Slog - Comments on This Week on Drugs http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6 Philly: Bans blunt wraps. Military Recruiters: Helping hippies pass drug tests. Italy: Can't give cocaine the boot. Fair Trade: Left nut for coffee, say guys. Tennessee Commissioner: I was a teenage dealer. Painkillers: Killing more than pain in Washington. Scientists: Marijuana-like substance could park Parkinson's Hemp Farm Plans: Burned. Pole Position: Nude skier allegedly spotted playing with his pipe.... Copyright 2008 Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:25:50 -0800 Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:26:16 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Morgan Anna Nicole Smith: Chokes on her own vomit after taking pills.

]]> Morgan http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c623724 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c623724 News Fri, 09 Feb 2007 10:57:57 -0800 Comment by Will in Seattle No, that was Jimi Hendrix.

But I should point out the marijuana-like substance is not what you think it is. It is in fact a canniboid, but you would have to take a THC molecule and do something TO it to make it a treatment for Parkinson's disease AND take another drug at the same time (what we call a combo drug).

So getting high is not going to help you. Except it may make you think you're better. But that's just your mind playing tricks on you.

]]> Will in Seattle http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c623818 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c623818 News Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:49:03 -0800 Comment by Dougsf Hemp Farming:

First, let me state that I think banning industrial hemp farming is completely assignine, and there's probably some truth to the agri-business conspiracy rumours that led to making it illegal in the first place.

But really, what is the need for industrial hemp? I know what it's potential uses are, but has it ever proven economically viable? It's really hard find info that's, ehem, unclouded by Marijuana supporters (which I would also support naturally, but think these are very seperate issues). Didn't Brittish Columbia support industrial hemp farming and it was a whopping failure?

Honest questions, promise.

]]> Dougsf http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c624314 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c624314 News Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:02:26 -0800 Comment by Dominic Holden That's a short question with a long answer, but here it is in a nutshell: Hemp is a more sustainable, more productive, and less environmentally harmful crop than most of the alternatives. Furthermore, it makes strong fabric and healthy food -- when processed correctly. Otherwise it's itchy and gross.

Google will provide you a bunch of resources, of course, but here's one of my favorite articles on the subject: http://hempfest.org/facts.php.

]]> Dominic Holden http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c624386 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c624386 News Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:43:05 -0800 Comment by Jamey "Economically viable?"
Yes. An emphatic YES.
I figure that most people reading the Slog weren't around during the Second World War era, so it's not suprising that the only knowledge we have on the subject of hemp economics is based on "reefer madness." But look into a little history. The Hempfest info is good but the link above is bad. Remove the full stop, and you'll find the right page. A quote from the article: "Hemp played a major role in the stabilization and economy of our nation for many decades."

About the military recruitment "investigation" >>
I understand that these local TV news stations do these exposé-type stories for ratings, and most of them are ridiculous... this one is no different. I enlisted in the Navy back 1996, and by that time the armed forces policy on drugs was fully in "zero-tolerance" mode. But the recruiters' attitudes were exactly the same. There shouldn't be anything surprising about this. These guys know how the system works. And they know that casual drug use, especially marijuana use, is not a big deal. In the 80s, the Navy guys used to smoke it out at sea! The recruiters are just being straight with their potential recruits. It's a shady business, recruiting, but that's the way it is. This is a non-story.

]]> Jamey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c626073 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c626073 News Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:20:53 -0800 Comment by Jamey BTW, I know some folks in uniform can get some great hash in the mideast. The reality on the ground is so far removed from a local TV exposé.

]]> Jamey http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c626113 http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/02/this_week_on_drugs_6#c626113 News Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:26:16 -0800