On the Presby thing – do you think Southland have reduced harm from alcohol by keeping the Trust?

It paid for the start of Free Fees at SIT.

The Presbyterian in charge in Britain now says he will focus on health and education. Can't wait to see what he'll make of it . . . he's been the money man for years so must have worked out how to…

I was told CHCH is known as Needle City -…

Instead he was at an A&oD workers national training day…

That IS true, I have seen the photos of pineapples.

It's always the fruit that suffer the most.

This is true. I always drink more than I should when I visit Wellington, and I refuse to accept any fault in the matter,

That IS true, I have seen the photos of pineapples.

don't think it was implied at all, was it? It was fairly explicit, especially in the printed version. Wellingtonians. Are. A. Bunch. Of. Pissheads.

This is true. I always drink more than I should when I visit Wellington, and I refuse to accept any fault in the matter,.

Oh! SO now you're implying we're all alcoholics!

I don't think it was implied at all, was it? It was fairly explicit, especially in the printed version. Wellingtonians. Are. A. Bunch. Of. Pissheads.

Actually, Jackie just reminded me of ANOTHER of my favourite things about living in Wellington. Marsden Girls.…

This has been bugging me since Page One and I can't take it anymore. Can someone please change the heading to it's correct title

Yeah sorry that was my bad. Typo in the original blog post, and when I corrected that, it didn't correct the System title. I've been rummaging…

The difference between Auckland and Wellington is that not only is it much smaller, but everyone walks everywhere, whereas Aucklanders generally drive.

Currently living in Mt Vic, I've managed not to use my car for the last 2 weeks.

Ha! Sometimes I walk to work. It's 4km along major suburban and city roads. I rarely meet anyone I know along the way

Heh. So few people walk in Orkland, I used to smoke a spliff walking down Upper Queen St every day on the way home from work. Orkland…

"Cracker: Psst... buddy... got any BZP?"

The difference between Auckland and Wellington is that not only is it much smaller, but everyone walks everywhere, whereas Aucklanders generally drive.

Ha! Sometimes I walk to work. It's 4km along major suburban and city roads. I rarely meet anyone I know along the way, but I've often been tooted…

Should I pack my thermals?

Jeans and t-shirt weather.

Should I pack my thermals?

Yup!

Probably best to pick up a few more on the way down too :)

Having said that, don't forget Wellington at this time of the year is very much an indoors kind of place.

Is Brad Butterworth, blessed gentle flower that he is, an Aucklander by any chance?

Lol, fair question.

Actually, he was born in that yachting hot-spot of Te Awamutu.

BTW, Te Awamutu boxes well above its weight in terms of famous NZers born there; not sure why.

"do you really think that if alcohol was introduced today, rather than arriving with the white man, it would get past Jim's eagle eyes?"
No, not for one second. And I would be running the exactly the same argument. It is about Jim's subjective morality, and if it…

Story of blogging really...

Which is just like real fame, only without the recognition, money, or sex.

You just need to walk the streets more

Secondly, 'they' do not want to ban alcohol.

Is that what They said when you asked Them?

Bottom line, They don't want us to get high, but it's too late to do anything about the bolted horses of Alcohol and Cigarettes.

I can make myself a bit clearer. It's not so much that the horse has bolted but that people need an enemy drug so that they…

Firstly, to me, that sums up the level of understanding regarding the criminalisation argument. "too late to do anything about cigs?" Hell, I thought they were…

I sort of disagree. Yes, the overt argument is one of harm causation but the underlying, emotional, argument is "your drugs are evil and mine aren't".

I don't see how that disagrees with what I'm saying at all, in the sense that I totally agree with what you're saying :)…

And, I support heavy 'regulation' of BZP, on the grounds of *harm to self*.

"personally I think he is to old to be making these sorts of decisions anymore."…

...yes BZP does cause harm to self – though perhaps not death – so it's no surprise it's been banned on those grounds.

I sort of disagree. Yes, the overt argument is one of harm causation but the underlying, emotional, argument is "your drugs are evil and mine aren't". People…

I have always held the view that Anderton took the scenic route to banning BZP only because he wanted to make sure he had a cast-iron legislative case beyond…

It was argued that it should be criminalised because of harm to self, and that is an insufficient premise for the criminalisation of anything. Or do you think otherwise?

*I* might not think otherwise, but NZ society (or at least our government of the time) certainly does. Hence seatbelts, bike…

What? You do not need to assume anything to know that without those figures then you cannot claim to have shown net…

Which is just like real fame, only without the recognition, money, or sex.

The principle does 'stand up'. My point about costs is that stretching the definition of harm to include secondary and non-quantified (quantifiable) harm in order…

I just hope it doen't start yet another tiresome Jafas v. The Provinces war of words.

Gollly gosh I hope not, because if you dish it out you shouldn't have to take it back. Is Brad Butterworth, blessed gentle flower that he is, an Aucklander by any chance?

Not sure about Hamilton, but the difference between Auckland and Wellington is that not only is it mcuh smaller, but everyone walks everywhere, whereas Aucklanders generally drive.

And like those paths in the jungle that all the animals use, in…

Hamilton has a smaller population than Wellington, but when I was living there and walking down Victoria Street or the general downtown area, I'd seldom run into people I knew.

However, the last time I was in Wellington, I ran into Regan Throng…

Can you tell me how mush money was taken in GSt and income tax from BZP sales in the last year?

That's assuming of course that the purpose of GST and income tax is to offset the harm caused by the item they relate to. Can you tell me how…

When the 'harm' starts getting more abstract, such as say, tax dollars for remedies, then you are out on a limb. Can you…

If every BZP victim that turns up in the A&E of hospitals around the country each weekend

and there must be heaps of them. if one fronts at the wellington a&e with heart palpitations the very first thing they do is ask about party pills.

burns are another matter.

imho it's not…

What I do is my choice. If what I choose harms another person, then the state is justified in interfering. Anderton is not justified in interfering with my choice when the only harm that is even remotely possible is to me myself.

Yeah, it's a nice libertarian argument, but one…

How on earth does a medical advisory committee have the expertise to recommend the *legal* status of anything at all? Unless we accept as gospel that anything dangerous or risky to health must be brought under…

Yes, as it will not in any way stop people 'getting high'.

The only thing we have learned from our past is that we learn nothing from…

Anderton is not naive, in the sense that he is not a person innocent of the world who has incorrect beliefs based on incomplete knowledge. He is a willful ignoramus, ie someone who believes he knows best no matter what the evidence or aguments presented to him.

Actually, I think…

Mate... our people are going through your Metro piece as I type... I mean, I domn't want to be precipitous, but we've put the effigy maker on high alert.

Dude, around here, you're no one until you've been burned in effigy. Ask Charlotte Dawson.

because she was sick of always running into people she'd shagged whenever she was walking down the street

Brilliant! But hah, that's happened to me in Auckland :)

I liked the Metro article. It reminds me of a friend of mine who moved from Wellington to Auckland because she was sick of always running into people she'd shagged whenever she…

Auckland Region
Lamb chop stew
Staying home
Getting some

NOT

Wellington
Dog whistling
Drugs
Getting none

No, I'm not surprised and I 'know' what you're saying is 'true' but that doesn't make it 'right'.

No wonder the young kids don't bother to vote, they know it's a bunch of Rs and won't change anything. Which is why they'll just go on doing…

It's A Drug Wonderland, over there

I presume that's sung to the tune of this

Heh. I was thinking more of Earth, Wind & Fire's lesser-known disco classic 'Druggie Wonderland', myself.

(I apologise in advance for the earworm – I just gave it to myself. Bah.)

I presume that's sung to the tune of this

Having resisted the need for speed before party pills came out. I'm yet to see the upside of smoking.

But if smoking was ever banned…

Perhaps some of your 48 Hour film making friends could get a copy of that audio, match it with some footage of young kids…

Anderton's thinking that this will eliminate an amount of substance use is stunningly naive.

I think that's a very kind way of putting it. I would have said it was an illogical, emotional non-solution to a exaggerated non-problem.

Anderton is not naive, in the sense that he is not a…

And a question for all those who have used drugs and have given up; did the criminal status of that drug have anything at all to do with the decision to quit?

Categorically: no. It was more of a 'jeez, I can't spend three days of every week recovering from…

There is nothing wrong with the comparative argument against prohibition, using alcohol etc.

It forces those promoting prohibition to justify criminalisation on the grounds of harm to the individual using, as opposed to harm to another. If harm to the individual through using/doing/thinking or saying the prohibited thing…