Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: What the kids do

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  • Lucy Stewart,

    that the last, plodding half hour in which the sole survivor is brought to Jesus by the hot guy from Twilight is almost unwatchably dull.

    And "brought to Jesus" tells you all you need to know about the motivations of the people making it. "Reasoned judgement of risk" is not generally a part of that sort of agenda.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Lucy Stewart,

    And “brought to Jesus” tells you all you need to know about the motivations of the people making it. “Reasoned judgement of risk” is not generally a part of that sort of agenda.

    Indeed. But I couldn't find any track record of that sort of film on the part of the producers -- the director comes from making music videos. I can only conclude that a Christian group put up the money but wanted to stay in the background.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    feckless suburban dairy owners.

    As in some poor sod who’s struggled to escape poverty/war/dictatorship somewhere in South Asia (said issues being something that we in the developed world can take a lot of the blame for). They’ve managed to move here and found that their qualifications are useless, most employers won’t look at people without “NZ experience” and their best bet is some form of self-employment that works around that.

    So they put all their cash together and manage to buy a corner shop and work all hours trying to carve out a niche against corporations and multinationals with the power of bulk-buying and cross subsidy. Are you surprised that they might want to sell anything that’s legal and people want to buy?

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic,

    The recent spate of binge deaths at places like King's goes to show that the Stepford veneer is peeling away. When I went to a certain 'decile 11' college in ChCh all those years back, seven of my classmates - among them bullies I personally knew - got nabbed and suspended for smoking pot at an after-ball party.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Stewart,

    Seems like decriminalisation of marijuana would be the easiest and most sensible route to take on this. It would cause a drop in demand for Kronic & other herb-substitutes, reduce gang profits as well as showing that the government can make reasoned decisions.

    So fark-all chance of that happening, eh?

    Te Ika A Maui - Whakatane… • Since Oct 2008 • 577 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Russell Brown,

    I can only conclude that a Christian group put up the money but wanted to stay in the background.

    Production company details on IMDb:

    - Dolce Cielo Productions
    - Vicious Content Films
    - TLE Productions

    Insufficient data so far.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    and Bowden – the chair and spokesman for Stanz – continues to put JWH-018 in the Kronic product.

    Anyone following Mr. Bowden of late can have little doubt he has gone totally troppo.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • Stephen Judd, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    If this site had favourites/like buttons, I would "like" this comment of RoO's about a squillion times.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 3122 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi,

    I think anyone who wants to talk about the evils of drugs in public should be forced to watch Brass Eye ’s special on “the new superdrug, Cake”:

    ETA: Looks like embedding is disabled for this video, you can watch the clip here.

    At the very least, it’d stop some of the more over-the-top grandstanding.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report Reply

  • Clint Fern, in reply to Andre Alessi,

    I reckon you could get a NZ politician to 'do an Amess' and raise the issue of a made-up drug in parliament. Katrina Shanks / Paul Quinn would be pretty likely to do it.

    Nelson • Since Jul 2010 • 64 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Rich of Observationz,

    So they put all their cash together and manage to buy a corner shop and work all hours trying to carve out a niche against corporations and multinationals with the power of bulk-buying and cross subsidy. Are you surprised that they might want to sell anything that’s legal and people want to buy?

    Fair enough. When I said "feckless" I was more thinking of the dairy owners who are selling to kids, and they do demonstrably exist. I do remain strongly of the view that suburban dairies are not the place for this product to be sold, and certainly not with large point of sale displays.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi,

    There's a dairy right next to Westlake Girls' that has Kronic quite conspicuously on display behind the counter. I wouldn't have even noticed it if not for the recent publicity. I've never actually seen the owners sell to schoolkids, but you can't swing a cat in that place without hitting someone in school uniform so I imagine it'd be a fairly irresistible temptation to do so.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark, in reply to Russell Brown,

    I agree. There are certain products that have no place in a dairy - plastic bags of shit food are one, and anything even remotely "druggy" is another.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • Kumara Republic, in reply to Russell Brown,

    When I said "feckless" I was more thinking of the dairy owners who are selling to kids, and they do demonstrably exist.

    There have been police stings catching underage selling in the act, and not just 'drugs' either. Such dairy owners anecdotally claim gang intimidation in their defence, but there's no police evidence to back that up.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report Reply

  • Clint Fern, in reply to Jackie Clark,

    The thing I found most bizarre in recent times at the local dairy was when the owner put up advertising for Cocaine – the caffeine drink.

    The dairy owner is a friend, originally from Gujarat, who also sells Kronic. I’m pretty sure knowing him that he would not sell (knowingly) to under 18s but theft is possible. Being a vegan to him maybe the worst thing is having to sell meat pies, but margins being what they are he’ll sell anything that hes allowed to. Being in a nice part of Nelson, there really aren’t the issues to the same extent as the urban centres – the big problem here at the moment is alcohol fuelled violence.

    Nelson • Since Jul 2010 • 64 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Clint Fern,

    he would sell (knowingly)

    Are you missing a :"not" in there?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Clint Fern,

    I reckon you could get a NZ politician to 'do an Amess' and raise the issue of a made-up drug in parliament. Katrina Shanks / Paul Quinn would be pretty likely to do it.

    Sounds like it's time for a dihydrogen monoxide campaign!

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • nzlemming, in reply to Andre Alessi,

    I think anyone who wants to talk about the evils of drugs in public should be forced to watch Brass Eye ’s special on “the new superdrug, Cake

    That's a fooking disgrace by some sick bastids.

    Waikanae • Since Nov 2006 • 2937 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    It's worth noting that synthetic cannabis products have been on sale in New Zealand for nearly a decade, from specialist outlets. The problem has really arisen through Kronic's owners pushing it into suburban dairies and, more recently, the priceless promotion of panicky media stories.

    I'm personally more concerned about the insiduous rise in the use of Panikk (or to use the full scientific name: MoralPanikk-2011).

    Used and pushed heavily by media employees and politicians, the active ingredient of this drug cleverly binds on to matters of some concern, but amplifies and distorts the perceptions of the user to the extent that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to tell reality from fantasy. Users become confused and incoherent, and can have difficulty coming to logical conclusions when presented with simple fact scenarios. Although not itself physically addictive, reports from heavy users in the media and politics describe experiencing a 'power rush' when using Panikk, which leads them to repeated use in order to maintain their high. One other common side-effect is a paranoid and hysterical obsession with the welfare of minors.

    There have been limited successes in countering the effects of Panikk by heavy doses of Hard Science. However, there has been some difficulty with delivery.

    If you suspect your parents of being under the influence of Panikk, talk to them gently in a soothing low voice, and get them to sit down and relax while you make them a nice cup of tea.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    It's obvious that the drug of choice by a long way is alcohol.

    Emma: "There is definitely a binge-drinking culture. If you're going to be drinking, you're drinking to get drunk."

    The chairman of King's College board of governors, Peter Ferguson, says the drinking age should be raised, but the students doubt such a law change would have any impact on their alcohol use.

    This is ringing all kinds of deja vu bells. Binge drinking culture......sure sounds familiar.

    "It is an experimental time in your life and there is always going to be some experimentation. No one is going to deny youth are using them and some youth are abusing them but it's not solely a youth thing. I think it's society's problem."

    Yeah. So can we do something about it instead of making everything illegal!
    I have a few suggestions but what's the point. Some people have whipped themselves into a frenzy and the worlds going to end...as well.

    Andrew, 16: "The reason people take pills is you don't care about tomorrow. It gives you that feeling of happiness where you just want to be happy for that time. You're not worried about anything else in your life."

    Yes and its more the stress of life that is becoming the problem, rather than the human (Iwould say) need, for all the moralists its weakness, to experience altered states. Ever see the buzz a child gets out of making itself dizzy?
    We are all born with more than one voice in our head, why are we trying to deny it? The moralistic approach is not working. And (I'm going for overreach here) those kids better rest and recreate 'cause the future might demand more of them that it did of their parents.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • Lyndon Hood,

    while you make them a nice cup of tea.

    Vaguely related, there’s a lovely bit in the Mark Steel lecture on Thomas Paine riffing the idea of illicit tea smuggling, mostly based around what un-tea-drinker-like behaviour it would be.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1115 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock, in reply to Lyndon Hood,

    I've seen it done with coffee as well, which almost has a built-in suitable terminology: 'anyone got any [filter] papers?', 'I've been ripped off - this is decaff', etc, etc.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Patrick Xavier,

    I thought this review of the commercialisation involved was interesting, including our name check:

    Synthetic marijuana first gained popularity in the European Union in 2006; at least 21 member countries reported its presence in 2009. (While the U.S. and many countries have begun to outlaw these products, at least one, New Zealand, has gone the other way. In March, government authorities announced a plan to make the sale of products with JWH-018 and -073 legal for anyone 18 and over.)

    Since Nov 2006 • 49 posts Report Reply

  • Mikaere Curtis,

    I do remain strongly of the view that suburban dairies are not the place for this product to be sold, and certainly not with large point of sale displays.

    I recently spent 10 mins waiting for takeaways at a suburban stripmall, so had a bit of time to take in my surroundings. The dairy had all available windowspace covered in ads for Kronic* and other drugs. When accessability is this high, the surface area for potential problems increases; as Chris Fowlie says, it clearly needs to be moved into specialist shops.

    That being said, I'm a lot more exercised about reports from friends around their 13 year-old daughters getting invited to parties of other kids in the same age group where the parents holding the party are supplying the kids with alcohol. I mean, a party of 16 year-olds and I can see the argument - but 13 ? FFS, nothing good will come of that.

    * My mates tried it - they said it was like cabbage, and couldn't see the point.

    Tamaki Makaurau • Since Nov 2006 • 528 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown, in reply to Mikaere Curtis,

    I mean, a party of 16 year-olds and I can see the argument – but 13 ? FFS, nothing good will come of that.

    That is staggering.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

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