Link with 1 note
People like to think of STDs as not their problem because “they don’t have sex with anyone that has those kinds of diseases,” but the reality is that STDs are everyone’s problem because some can be transmitted non-sexually, no one is immune to sexual assault, and even if you are faithful, you can’t be sure your partner is. Plenty of people have ended up with STD problems they thought they were immune to so everyone should pay attention to these trends.
Drug resistant diseases are growing at an alarming rate and most of them aren’t STDs. Antibiotics need to be much more tightly controlled and used sparingly and more research needs to go into creating better drugs that can fight these new diseases. This would be a much better use of resources than the largely ineffective war on drugs that so many countries are waging.
Source: Wired
This is concerning, but I have a bias against tylenol so am probably too keen to jump on the band wagon on anything anti-tylenol. I have never found it to be an effective drug as a pain killer and no better than average as a fever reducer. Since it is well documented to be hard on the liver, I have been annoyed for years that it is a key component to almost any cold or flu tablet. However, a link between asthma and tylenol is particularly concerning since for decaded doctors have recommended kids take tylenol over any other pain killer or fever reducer. As an asthma sufferer, I have to wonder has the tylenol made it any worse over the years? I am sure it is not a main cause of asthma, but any asthmatic will tell you that it is in their best interest to avoid anything that could worsen the condition.
Link with 3 notes
I really am bothered that this information has not been more widely distributed though I have heard that there have been advertisements in the US that mention it. I have taken Allegra (Telfast in Australia) for more than 10 years and I just learned about this interaction. You also don’t want to take Allegra within two hours of any stomach medicine because that also makes it less effective.
Allegra is still the best drug to control my allergies for me, but I really wish I had known about this interaction years ago.
This does not surprise me, but I do think it is sad that police officers can not enjoy the freedom of speech that most Americans enjoy without risking their jobs. I guess if I was to be completely honest, many Americans would be risking their jobs to speak publicly questioning policies by their upper management, but it seems a bit more problematic not to be able to speak up against government policies. I also think that it is very interesting that the number of former law enforcement officers who will now openly state that they thing the War of Drugs has been a failure has risen so much. I wonder how many American people including these officers that have been on the front line of the Drug War it will take before the government also admits the current system is not working and is willing to consider more reasonable and effective alternatives?
Link with 8 notes
I find this a bit bizarre and unexpected, but rather good news overall. I would much rather folks be smoking weed at home that racing around on the roads drunk. I don’t understand why the government has been so anti-Marijuana when the science does not back it up as being anymore harmful than the legal drugs that Americans consume in large quantities.
Link with 31 notes
This is a bizarre case study, but I do not think it is particularly useful for scientists and doctors trying to gain a better understanding of ecstasy taken under more normal usage patterns. I am pretty sure that if you took 25 tablets of any single drug for that long you would have some permanent psychological damage. Anything is toxic in high enough quantities, even water.
I do think it is interesting how much ecstasy has been studied, and yet there still are not clear results as to how dangerous it is, what long term side effects are likely, if it creates permanent damage. I wonder if since it is a brain chemistry altering drug the effects vary greatly from person to person. I think pharmacology is going to move more from the attitude of one drug fits all to custom tailored drugs depending on individual body chemistry as more of people’s genetic makeup can be understood and processed quickly and cheaply.
Link with 27 notes
This article is a few months old, but I just ran across it when I saw the more current article on Rick Scott’s view of liberal arts majors. I have to say that I don’t completely object to the premise of this experiment though intuitively I wouldn’t put the majority of drug users on welfare anyway because drugs are expensive and welfare does not pay that well. Giving welfare recipients an incentive to not be on drugs seems like a reasonable idea though the practical implication raises some red flags in how are these impoverished people going to travel to a drug testing clinic, pay for the test, ect. Also welfare is supposed to be a safety net to assure that no Americans go without food, shelter, and warmth regardless of their addictions or perhaps that is merely my opinion.
Anyway, while it doesn’t seem a completely horrible experiment in theory, and the point that it is costing more money that it is saving in these horrible economic times, I think it is time to acknowledge that the goal of saving money was not achieved and stop the experiment thus stopping the testing.
Video with 6 notes
What a disgrace from my home state. The drug seizures have made me angry for a long time because in a country where you are innocent until proven guilty you money has become guilty until proven innocent. If you want to talk about class warfare, this is a perfect example as the people who carry a lot of cash and aren’t drug dealers are the extremely hard working people who run small cash based businesses: convenience stores, restaurants, small shops, manual labor. These people often do end up carrying large amounts of cash, but they do not have the safety net of the wealthy. There is no 401k, no huge savings account, no stock investments, and no mutual funds which means when the government steals these people’s money, they have nothing to hire a lawyer with to get it back.
Stealing money without charging someone with a crime is so nasty because it is saying either, “I know you aren’t involved with drugs, but I want your money” or “I don’t give a damn about stopping to drugs because that means I can take your money next time too.” The incentive scheme that allows these law agencies to profit from seizing money is so wrong. Seizures should only be allowed when charges are filed and the money should be held until you are prosecuted. If you are successfully prosecuted, then the money should be turned into some federal pot and help pay off the deficit or something.
This is just kind of bizarre and like most medical research that is exciting or interesting, it is in the very early stages of research so don’t expect to pick up one of these pills at your local chemist before a Friday night bender anytime soon.
Link with 2 notes
I wouldn’t really expect this from a Tennessee representative, but I agree 100%. I don’t advocate that people should smoke marijuana, but I don’t think it is significantly more harmful that the current legal drugs of cigarettes and alcohol. The millions spent on the war on drugs have not been effective and reducing the supply or the demand and has created a HUGE black market that is not taxes and is the source of a lot of violent crime. The US incarceration rate is well above any other western country, and the concept of locking people up for possession of marijuana seems insane to me. It is time to admit what is being done is not working and come up with a different strategy. Decriminalizing marijuana would be a good start.
Link with 9 notes
This is funny, and with the amount of poppies that are grown in Tasmania I do not doubt the wallabies get high as kites at certain times of year. Funny!
Link with 10 notes
The war on drugs is a failure and has cost taxpayers billions and billions of dollars while making the drug lords super rich and powerful. I am glad to see politicians in both parties starting to realize this and work together to draft new laws to correct the situation. Everyone agrees that pot is no more harmful than smoking or alcohol so let’s legalize it, tax it similarly to the other vices, and educate people on the real negative effects of the drug without blowing them out of proportion. A legal vice is a lot easier to control than an illegal one.
Link with 1 note
This has a lot of possibilities for degenerative brain diseases.
This looks like it could be an excellent treatment for bad skin injuries.
Link with 1 note
What would possess anyone to snort bath salts? The article confuses me- what is synthetic marijuana? What are these drugs made from other than bath salts? Just thinking about this gives me a headache.
Page 1 of 2
