Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: The perilous birth of the…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
I’m sorry, but put that way,
it looks like Russian Roulette….It’s a much quicker and more robust process than what happened before the Act and when the Act comes fully into force, they’ll all be banned, with the onus resting on the vendors to prove their products are low-risk. I know all the media reports are depicting this as a loosening of regulation, but the truth is it’s the opposite.
The details are here:
Following the passage of the Psychoactive Substances Regulations, the interim licensing scheme will be revoked and existing licence holders will be required to reapply for full product licences. The Regulations will require manufacturers of products to submit further data about the safety and quality of their product to demonstrate their product poses no more than a low risk of harm to a consumer. In addition to making a comprehensive review of safety data, the Regulations will also allow the Authority to place further conditions on the product licence including a requirement for on-going safety monitoring of products after they are on the market.
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And this just in ...
The Music Month 2014 shows have been announced:
Lawrence Arabia
Thursday 1st May, Takutai Square/Britomart, Auckland (free lunch time show)She’s So Rad, Delete Delete and Paquin
Thursday 1st May, Tyler St Garage, Auckland (free evening show)Doprah
Friday 2nd May, Matterhorn, WellingtonJanine & The Mixtape with Guests
Thursday 15th May, DuxLive, ChristchurchNative Tongue showcase featuring Phoenix Foundation, The Bads, Mulholland
Saturday 17th May, Kings Arms, AucklandDavid Kilgour & The Heavy Eights, Death & The Maiden + Brown
Saturday 24th May, Chicks Hotel, DunedinArch Hill Recordings 15th Birthday: Don McGlashan, Ghost Wave, Street Chant, The Transistors, Surf City, Doprah + special guests.
Friday 30th May, Kings Arms, AucklandMore details and tickets from Under the Radar.
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Hard News: The perilous birth of the…, in reply to debunk,
“Legal Highs” are more likely laboratory variants on P than “synthetic cannabis” unfortunately. Time and tests will tell.
No, they're really not. There were a couple of products that contained cathinones, but that was long before the Act came in.
They're agonists for the cannabinoid receptors in the brain. One, AB-FUBINACA, was developed as an analgesic by Pfizer in 2009.
The full list of interim approvals is here. I think we can expect it to start shrinking rapidly in the face of adverse response reports.
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Access: What disability is, in reply to WaterDragon,
Particularly since it just “disappeared” my second attempt to respond. Doesn’t like me saying great to see this Sacha
Well, we're going to have to get this looked into.
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Hard News: The perilous birth of the…, in reply to Geoff Lealand,
I agree with Ian that the Dunne connection is just a little bit too cosy and old boy network. Are there certain topics prohibited around the family dinner table?
There's nothing "old boy network" about it.
James specialises in various forms of public policy and law reform and he's been acting for clients in this particular sector since before his father was even the relevant minister. He's the leading expert in this area of law -- should he give that up because of his father?
They're both adults whose respective jobs partially involve this area of law. But unless someone can point to and explain an actual conflict of interest (and all the Seven Sharp hand-waving didn't get there) I don't really see how "too cosy" is more than innuendo.
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Access: What disability is, in reply to Sacha,
Sorry to hear that. I did not see anything.
Russell?Yes, I saw that comment -- and no, it's clearly not there now.
Sorry about that, WaterDragon -- that's really unusual.
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Just a note that you can talk about your nanas, nonnas and grandmothers too :-)
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Hard News: The perilous birth of the…, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Most surprised to see on the telly tonight* that a lawyer / spokesman for the legal highs industry, is Peter Dunne’s son, (who works for Chen Palmer) – of course they are all independent adults, but I’d have thought he’d have front footed that earlier, to avoid the muttering that will now ensue – an uncharitable view might be that it looks like Dunne is just making work for his son – (if you are a cynical curmudgeon like me)…
Everyone familiar with the sector has known for years that James is Peter Dunne's son, so Seven Sharp trumpeting its "exclusive" and speculating about conflicts of interest is some bullshit. It's no secret. The only thing I think might be a bit off is the "inside knowledge" wording on the Chen Palmer website, but "valuable inside knowledge of how Parliament works" is basically what Chen Palmer sells.
James himself has commented usefully on Public Address on occasion. I've found him straightforward and helpful -- and his speech at last year's Cannabis and Health Symposium was fascinating.
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Individuals with even the most complex identities and niche interests can find like-minded people with whom to virtually congregate.
This is very much the case in autism, the area of disability with which I'm most familiar -- with the added bonus that many AS people find it easier to communicate without the additional noise of face-to-face interaction. That's certainly been the case for my younger son, who talks (literally) and types to people who share his interests -- it's been a significant part of his socialisation.
Which doesn't mean that everything that happens is good -- the autism blogosphere can be a very fraught place at times. I'll write about that here some time :-)
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Feed: Grandpa's Kitchen, in reply to Hebe,
That conjures up an evocative mental picture. Were the walls T+G or hardboard with half-round edging the joins?
From memory, there were many cupboards.