Penn & Teller Make Drug Hypocrisies Disappear
June 18th, 2009 by RussIf you’ve never seen Showtime’s Bullshit! you might not be aware that Penn & Teller, one of Vegas’s most popular magic duos of all time are also a couple of outspoken libertarians (granted Penn does most of the talking). Their cable show, Bullshit!, is sort of a political comedian’s version of Mythbusters. In this particular episode (with the full-length version available here), P+T examine some of the myths spouted by the few remaining drug warriors.
Bob Weiner, featured in the clip, is still at his propagandizing ways on this very day. In a letter discussing a (presumably non-published) op-ed of his, Weiner again reiterates his belief that…
Legalization would be a catastrophe… We must… fight drugs like a cancer.
You can almost hear the desperation in his voice. Do you also get the sense that his entire life’s work (of drug demonization) is on the precipice of going up in smoke?
Severe Vomiting Syndrome Linked to Chronic Pot Use
March 25th, 2009 by Rick
Leave it to Fox News to report on a seemingly negative aspect of the marijuana plant. Of all the stories to drudge up and rekindle, this ”fair and balanced” organization chooses to report on a vomiting syndrome linked to chronic pot use. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis was originally first recognized in Australia in 2004 but apparently now according to a study published in the March issue of the World Journal of Gastroenterology (Warning: PDF), US researchers have come across a new case of a 22-year old man from Omaha, Nebraska that exhibited the same symptoms.
Symptoms include “nausea, stomach pain, and severe vomiting.” Sufferers report the only way to get some relief is from taking a “hot bath or shower.” These are also symptoms of alcohol abuse as well as side affects from certain prescribed pills that are taken to alleviate other problems. Anything taken chronically can affect the human body. Does this make the plant unusable? The curious thing is there are studies that claim that marijuana has helped with nausea and have even helped cancer patients gain appetites to eat. The plant itself, minus the medicinal properties, holds a variety of uses.
I’m sure there are chronic smokers out there that do not have these symptoms. While the plant can be used for medicinal purposes there are people out there that use it as a recreational drug, who are otherwise healthy. My question is just how far did this study research? If it originated in Australia, were all the people connected by a certain strain of marijuana? It’s not unfeasible to think that a strain of marijuana came from Australia and made it’s way into Nebraska. Did the 22-year old ever visit Australia?
Sometimes these studies and research have tunnel vision, let’s just hope they ruled out all possible factors before they decided to say that chronic marijuana use can cause sickness in some smokers. The truth is, marijuana seems to affect everyone differently whether it leads to sickness, euphoria, paranoia, agoraphobia or whatever — most that know will say, that despite all the controversy, it’s an amazing plant.
[img via Tinm@n on flickr]
Phelps Starts to Feel the Heat
February 6th, 2009 by Perry
14-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps is starting to receive negative backlash from the photo that recently surfaced of him smoking from a two-foot Roor.
A few days after sponsors like Omega and Speedo called the photo a “nonissue,” Phelps received a three-month ban by USA Swimming.
The ban means Phelps Phelps won’t be able to compete with, or receive funding from (like he needs it) the body that governs the nation’s swimming team. All this despite the fact that there was no doping violation (although smoking pot is against the rules, the photo wouldn’t stand up in court to the Chewbacca defense).
Apparently someone pissed in the Cheerios of the people at Kelloggs too, because they recently decided to “not renew” their contract with the athlete after some negative publicity. The contract ends in February.
Phelps recently responded to the photo in an interview with the Baltimore Sun, a paper nearby the Maryland native live, and described the incident as a 23-year-old making a youthful mistake.
I still can’t get over how he takes bong rips and then motivates himself to swim like a dolphin for hours — amazing.
No word yet on whether anyone from NORML has approached Phelps for sponsorship, but I can’t think of a spokesperson who could get medical marijuana passed in Maryland any faster. Could a DEA sponsoree sit there with a straight face and tell Michael Phelps he’s ruining his lungs?
MMJ vs. Starbucks: San Fran Showdown
November 18th, 2008 by Perry
Click me for full BS impact.
In its last few desperate days before what we can only hope will be a complete overhaul of its regime, the ONDCP is trying to spread as much disinformation as it can.
The office recently tried to spread the claim that there were more medical marijuana dispensaries than there were Starbuck’s locations in San Francisco. Knowing San Fran, who would ever believe that?
Here’s the link to the ONDCP’s erroneous article and further explanation of their shoddily pieced together map.
Regardless of your feelings on Starbucks, because I have no idea why people spend $5 on a cup of coffee, consider the fact that it’s not even close to true. Who knows where the government gets its statistics from, or why it continually chooses scare tactics that are completely ineffective?
The feds contend there are 98 marijuana dispensaries in San Francisco, compared to 71 Starbucks Coffee shops.
The Department of Public Health lists 24 dispensaries in the city that either have permits or are trying to obtain one.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out ONDCP…
Drug Czar Achieves Epic Fail
October 9th, 2008 by Alex
Turns out that government agencies don’t like being called out on their absolute failures. What a surprise right? Since the ONDCP (Office of National Drug Control Policy) hasn’t come close to achieving its stated goals, the top brass has decided to just say they have and hope no one does a fact check.
People such as Scott Burns, the Deputy ONDCP Director, are saying that drug use in America is down dramatically since 2001. Hmmm, not according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
A recent article on AlterNet cites just a few of the failures of the Bush administration’s drug policy:
ONDCP has not even come close to meeting its goal of reducing illegal drug use by 25 percent by 2007 in any age group. In fact, among adults, overall illegal drug use actually increased 4.7% from 2002 to 2007. Teen marijuana use is down a bit but still remains common: One in nine (12 percent) 14- and 15-year-olds and one in four (23.7 percent) 16- and 17-year-olds used marijuana in 2007.
Nothing spells success like ~25% of teenagers having admitted to pot use! Or how about getting contradicted by your own government’s studies? Ouch.
The best part is the amount of taxpayer dollars this agency has wasted since drug czar John Walters’ ascension to the position. Here’s what the ONDCP has commissioned since the start of his reign:
- 127 anti-marijuana TV, radio and print ads
- 34 marijuana-focused press releases
- 50 studies from the ONDCP (and other govt. agencies) for anti-marijuana campaigns
All in all, this is another lesson in the manipulation of statistics. Just like the issue on marijuana busts and street pricing, the government is taking faulty data and using it to improperly shore up their anti-drug arguments.
Fight back by learning the facts.
[image via WWNYTV.net]
More On Lies, and the Lying Liars
October 2nd, 2008 by Perry
In the latest bout by federal drug enforcement officials to propagate the war on drugs, they claim to have found the largest marijuana plants, ever.
The article, brought to you by the fine people at Stopthedrugwar, goes on to further explain why some of the governments claims about marijuana busts they make, are based on street value. Moreover, the yield claims are greatly exaggerated and sometimes scientifically impossible.
Per Stopthedrugwar.org:
Cops often inflate the weight of their yield by using the fresh weight instead of the dry weight of the plants, BTW, so the most typical inflation is 400%; in other words, their alleged 10 pounds is most likely to weigh about 2.5 pounds, based on the typical cop exaggeration.
Obviously, these exaggerations make the police and their anti-drug efforts seem much more effective than they actually are. What a surprise.
You in Here for Some Marijuana? Marijuana?!
September 16th, 2008 by Perry
The FBI released annual crime statistics that counted 872,721 Americans arrested for marijuana possession in 2007. Almost 90 percent of the cases were simple possession. Even more astounding, 12 of the most populous states have medicinal marijuana laws, some where you can’t be arrested for possession.
The good folks at NORML (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws) put down the pipe long enough to do some pretty amazing calculations. The total number represents a five percent increase, from last year, and works out to about one pot smoker arrested every thirty-seven seconds.
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! – War on Drugs
August 10th, 2006 by AlexPenn & Teller are two interesting guys. One is big, loud and loves to talk. The other is small, silent and well … silent. Another one of their polar opposites is the fact they do magic tricks and, seperately, host a show that seriously debunks many of the myths perpetuated in today’s culture.
Their Showtime series ‘Bullshit!’ has covered topics from Gun Control to Abstinence and everything in-between. The episode that I’m most interested in, not surprisingly, is Bullshit! – War on Drugs. This one covers it all – how Nixon first started the “all-out offensive” with the War on Drugs, the massive political motivations, and the current $20 billion a year pricetag it’s costing the American people.
The entire episode is being hosted on Google video, so if you’ve got 30 minutes to spare I highly recommend checking it out. Not only is it packed full of interesting facts and observations, it’s also funny to see Penn get all uppity about weed.
