Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: The Greens' pretty good new drug policy

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  • Dennis Frank, in reply to andin,

    It was a broad generalisation: most of those are mostly true. The thing about playing the fool is that the play is most socially effective along the fine line that divides truly foolish behaviour from that which makes people think and invokes insights into what's going on at a deeper level.

    So that was the ancient archetype. Rulers employed fools to entertain their courts, but the courtiers (and sometimes the rulers) were often taken aback by the cutting edge evident in the social commentary uttered by the fool. The archetype danced the fool on the edge between life & death: the fool died when he cut too hard with his words. That's why comedians got too scared to do political satire after the '70s: media owners don't like criticism of themselves or their political reps.

    The prankster story made Tom Wolfe famous because it was avante garde in content, and people always want that leading-edge excitement. If Kesey had been clueless, word-of-mouth would not have snowballed sales. As for Leary, one wouldn't expect an academic to have a sense of humour - but he was right about the crucial effect of the setting of a trip. Dunno that acronym but I always take Titralac pills to eliminate indigestion fast (from any chemist)...

    New Zealand • Since Jun 2016 • 292 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    Just In Case You Were Wondering why im on the internet late.
    Fools are the best. theres a Fool tarot card.
    Its a tradition the west needs badly.
    a few egos need to be deflated at present

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Dennis Frank, in reply to andin,

    There is indeed. The reason I didn't mention it is because it represents a different archetype, that the word fool also was applied to. The tarot fool represents everyman, starting out out the road of life. Young men are so naive they often make fools of themselves by accident, eh? Then there's also many who deliberately play the fool.

    I recall the tarot picture of that fool as a young guy with his swag tied to a stick over his shoulder. I never used the system myself, but my second wife did a reading for a prominent Auckland criminal lawyer friend in the '70s, predicting something ominous about to happen to him. Next day, his baby child died of heat exhaustion while locked in a car with windows up (they were living in Queensland). Spooked my wife so much she never did another tarot reading again!

    New Zealand • Since Jun 2016 • 292 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody,

    Watched Druglawed recently and wondered why we can’t just declassify cannabis as a class B and C drug and bring it under food safety regulations for those that want to develop OTC remedies and/or other product formulations. It’s a herb with medicinal properties, after all. I just keep thinking about Suzanne Aubert and figure surely we can develop various OTC products appropriately formulated for a myriad of uses.

    Glue and petrol are likely more potentially harmful with respect to those who migrate toward them as mind altering substances. Treat that sort of abuse as the health problem it is. Trust parents to parent their children appropriately where pot is concerned – and let the State get stuck into the real killer – alcohol.

    Real evidence-based drug policy in NZ that doesn’t shout out major alcohol reform – to my mind – isn’t real evidence-based drug policy.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

  • mildgreens, in reply to Katharine Moody,

    Labour made provision for Class D, (Restricted Substances Regulations 2008). National was never going to live with it as it meant cannabis law reform. Dunne compliantly threw it out with the deliberate curve ball, PSA with animal testing!

    Class D was never found wanting... indeed David Nutt called them 'the best drug laws in the world' and when pressed as to the suitability for placing cannabis within it...emphatic ' absolutely! '

    https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=%22class+D%22+cannabis+%22restricted+substances+regulations%22&rlz=1C1KMZB_enNZ571NZ571&oq=%22class+D%22++cannabis+%22restricted+substances+regulations%22&aqs=chrome..69i57.33002j0j8&{google:bookmarkBarPinned}sourceid=chrome&{google:omniboxStartMarginParameter}ie=UTF-8

    christchurch • Since Nov 2007 • 14 posts Report Reply

  • Scott Michael Savidge,

    Let it snow! This is the best kind of drug education...

    http://uberhumor.com/nellie-celebrates-a-white-christmas-with-cocaine-drugslab

    Since Nov 2006 • 6 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Dennis Frank,

    That's why comedians got too scared to do political satire after the '70s: media owners don't like criticism of themselves or their political reps.

    NZ copyright law lacks protection for satire or parody, unlike in the US.

    Once commercial imperatives and behaviours arrived with multi-broadcaster competition, no chance this nation would get another McPhail and Gadsby or a Jon Stewart. Still needs fixing. Gareth Hughes from the Green Party has drafted a bill ..

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Katharine Moody, in reply to mildgreens,

    Interesting, didn't know that. Gee, I am so looking forward to NZ being done with Dunne in 2017.

    Wellington • Since Sep 2014 • 798 posts Report Reply

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