Monday, April 20, 2009

To Hell in a Handbasket | Reefer Madness!

Check out the Purple Kush. (bonussaves)
Sooo... it's that date, it's that time... we're talking about marijuana. The Weed. The Reef. Uh... anyhoo... Usage by teens has gone down... but the usage of prescription drugs and hallucinogenics has risen. (CTV) And a home-grown study shows that "young people" are turning to the weed for therapeutic purposes... not "just to get high"... (CTV)

There's story in the Georgia Straight about a Victoria police officer that has called for legalization. (straight) And a letter in response points out that we should find out what police officers really do think about the issue... they have been kept on a leash to toe the party line, but their insight really would be useful to make a rational decision. (straight)

If you're in favour of decriminalization, your vote should go to the Green Party in the May 12, 2009 Provincial Election. (CTV) In a refreshingly rational response from a politician, the Green leader, Jane Sterk, wants to see pot sold in liquor-store-style outlets. (straight) As the B.C. Marijuana Party leader, Marc Emory, pointed out: Gang Violence cannot be stopped with Prohibition. (straight)

Oh, and your friend in the Feds is Liberal MP Keith Martin, who tabled a bill to make possession of two grams or two marijuana plants legal. Fines would be assessed for possession over the limit. (CTV) Mr. Martin also wrote a compelling Op-Ed piece in the Globe. (G&M) This is in contrast to the Conservative Party, who tabled Bill C-15 which marks a draconian step backward. (straight) The BC Compassion Club also voiced their opposition to this bill. (straight)

And the U.S. Consul General in Vancouver walks the line... he expressed doubts on the usefulness of punishing the user, but stated a reduction in consumption was the only way to reduce gang violence, if gang violence was fueled by drugs. (straight)

I love lists:
Top 10 Common Myths About Cannabis
15 Fascinating Facts about Hemp

The abomb&thecorpse Take: The illegal drug trade is pumping cash into gangs. In order to reduce the strength of the gangs, we need to hinder their cash-flow. If the System doesn't have the balls to legalize, regulate and tax this product, then maybe the only option available to individuals wanting to get as close to the law-and-order side of the equation as possible should see if their family physician will prescribe some herbal-pharm for medicinal use. (I think through a physician is the best way... the freelance "compassion associations" may actually be "connected" to the wrong side. (CTV)

Oh, and Phish is touring again. (NYT)

But it's not all happy-fun-times news. Germany banned a "marijuana-like" substance known as "Spice". (TheLocalDotDE)

And the Journal of Cancer has an article that links heavy marijuana use to testicular cancer in men. (GoodMag)

But to be fair, there's concerning news no matter what one's drug of choice may be: research shows that heavy coffee, tea, soda or energy beverage drinkers (in other words: caffeine) may be more prone to hallucinate, hear imaginary voices, and even sense the presence of deceased people. (NatlGeo)

Finally, Good Magazine can point you to a BostonDotCom article about how to hack your brain to experience a drug-free high...

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

useless mental tidbits | fantastic lists

There's something about a good list that captivates my Collector Instinct. I've been keeping links to different lists with the idea that "one day" I would be able to use parts as a jumping-point for blog articles. Riiiight. I'm learning that I'm the sort of fella that likes to gather information, and can gather and gather until there is nothing left to gather... hint: there is always something more to gather...

Few do the list-thing quite as well as the fine folks at ListVerse, so here's a list of my favourite lists on ListVerse.

Top 10 Myths about Ninjas
Top 10 Misconceptions about Vikings
Top 10 Medieval Urban Legends
10 Christ-like Figures that Pre-Date Jesus
10 Gunslinging Outlaws of the American Wild West
10 More Books that Changed the World
Top 20 Wise Quotes from Confucius
10 Great Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Novels
Top 10 Interesting Jack the Ripper Suspects
Top 10 Fascinating Secrets Taken to the Grave
10 Weird and Wonderful Oddities of Nature
Top 10 Signs of Evolution in Modern Man

The group at wired also know how to put together interesting lists.

Apocalypse Then: Wired's Favorite World Expiration Dates
10 Best Geeky Last Words
7 (Crazy) Civilian Uses for Nuclear Bombs
Bongs, Virginity & Other Stuff You Can't Sell on eBay
Top 10 Celebrity Rants Caight on Tape
Top 5 Most Extreme Exoplanets
Top 5 Bets for Extraterrestrial Life in the Solar System

And for the Variety-Pack...

NYT Tech Columnist David Pogue's Top 10 Cocktail-Party Questions
BrainzDotOrg has the 10 Most Revealing Psych Experiments
New Scientist lists the Top 10 Bizarre Experiments
TelegraphUK lists the Top 10 Greatest Experiments of All Time
kottke lists Spread the Word's survey of Top 10 Books People Lie about Reading
PopCrunch has a great list of Celebs That Look Like Animals
DumbLittleMan lists 15 Simple Changes that will Improve Your Health