Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: Fear of Cycling, in reply to
What I do try to make a point of doing is thanking them as I roll past. Maybe it will make them happier to share in the future.
I do this too: if anyone makes way for me, I thank them as I go past, ideally making eye contact. I think it's important.
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Hard News: What the wastewater tells us…, in reply to
This is actually what bugged me about the Proceeds of Crime cash going to yet more helicopter recovery.
It makes a good press release, but it’s hugely expensive and while it might cause some short-term supply reduction, it does not at all reduce the use of cannabis or make that use safer.
It also makes for soft, easy targets – someone who’s growing for medical in the Waitakeres (this actually happened to people last year)). And meanwhile, the organised criminals prepared to take the risk of setting up industrial grows in warehouses continue to produce most of the weed that Auckland consumes. They’re still in a more risky business than meth dealers, of course.
It really doesn’t make sense.
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Hard News: What the wastewater tells us…, in reply to
Outright incredible that the byproducts of 600g of any substance is detectable in the hundreds of millions of liters of wastewater produced in Auckland daily.M
It is, huh? But this is a well-established form of sampling these days.
Also incredible to think that the entire daily consumption of P in Auckland could fit in an old pint-sized milk bottle. No wonder it’s so compelling to deal in the stuff.
Quite. Compare and contrast to bulky, smelly, takes-ages-and-heaps-of-electricity-to-grow marijuana. The relative business case is fairly compelling.
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Hard News: What the wastewater tells us…, in reply to
Ritalin isn’t an amphetamine, it isn’t even a phenylamine, so unlikely to test similarly.
You're right! I'd somehow thought it was technically an amphetamine, but I was wrong.
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Hard News: What the wastewater tells us…, in reply to
Ah, that makes sense. Cheers.
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Hard News: What the wastewater tells us…, in reply to
Is Ritalin a methamphetamine?
I forgot to ask Chris about that, but I think it would be picked up as an amphetamine (which were fairly prevalent, in about 60% of samples), not methamphetamine.
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Hard News: Fear of Cycling, in reply to
Sheesh, how many cyclists have a bell to give a little ping? When I’m out walking (on a shared track) and cyclists are approaching from behind the answer would appear to be … none. (I have one on my own bike and use it.)
I actually keep meaning to fit one of the two I have to my new bike. It solves the problem of what warning to shout when you're approaching someone looking the other way.
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Hard News: What the wastewater tells us…, in reply to
I’d assume that since typical LSD doses are physically about a thousand times less than most other drugs, then detection would be a substantial challenge.
Yes, I thought that would have been the reason too.
What I’d be interested in is whether the researchers have considered using commonly prescribed drugs (ACE inhibitors, or antibiotics, for instance) as a baseline reference for dispersal levels in the sewage system – the usage levels should be obtainable from DHBs or Pharmac and could be compared with metabolite levels.
The Police/ESR wastewater study uses creatinine as a control, but I'm not sure what that involves.
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Hard News: Fear of Cycling, in reply to
True enough, bikes are classified as vehicles (as anyone who’s been pulled over for a DIC of a bike knows).
So I am to take that you have been? That would be interesting.
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