Afghanistan Opium Poppy Production Increases 3d Consecutive Year

In their Utopian Ivory-Towered existence, the “Libertarian” response is to legalize it all, ensure purity standards, and tax it.

But then again, Libertarians oppose taxes.

They also oppose governmental regulation ensuring purity standards, along with uniform weights & measures, too.

How messed up could one political ideology be?

---

April 15, 2013

Production of Opium by Afghans Is Up Again

By ROD NORDLAND

KABUL, Afghanistan — For the third year in a row, opium cultivation has increased across Afghanistan, erasing earlier drops stemming from a decade-long international and Afghan government effort to combat the drug trade, according to a United Nations report released on Monday.

The report’s findings raised concerns among international law enforcement officials that if the trend continued, opium would be the country’s major economic activity after foreign military forces depart in 2014, leading to the specter of what one official referred to as “the world’s first true narco-state.”

Afghanistan is already the world’s largest producer of opium, and last year

NYC Seeks to Curb Painkiller Abuse With Hospital Limits

It’s only “deadly” if it’s misused or abused.

And yet, the idea is an excellent one because it limits potential for misuse and abuse by fraud.

—

New York City is seeking to curb abuse of potentially addictive and deadly painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin with new limits on how widely the drugs should be prescribed.

Emergency departments at New York’s public hospitals will only prescribe a three-day supply of opioid painkillers, won’t refill lost or stolen prescriptions and shouldn’t prescribe long-acting versions of the drugs, according to voluntary guidelines the city issued today.

The move is aimed at

Support Schools & Private Enterprise, Drink Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Whiskey

Having apparently not blogged about this, I find myself remiss that I so negligently – if inadvertently – omitted this news story… which I’m about to bash.

Before I proceed however, Alabama‘s governor, Dr. Robert J. Bentley, MD (a retired dermatologist), when he was campaigning for the office, on Thursday, June 17, 2010 vowed that, “I will forgo a salary as state representative for the rest of my term and will not accept a salary as Governor until Alabama reaches full employment.” To his credit, he has lived up to that vow, and has only accepted what is legally mandated – $1.00/month as representative, and has been reimbursed for minimal incidentals or travel-related expenses. The state’s records show he has collected about $2,100 in travel reimbursements during his term as governor. Alabama’s governor’s salary is about $112,000; and so far, as governor, he has only been paid $2 in salary.

Part of the irony of liquor, taxes and employment is that Dr. Bentley is a Southern Baptist. And for many years he has been a deacon at First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa. As a denomination, Baptists are well-known and avowed tee-totalers, who continue to badmouth beverage alcohol. I suppose in some way, they could be considered modern Prohibitionists. But here, in this scenario, Alabamians – whose population is significantly Protestant – have enjoyed the jobs and money that making whiskey provides.

I suppose, however, that the irony is not lost on others, for the Amish grow tobacco, yet eschew its use. Similarly, many religious Afghanis (most who practice Islam) have grown marijuana and/or opium poppy to provide for their households, yet use neither. The discussion of the ethics of such decisions would be fascinating – at least it would be to me.

Now, on to the news.

It’s not the news, per se, but the atrocious writing which aggrieves me so.

Actually, the plant will be near Decatur, Alabama. More specifically, it will be located in the Mallard Fox West Industrial Complex, along Alabama Highway 20 in Trinity, Alabama. The complex is located in Lawrence County, which is the adjacent county WEST of Morgan County.

Location of Mallard Fox West Industrial Complex in Lawrence, County, Alabama

But this raises another question, and it is this: If someone wrote that New York was in Los Angeles, you’d think them insane, right?

Well, why then would you not think the same for those who make such egregious errors as is so blatantly displayed in the following headline, and story?

DAMN IT, MAN!

GET IT RIGHT!

And

Uruguayan government to sell marijuana to registered buyers

The United States has spent billions up on billions in the so-called “Drug War” which was started by Richard Nixon, and over the years, the only thing it’s gotten us, is deeper in debt.

All the while, murdering narcotrafficking international criminal enterprises have arisen and grown by leaps and bounds. With them, hundreds of thousands of lives have been unnecessarily lost in the process, both innocents and those directly involved in trafficking.

Prisons have been overcrowded – worse even than sardines in a can. And that has cost us equally dearly.

Again, there are few signs that use of illicit narcotics have declined, but rather, they have increased.

And that is just in the United States, which is perceived by many – and very well may be – to be the world’s major consumer of illicit narcotics. Further, the sale of illicit narcotics – including marijuana – has funded international terrorism, including alQaeda.

Not good.

We must embark upon a path which will decrease use of illicit narcotics, which ultimately harms everyone. And to embark upon that path, we must engage in honest, and forthright dialogue. The greatest obstruction to that, is the current level of impasse in our Congress – House and Senate.

We must change.

Change, we must.

Or, we shall all perish.

—

Uruguay plan to let gov’t sell marijuana

By PABLO FERNANDEZ, Associated Press – 2 hours ago

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay’s national government said Wednesday it hopes to fight a growing crime problem by selling marijuana to citizens registered to buy it, and will send a bill to Congress that would make it the first country in the world to do so.

Under the plan, only the government would be allowed to sell marijuana and only to adults who register on a government database, letting officials keep track of their purchases over time.

Minister of Defense Eleuterio Fernandez Huidobro told reporters in Montevideo that

New images emerge of Miami Cannibal attack

Warning: You’ve probably seen graphic photographs before… right?

However, American media outlets rarely ever assault our sensibilities with such. They leave that to their regular programming.

This horrible tragedy was caused, no doubt, by the sudden cataclysmic loss of one’s mental faculties brought on by smoking so-called “bath salts.”

So, here’s to the “let’s legalize drugs” crowd.

Enjoy.

—

Graphic image shows Miami cannibal and his blood-soaked victim seconds after grisly attack

• Image shows scene moments after Rudy Eugene was shot for refusing to stop eating Ronald Poppo’s face
• First images of Poppo since attack also released
• Nose is missing and face is covered with scabs
• May be blind after losing one eye in the attack and sustaining severe damage to the other
• But is walking and talking and asking for pizza

By Rachel Quigley and Lydia Warren

PUBLISHED: 11:27 EST, 13 June 2012 | UPDATED: 12:19 EST, 13 June 2012

A graphic new image shows the grisly scene just moments after the Miami cannibal was shot dead by police as he chewed off a homeless man’s face.

It shows Rudy Eugene lying naked in a pool of blood next to his victim Ronald Poppo, who was attacked as he slept by a busy highway.

Poppo, whose head is drenched in blood, is naked below the waist after Eugene stripped off his trousers before

A True Tale of a Good Man Gone Bad… Gone Good

A Jail Guard’s Tale of His Journey to Inmate

June 3, 2012, 4:26 pm, By COREY KILGANNON

Gary Heyward, once a Rikers Island guard, in Harlem selling copies of his book recounting his experiences. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)

Gary Heyward stood on 125th Street in Harlem, not far from the Apollo Theater, wearing a jumpsuit that was half blue and half orange.

Mr. Heyward, 44, had this odd-looking uniform specially made — part prison guard, part inmate — to illustrate that at Rikers Island, where he worked as a corrections officer from 1997 to 2006, he went from cop to criminal.

“One day you’re taking the count and the next day you’re in the count,” he said, referring to the jails’ regular head counts of inmates.

This abrupt transition is precisely the angle of his new book, a self-published paperback called “Corruption Officer: Perpetrator With a Badge.”

It is a raunchy tell-all and a critical portrayal of Rikers Island, where

Californians Speak: 50% Oppose Marijuana Legalization for Recreational Use

Proponents of marijuana legalization assert such things as “marijuana never killed anyone,” “no one ever crashed their car while on marijuana,” and other such nonsense.

Numerous records exist that prove otherwise. One such case is the unfortunate & preventable 2004 tragedy involving Lisa Torti, the Los Angelino who pulled her friend Alexandra Van Horn from her wrecked car, which also resulted in Miss Van Horn’s permanent paralysis.  It was colloquially referred to as a test or invalidation of the 1980 Emergency Medical Service Act, sometimes called California‘s Good Samaritan Act.

Court records indicate – such information can also be found in various news reports – that Misses Torti and Van Horn had both smoked marijuana and consumed beverage alcohol before that fateful event.

Concerning other negative health effects of marijuana usage, there are indisputable, verifiable, long-term, scientifically valid medical & health studies that conclusively prove a positive correlation, cause-and-effect for increased risk of schizophrenia with marijuana use.

In other words, smoke dope, and you risk losing your mind. It’s not hype, nor is it the assertion of a poorly made B Hollywood movie.

Yeah.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Marijuana and Schizophrenia – A Clear and Unmistakable Link… ignored in America

posted Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Marijuana Use Increases Psychosis Risk

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

In this nation, we are long overdue for a genuine discussion of behavior and mental health.

In some cases – for one reason or another – people turn to substance abuse (which can be of illegal or legal substances, including food), or irrational behavior to cope or deal with the problems of their lives. Substance abuse only serves to amplify behaviors or problems, and they certainly don’t lessen their severity.

If we were to address such root issues of human behavior, we could genuinely advance this nation, drive down criminality & incarceration associated with the production, sale & consumption of illicit substances, increase individual & national productivity, and so much more.

But only if we move forward… and that does not mean to “take the nation back.”

—

USC DORNSIFE / TIMES POLL

Most California voters don’t support legalizing pot, poll finds

Eighty percent support doctor-recommended marijuana use for severe illness, a poll finds. But only 46% support legalization of ‘general or recreational use by adults.’

By Joe Mozingo, Los Angeles Times

May 31, 2012

In California, cradle of the marijuana movement, a new poll has found a majority of voters do not support legalization, even as they overwhelmingly back medicinal use for “patients with terminal and debilitating conditions.”

Secret Service Investigating ex-Rocker Ted Nugent for Terrorist Remarks against the President

Ex-rocker Ted Nugent made some violent, extremely vitriolic and blatantly ignorant remarks at at the National Rifle Association‘s 2012  Annual Meetings in St. Louis on April 14, 2012. He was speaking to Cam Edwards and took questions from NRA members.

Specifically, the most virulent remark he made concerning the security of the leader of the free world was that ”If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will be either be dead or in jail by this time next year.” 

His extremist remarks have now apparently garnered the attention of the United States Secret Service, which is charged with protection of the president.

The Secret Service takes all such threats against the president‘s life seriously, and investigates them all, because at their heart, they are terrorist threats.

It is a violation of federal law to threaten the president.

Specifically, 18 USC § 871 – “Threats against President and successors to the Presidency” – addresses that crime.

The New Yorker Magazine reported Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 10:17AM EDT that “a spokesman for the Secret Service tells us, “We are aware of it, and we’ll conduct an appropriate follow up.”"

Popularly known as “The Motor City Madman,” it is also well documented that Mr. Nugent

Smuggler’s Blues: Mexican Narco-traffickers trick the unsuspecting

¡Advertencia! Los traficantes de drogas son los trabajos de publicidad para los conductores que cruzan a los Estados Unidos. No sea una víctima de la trampa de los contrabandistas!

That’s the Spanish translation to:

“Warning! Drug traffickers are advertising jobs for drivers to cross to the United States. Don’t be a victim of the smugglers’ trap!“

It’s the message that the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency is paying Mexican newspaper publishers to be printed in a Tijuana newspaper for 30 days at a cost of US$2000.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents

Unsuspecting though leery, some are falling prey to Mexican narco-traffickers ploy to smuggle illicit narcotics into the U.S.

It may be money well spent, since the costs associated with each arrest – incarceration, trial, etc. – far exceed the cost of advertising.

—

Mexican cartels trick border crossers into being drug mules

By Marty Graham

SAN DIEGO, California | Sun Apr 15, 2012 5:34pm EDT

(Reuters) – The Mexican help wanted ads offer a quick $500 for a simple job – drive a car into California on an errand for an “important business” organization.

But the new boss may be a drug cartel and the cargo may not be vital papers, or even money, but illegal narcotics. Hidden in the car could be marijuana, cocaine and methamphetamines that, if found by law enforcement, could land the driver in prison for many years.

The drug traffickers’ ruse has

Pat Robertson: Legalize Marijuana, because “this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”

What a shocker!

Reckon he’s been toking?

Read on!

Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal

By JESSE McKINLEY

Published: March 7, 2012

Of the many roles Pat Robertson has assumed over his five-decade-long career as an evangelical leader — including presidential candidate and provocative voice of the right wing — his newest guise may perhaps surprise his followers the most: marijuana legalization advocate.

Photo by: Clem Britt/Associated Press

Pat Robertson, center, has taken a surprising stance after his long career as an evangelical leader.

Related

• Times Topics: Marijuana and Medical Marijuana | Pat Robertson

Connect With Us on Twitter

Follow @NYTNational for breaking news and headlines.

Twitter List: Reporters and Editors

“I really believe we should treat marijuana the way we treat beverage alcohol,” Mr. Robertson said in an interview on Wednesday. “I’ve never used marijuana and I don’t intend to, but it’s just one of those things that I think: this war on drugs just hasn’t succeeded.”

Mr. Robertson’s remarks echoed statements he made last week on “The 700 Club,” the signature program of his Christian Broadcasting Network, and other comments he made in 2010. While those earlier remarks were