? I recall a couple of stories that floated through here, but in both cases the people PUBLISHED their accounts.
Anybody heard of an “epidemic” of false medical state recomendations? Even in areas directly adjacent to medical states? Jus’ wodering, if this isn’t in fact a problem it takes one of the potential bullets out of the prohibitionist’s anti-dispensary arguments.
.
.
In 2005 all it took to establish residency in California was the intent to reside in the State and step foot in it. I was a California resident the moment the plane passed into the eastern wilderness of the State. It was easier getting my driver’s license than my doctor’s rec. He he and I got that at NorCal on Franklin Street in Oakland. I’ve still got my OCBC card. I don’t think I ever smiled like that before that day and I got a picture of it! Damn that was one happy day.
It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face!
Does Ron Paul want to be president, or a prophet?
^^^Man those people come from an alternate universe.
Residency here is a postal address. Drivers licenses take time, but State ID’s, same day service. When I went to San Francisco for the Cannabis cup, a scant two years ago, I put down the Hotel I was staying in, The Doctor never asked for a Driver’s License.
Never thought about that…I have a real live Washington recommendation, but I did have to get one for the “cup”. That had actually slipped my mind. Well, never mind. It would appear it would be nearly impossible to get caught.
I WAS sweating (a little) driving through Oregon and especially Nor. Cal. with a carload and only my Wa. rec. Every overpass has it’s very own cop car.
Oh, the carload was going DOWN. Virtually nothing left on the way back…