Capital News 9 reports "State approves beer with elf on label". The site goes on to write "Connecticut residents will be able to toast to their health this holiday season with a bottle of Seriously Bad Elf. The state Department of Consumer Protection announced Tuesday it would approve the sale of Seriously Bad Elf ale in Connecticut despite earlier concerns that the beer’s label might appeal to children. The department determined that although state regulations bar alcohol advertising with images that might entice kids, including images associated with Santa Claus, the regulations do not apply to beer labels."
Be careful, though. Seriously Bad Elf beer weighs in at a hefty 9 percent alcohol. (The label shows a seriously bad elf using a slingshot at a distant Santa and his sleigh.) Its brethren "Warm Welcome" which depicts Santa Claus coming down a chimney into a lit fire and "Santa’s Butt" which refers to a very large unit of beer (but you can image the label) both weigh in at a solid 6 percent alcohol.
Newswise reports on a small study looking at craving reduction in people with methamphetamine habits when using the antidepressant bupropion and when not.
"The research team hypothesizes that bupropion reduces the effects of methamphetamine by preventing the drug from entering brain cells, where methamphetamine can produce release of neurotransmitters that cause feelings of euphoria."
Now you can treat your depression, stop smoking and treat your meth problem with just one medication… .
George Best, one of the most gifted socccer/football players who ever played for Britain and Ireland has died at the age of 59. Sometimes called “The 5th Beatle” Best played for Manchester United and Ireland in the 1960s and 1970s. He was an alcoholic who had a liver transplant in 2002 and went back to drinking afterwards. Some comments on his death and the havoc too much alcohol wreaks on individuals and society are in the following links:
USA Today HAD a detailed article 2005.November.22 about a North Dakota conservative Republican’s efforts to allow industrial hemp to be grown in the USA. Here are some quotes:
"David Monson is a conservative Republican in North Dakota’s legislature. He’s also a farmer who believes that a new cash crop could revitalize his state’s agricultural industry, which has been suffering from poor harvests and depressed soy and corn prices. The problem: The crop coveted by Monson and hundreds of farmers like him is hemp, the same species of cannabis plant as marijuana — with virtually no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the ingredient in marijuana that makes users high. The federal government doesn’t recognize that distinction, and bans the production of hemp in the USA. It does, however, allow manufacturers of cosmetics, clothing, paper and foods to import hemp fiber, seed and oil from Canada and Europe for use in their products."
"The DEA says allowing farmers to grow hemp in the USA would undermine the war on drugs. It says marijuana growers would be able to camouflage their crop with similar-looking hemp plants, and that DEA agents would have difficulty quickly telling the difference. “Let’s not be naive,†says Tom Riley of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy. “The pro-dope people have been pushing hemp for 20 years because they know that if they can have hemp fields, then they can have marijuana fields. It’s … stoner logic.â€"
" Today, the USA is the only developed nation that has not established hemp as a crop, the Congressional Research Service says. Great Britain lifted its ban in 1993; Germany did so in 1996 and Canada followed two years later. The European Union has subsidized hemp production since the 1990s."
[2007.jun.14 - NB: theoriginal link used for this article is no longer active, although I believe you can purchase the article from USA Today Archives. Click here for a Google News search on industrial hemp.]
Northern Life of Canada HAD an extensive article on the problems the misuse of Oxycontin (aka Hillbilly Heroin) is causing for Sudbury, Canada and the efforts being worked on to remedy the problem.
As of 2007.june.14 the article is no longer available on their website. May I suggest the Wikipedia Oxycodone article as an alternative to begin learning about Oxycodone?
BBC News has an article entitled "Central Asia’s deadly cargo". Central Asia has long been a conduit for the heroin pouring out of Afghanistan, but now its population has taken to _using_ heroin. It is estimated that 1 percent of the population in the region uses heroin; three times the rate of the rest of Asia.
The Star Beacon of Ashtabula, Ohio reports on a local recycling fan’s find.
Ashtabula can be found here.
Don’t Drink and Drive, well _everybody_ knows that, but apparently Canadian teenagers could use some information about druggin’ and drivin’.
Evo Morales, the likely winner of the Bolivian presidency, has promised to de-criminalize coca growing (in addition to nationalizing natural gas).
Starting in 2003, San Francisco began providing syringes filled with Naloxone, a short-acting opiate blocker, to addicts to use on fellow users who have overdosed on opiates. The naloxone revives them, preventing death. The program is credited with saving close to 200 lives. That is important, since in California drug overdoses may soon exceed automobile deaths. New York City has also been funding a naloxone program since early 2005.
This is a _very_ nice example of a Harm Reduction approach to addiction. Social policy dealing with substance problems generally falls into one of the Three Reductions: Harm, demand and supply. A brief explanation is available here.