Toxicity of Illicit Substances
March 30th, 2007 by Alex
An interesting article from the American Scientist was published that discusses the ratio of a fatal does to effective dose of almost all the illicit drugs on the market today.
It’s a thought-provoking concept that gives you a visual understanding of the toxicity of many of the drugs we consume today.
As you can see, alcohol is a lot more toxic than most people realize, while marijuana is as non-toxic a substance as you’ll ever come across.
Let’s see what the article has to say on this subject:
The least physiologically toxic substances, those requiring 100 to 1,000 times the effective dose to cause death, include psilocybin mushrooms and marijuana, when ingested. I’ve found no published cases in the English language that document deaths from smoked marijuana, so the actual lethal dose is a mystery. My surmise is that smoking marijuana is more risky than eating it but still safer than getting drunk.
A simple ratio such as this exposes a large problem in the United States, the least toxic substance know to man is now illegal, and the major cause behind the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
I wonder how long simple, scientific evidence such as this is going to be ignored?
[via The Daily Dish]
Peru Narcotics Destruction
March 29th, 2007 by Alex
Since we showed everyone how Macedonia gets down when it comes to destroying narcotics, we might as well keep the trend going.
This photoset shows police in Peru burning large amounts of various illegal drugs. To be exact, over 5 tons of cocaine, marijuana, opium and heroin.
This batch covers the last 4 months of Peru’s law enforcement efforts.
More pictures after the jump.
T.H. Seeds: The Leafblower
March 28th, 2007 by AlexFor anyone who dreams of going to a Cannabis Cup and the wondrous activities that may await there, this video is for you.
T.H. Seeds take a little bit of McGyver style know-how and combine it with the anniversary edition of their high-quality strain HP 13.
I’ve been smoked out plenty of times, but these guys take the phrase literally and proceed to decimate a large number of people with their potent buds. On top of that, you get to see and hear a few choice pieces of knowledge from one of the most respected seed banks in the world.
The Streets: The Irony of It All
March 20th, 2007 by AlexHere’s a music video that many of you might not have seen from a UK bloke called The Streets.
This track is off his debut album in 2002 and, regardless of whether you dig the music or not, sends a strong message on the current dichotomy created by governments across the world.
While alcohol is heavily consumed and responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year, it still remains legal with a positive societal stigma. Marijuana, on the other hand, is generally safer than alcohol yet still illegal and constantly associated with negative stigmas.
Even though music artists aren’t necessarily the best people to be taking advice from, The Streets paints himself as someone who can portray both sides of an argument to get his point across.
4 Million Euro Worth of Drugs Destroyed
March 20th, 2007 by Alex
Ever wonder how Eastern European authorities destroy large amounts of seized narcotics? Me neither.
Just in case you’re still interested, here’s a quick photoset from Macedonia involving tons of drugs, a steel mill and temperatures hot enough to melt the Terminator 1000.
So what exactly was destroyed? Only 150 kilos of hashish, 250 kilos of marijuana, 80 kilos of heroin, 30,000 ecstasy pills and 16 kilos of cocaine worth a street value of almost 4 million Euro.
See more pictures after the jump.
Ed Rosenthal One Step Closer
March 20th, 2007 by Alex
It’s been covered by more than enough news publications, but a story like this is worth re-telling. Ed Rosenthal, longtime marijuana activist and the Guru of Ganja, has taken a large step towards winning his current legal struggle with the United States.
The highly documented one-day prison sentence and resulting appeal of his drug convictions from 2003 are well in the past.
Currently, the United States has brought a case against Mr. Rosenthal that is for all intents and purposes the exact same issue as before, except with additional charges of tax and money laundering heaped on top. Two days ago, the Honorable Judge Charles R. Breyer threw out those charges on the basis of “vindictive prosecution.”
Score one for the good guys.
Additionally, Judge Breyer has urged the government to reconsider its charges against the Ganga Guru and drop their case. The simple question was tendered, “whether it makes sense to go forward with the marijuana prosecution” in light of the judge’s obvious position on this trial.
Score two for the good guys.
It’ll be very interesting to see how the federal prosecutors will handle this current setback after being so thoroughly defeated the last time they tangled with Ed.
You can be sure we’ll keep everyone up to date.
Pot Odor Not Grounds for Search
March 11th, 2007 by Alex
The AP is reporting on a ruling in Utah that might have some lasting repercussions with police forces across America.
In the case of Bernadette Duran vs. the Carbon County Police, the Utah Supreme Court ruled 4 - 1 against the legality of seizure without a warrant, purely based upon the odor of marijuana emanating from the residence.
The general belief behind the ruling, is that if the Utah Supreme Court ruled that entry and seizure without a warrant (purely based on odor) was legal, police would feel “empowered” to check for other crimes on baseless assumptions. In other words, search an underage teenager for cigarettes if their clothes smelled like smoke or other liberty-eroding processes.
This ruling will be noted by police across the country, and make them think twice before attempting search & seizures on such subjective evidence.
Still, don’t go blazing in a parking lot and expect the police to just look the other way and leave you alone. There’s a difference…
Don’t Fuck with John Popper
March 9th, 2007 by Alex
John Popper and his pal Brian Gourgeois were arrested in Washington state for driving 111 mph.
Ok, people speed, fair enough. Then they found that John likes to partake in marijuana, as they found a small amount of pot and a pipe in his car. Then they found out that John likes to shoot things, is afraid of an upcoming apocalypse and perhaps likes to hunt humans at night.
It’s cool to collect guns, but bringing enough fire power to arm a Ugandan warlord might just be pushing the envelope. When police officers had a drug dog search his SUV, they found:
- 4 rifles
- 9 handguns
- 1 switchblade
- 1 taser
- 1 pair of nightvision goggles
- flashing emergency headlights
- a siren
- a public address system
John informed police that he installed all of these items into his car in preparation for a natural disaster.
I don’t know what sort of natural disasters strike Washington state, but usually things like emergency rations, communications equipment, candles, generators and clothing are what people stockpile. Not rifles, tasers and nightvision goggles.
John’s car was impounded and the Washington state police are charging him with misdemeanors. Perhaps he’s giving them the “Run Around?”
[Photos via Washington State Patrol/AP]
