Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Fighting On

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  • Sacha,

    To be fair to Peter, I may have lowered the tone first. Sorry about that.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    But the truth is Tom has shown he is an arsehole with his attitude towards cannabis users.

    Lets not pretend otherwise.

    The hat fits in this instance.

    I can lend you a shovel if you'd like.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • greenlove33,

    @Peter Come on man, this is actually what I mentioned upthread about cannabis legalising campaigners tending to SCREAM the points across. I've sat through many conferences and been told very firmly what my views should be on legalising weed, generally by a raging(and wasted) old guy(s) with a beard!!

    I'm always an advocate for removing the anger and having a conversation..or nowadays I'd prefer not to have the conversation(ie be yelled at by an angry hippy).

    I think you may have your etiquette confused. Pretty sure the deal is if you want to abuse someone who is posting under their real name(as I am on drug law reform issues so no excuses!!)like Tom, you also have to be posting under your real name.

    Anyhoo, I generally read more than post, and have seen plenty of Toms comments that were on to it as, having a dissenting opinion doesn't make someone an asshole!! It could be the opening for a worthwhile debate. Or one agrees to disagree. Something like that. Bit of politeness.

    You do the cause no good in following the path of anger(cue The Force quote).

    @Sophie..Laudanum with a touch of absinthe..good taste!! Very Victorian. The days when you could pop into the pharmacist and pick up a touch of cocaine for the sniffles!! Ah the good old days..

    Centered • Since Aug 2009 • 34 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    @Sophie

    That's Sofie to you ;-)

    .good taste!!

    I like to think so.;-)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    survival of the fritterest...

    Occasionally I'll have a whitebait fritter though. One bite, so many lives.

    aah well, if it's quantity you are after may I suggest Probiotics...
    so much easier to swallow than those dancing-angel-laden pinheads


    absinthe makes the hurt grow fonder...

    Laudanum with a touch of absinthe..good taste!!

    you're in good company...

    Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley, and Alfred Jarry were all notorious "bad men" of that day who were (or were thought to be) devotees of the "Green Fairy" (absinthe).

    and laudanum is great for diarrhea, and would probably help
    with weight loss for the tubby (or not tubby) - a Tinky Winky tincture
    of opium for the masses...?


    whale meat again...
    I see M Laws wading into the whole whale saving thang in the SST at the weekend, with all his signature compassion and empathy. Apparently Pilot Whales are the "dumbest animals on the planet", Project Jonah are "feral"
    and "god botherers" and so on...

    Whales is an anagram of He Laws... jus' sayin'...
    and he does spout off alot, is full of blubber not brains,
    and I suspect he is a pod-person!

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I see M Laws wading into the whole whale saving thang in the SST at the weekend, with all his signature compassion and empathy. Apparently Pilot Whales are the "dumbest animals on the planet", Project Jonah are "feral"
    and "god botherers" and so on...

    I proposed on Twitter yesterday that that column was the most deranged thing Laws had written for public consumption.

    And then Joshua Drummond came back with this:

    Zeta rammed the phallus into his tight anus, each thrust so violent that it seemed she aimed to cram it beyond recovery. A tearing sensation seared the entrance to his perineum but, despite his cries and best efforts to struggle free, Zeta continued her brutal trade. 'Like this?' she sneered. 'Little queer boy like this?'

    It's from Dancing With Beelzebub, Laws, Michael (1999) Harper Collins Publishers.

    And apparently it gets worse.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    And apparently it gets worse.

    He did some similar style writing for Critic in the early 1980s - equating manly physical thrusting with the target of feminism.

    Apparently an arsehole for 30 years and counting.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    curiously, way more in Christchurch
    than Auckland

    That isn't all that curious. The kids of Auckland (and Wellington) were obviously better able to regulate their drug use, take a safe dose, and not trouble A&E than those in Christchurch. That's social factors, and maybe looking at how they work is an important part of harm reduction.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    no great shakes...

    That isn't all that curious. The kids of Auckland (and Wellington) were obviously better able to regulate their drug use, take a safe dose, and not trouble A&E than those in Christchurch.

    what are you saying precisely?
    which social factors particularly?

    perhaps delirium tremens
    lead to deleterious tremors...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    That's social factors, and maybe looking at how they work is an important part of harm reduction.

    I suspect they are similar social factors to those that lead Christchurch teenagers to spend a lot of time driving in circles.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Peter , Tom does make some good points on many subjects, he just seems very blinkered on this subject.

    But let's ban Whiskey for a while , then you'll see the abuse and tears roll up on these pages.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I suspect they are similar social factors to those that lead Christchurch teenagers to spend a lot of time driving in circles.

    Here's the paper from Dr Paul Gee of Christchurch Hospital ED.

    A similar study at Auckland Hospital found nothing like the same degree of problems.

    Some people felt Gee was determined to talk up the harms, but I interviewed him and I couldn't blame him for being concerned about the the resources that BZP overdosing was using at his ED.

    It does seem that dosages in Christchurch were higher and more dangerous. In Auckland, people almost exclusively took the branded party pill products -- In Christchurch, there were people wandering around with big bags of BZP powder, and stronger pills on sale. It was pretty crazy.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    But let's ban Whiskey for a while , then you'll see the abuse and tears roll up on these pages.

    What makes me cry is when people spell "whisky" with an e.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Sorry, Whiskee.

    Personally I'm not down with the heavy liquid. Stereotypically a whisky drinker is a bad boy.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Rich of Observationz,

    In using the words "social factors" I was trying to be polite and not use the words "inbred", "retard" or "engineering student". Because that would be mean to inbreds, retards and engineering students.

    But the disparity does illustrate that substance abuse is a problem with people, not a problem with substances.

    (the other alternative is that if you present at Auckland A&E having taken too many pills, you get told to go home, lie down and not do it again, while at CHC they actually take notes and fill reports)

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Personally I'm not down with the heavy liquid. Stereotypically a whisky drinker is a bad boy.

    Actually, lovers of fine whisky are some of the most erudite and civilised folk you could hope to encounter :-)

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Actually, lovers of fine whisky are some of the most erudite and civilised folk you could hope to encounter :-)

    I wish I had the ability to drink it , it sounds fun. :)

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • andin,

    Gee the conversations are fascinating, no joke.
    So is this, Seth & Ann Druyan stand out

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report Reply

  • paulalambert,

    I think there were two important factors in the Chch skew in BZP hospital admissions. One was the somewhat blinkered Dr Gee, whose research (for quantities he relied on self-report, the weakest of all research) found in most instances coingestion of other substances. Of the 61 patients who presented to the ED on 80 occasions:

    alcohol was coingested on 39/80 hospital admissions, marijuana in 12/80, and nitrous oxide used in 10/80 presentations respectively. Four patients used multiple illicit coningestants which included MDMA, LSD, and ritalin

    The other (main) factor was the rather dodgy supplier of a group of BZP outlets - the Herbal Heaven shops - who will remain anon. He is already very familiar to the IRD and numerous other state agencies.

    Quality control was a foreign concept. I was very reliably informed there was only a kitchen table used for packaging the goods, and very rarely gloves or any other basic hygiene/preventative measures. I also visited several of the shops to see what sort of advice they provided customers, and they were just rubbish at that, they were only about sales. And right up until the law change the actual shop workers knew nothing about it changing!

    Anecdotally.. I had a 31 yr old male boarder during the period of Gee's study. He used to take 6 strongest BZP capsules at a time, coingest cannabis, and occasionally alcohol, usually on Thursday AS WELL AS Saturday nights. Thankfully he never had to go to the ED, although a couple of times I sure felt like calling an ambulance, just to get him out of the house. Not the sharpest tool in the shed.

    chch • Since Dec 2006 • 107 posts Report Reply

  • 3410,

    What makes me cry is when people spell "whisky" with an e.

    Yeah, sorry about that, from January.

    If it helps, I did fully realise that you weren't serving Jack Daniels.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2007 • 2618 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    alcohol was coingested on 39/80 hospital admissions

    See my comment above about association with binge drinking. I really think that was a problem with BZP.

    Four patients used multiple illicit coningestants which included MDMA, LSD, and ritalin

    Ugh. Coingestion of BZP and LSD sounds unspeakably vile to me.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Is there a party pills webpage or blog anywhere? The party pill industry sounds all over the place.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • paulalambert,

    Yes I agree, its crazy. But the insidious doublespeak about alcohol and its nervous system effects is the vilest of all.

    Matt Bowden's Stargate was the company behind the best NZ-packaged and most reliable information about BZP

    chch • Since Dec 2006 • 107 posts Report Reply

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Off topic : I just saw the first home all black test photo, wow.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock,

    I have always thought that if a fraction of the treasure expended trying to prove that MDMA gives you Parkinsons/manic depression/Altzhiemers/holes in your brain had been spent on making it a safer legal substance the world would be a better place for it. If Pfizer could make big dollars from MDM brand x being fun and harmless, wouldn't they push for it's legalisation??

    The evidence, she be somewhat contradictory.

    I recommend hunting down a copy of the Tim Lawrence documentary, if you haven't seen it. It's quite fascinating.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

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