Posts by Katharine Moody
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Hard News: Synthetic cannabis: it just…, in reply to Rosemary McDonald,
When discussions are being had about drug reform….consideration MUST be given to the children of drug users…the innocents.
Extremely important. I have to admit that I'm a very anti-alcohol person - simply because of the level of violence that I perceive to be attributed to its effects. I do wonder however, whether we have any empirical evidence of social costs (domestic violence related police call outs, emergency admissions, petty crime etc.) split by the following categories:
Incidents committed by persons under the influence of alcohol only.
Incidents committed by persons under the influence of cannabis only.
Incidents committed by persons under the influence of both alcohol + cannabis.
Incidents committed by persons under the influence of other substances or a combination of other plus alcohol and/or cannabis.As a means to approach these questions in an evidence-based manner. I just don't think we can look at drug reform without having this sort of clear evidence on which to make objective decisions.
I guess my point is - anyone seriously under the influence of just about anything is unlikely to put the needs of their children first, but physical and psychological violence against children must be the central tenet of any drug reform/policy.
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Hard News: Synthetic cannabis: it just…, in reply to Alfie,
Almost certainly. Campbell Live ran numerous interviews with synthetic users, and all of them said they’d prefer to smoke the real thing, if not for the illegality and drug testing.
So, if we legalise the plant, do we also have to amend drug testing practices? What I'm wondering is, can you drink a modest amount of alcohol on the weekend and still pass a workplace drug test on Monday? And what is the case with THC in your system? Are the sensitivity levels for each of these substances prescribed in legislation?
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I thought the initial interest/development of the synthetic product wasn’t so much because it was legal, but rather because it was thought to be undetectable in workplace drug tests.. And I also thought the type of high produced between the two was quite different as well.
So, for someone that understands these substances better, my question is: would legalising the cannabis plant necessarily stem the continued interest/use of synthetics?
My worry is – if we don’t legalise the plant soon – plant users who would prefer not to, might find themselves moving to synthetics because the present producers stop producing the plant (given cultivation is more difficult/higher cost than synthetic formulation).
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I think in the US anyway - this is the lady who will make the difference;
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-05/why-elizabeth-warren-makes-wall-street-tremble
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While the U.S. government loves to target and imprison small time so-called “money launderers” such Bitcoin pioneer Charlie Shrem, the real money launderers, the ones who help drug cartels and pump criminally sourced money into foreign real estate thus pricing out domestic populations worldwide, face no consequences whatsoever.
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Hard News: Dirty Politics, in reply to Alfie,
While most countries have national treasures, we’re stuck with a National embarrassment.
Sad. He comes across like a used car salesman.
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And when it suits them, this Government denies the opportunity for user-pays or polluter-pays options to resolve our environmental issues, e.g.;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/news/68001282/wellington-joins-auckland-in-call-for-motorway-tolls
Much more satisfactory to force local authorities into a UAGC (universal annual general charge), as Len Brown has announced today - as it is the most regressive form of taxation available.
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Just received this in my FB feed re-posted by my sister-in-law back home;
I get this sort of stuff in my feed regularly given I've got lots of family there. I say nothing - as the brainwashing is just too complete.
How long before the US becomes a failed state, I wonder;
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Hard News: Behind Baltimore, in reply to Russell Brown,
The film touches on it, but the New Yorker's staggering 2013 story is the go-to.
That was a hard read - excruciating in fact. And I'm not a victim of the injustice .. it just boggles the mind to think how many of these victims still remain patriotic to 'the American dream'.
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Hard News: Behind Baltimore, in reply to Howard Edwards,
there is no US Police Force
As I understand it, you are right there - and each local police force is funded by property taxes in the main, I believe. So, terms of employment are likely to differ - but the sentencing regime is determined federally - hence the judiciary is co-opted on a nationwide basis.