One picture that is worth a thousand words. The vertical axis shows how addictive the drug is, the horizontal axis – how dangerous it is.
Data source: Gable, R. S. (2006). Acute toxicity of drugs versus regulatory status. In J. M. Fish (Ed.),Drugs and Society: U.S. Public Policy, pp.149-162, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Also published at Professor Gable’s page.… -->
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Suddenly got around to watching “The Wolf of Wall Street” a couple of days ago. This junk comes highly recommended and received both good reviews and viewers’ ratings. What a disappointment! I could not make myself to finish watching it.
Is this our new hero? A drug addict, with the motto “you can do whatever you want if you have enough money”? Spare me the story of the movie, I know. Movies serve to educate and lead us to the higher ideals. What are the ideals here? That bankers and brokers are really cool? That raking in money for doing a disservice to people is the new kind of Robin Hood chivalry? The movie is not just useless, it is poisonous to the society. This is the kind of movie that makes one wish for censorship.
I think “a glass of warm spit with a hair floating” is the best fitting description for this film. I am sorry I even watched the half I did.… -->
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I came across an interesting article today that talks about various things that people get wrong when estimating the risks. Some of them I knew, some not, but what impressed me was this curious bit:
If the risks of smoking marijuana are coldly compared to those of playing high-school football, parents should be less concerned about pot smoking. Death by marijuana overdose has never been reported, while 13 teen players died of football-related injuries in 2006 alone. And marijuana impairs driving far less than the number one drug used by teens: alcohol. Alcohol and tobacco are also more likely to beget addiction, give rise to cancer, and lead to harder drug use.
Makes one wonder indeed…… -->
continue reading →Historically, farmers tended to try and defend their crops, sometimes with weapons, sometimes with the tools of trade. But this is still amazing, as Reuters reports that:
Farmers armed with assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars forced Lebanese government troops to abandon an operation to destroy their illegal cannabis crop in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley on Monday
Farmers? With mortars and rocket-propelled grenades? Those are some farmers, I tell you.… -->
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