The progress of civilization has been a lot slower than I used to think it would be.
In the late 70's I was absolutely convinced that grass would be legal everywhere by the 90's at most. It seemed, at least where I lived, that enforcement was pretty lackadaisical for personal use and that most "everyone" was at least an occasional user or blase about it. States started "decriminalizing" small amounts to misdemeanor or "traffic ticket" type charges. In 70-something, Alaska Supreme Court ruled that possession of small amounts of marijuana is covered under privacy laws. Then movement stalled. Alaska even re-criminalized. Employers started the futile practice of drug testing. And it took a long time, going through the charade of medicinal value, to reach the point where you can get quality stuff delivered legally and safely.
It was either 72 or 73 that I was arrested one summer night for possession of pot and possession of open beer. I got a $2 fine for the pot and $25 fine for the beer. And that was here in TN. Fortunately, the regular judge was on vacation and the fill in judge was my uncle.
Me too. I was sure that it would be legal by the 90s
Then came Reagan
His administration did so much damage and so much of it we may never get past.
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”
I haven't smoked pot in over a decade, and then it was usually because someone else brought some and offered a toke.
However if I really wanted to do some I'd probably grow some of my own.
Or, maybe not.
Maybe catnip.
Speaking of which... gonna have to bring the mama cat into the vet to be fixed. And also her two teenage girls. The male offspring can wait a bit. And lately there's been a big tom cat hanging around. He was chasing the mama cat tonight. I grabbed her and stuck her inside. And it smells like he sprayed all over the front porch. Gonna have to hose it down.
Damn cats.
The humane trap will be put into action next week.
They can be hard to trap. Good luck
Trump: “We had the safest border in the history of our country - or at least recorded history. I guess maybe a thousand years ago it was even better.”
I don't know the factors in this case, but things that can influence such a tragic outcome include:
PPP - piss poor protoplasm (a genetic failure) - I had a 28 year old, non-drug using patient come in dead and we could not save her. Autopsy showed coronary artery disease and an MI like she was 80.
A temporarily susceptible victim - exhaustion, existing minor illness, etc.
Undiagnosed condition making the victim chronically susceptible - HIV, earlier lung damage, etc.
Antibiotic resistant pathogen
Lack of early care
Substandard care
And, who knows?
A combo of PPP, undiagnosed condition and "who knows?"
... Initial assessments showed that he died of pneumonia. But his fiancée Katy Berteau announced on Wednesday that further testing revealed that he had stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma in his lungs....
Aschoff’s doctor’s apparently didn’t know that he was stricken by the cancer until a lung biopsy was completed.
... Bertreau noted that she took comfort in the fact that there was nothing that could have been done to save Aschoff and that the rapid onset of the disease meant that Aschoff didn’t have to linger in his suffering....
Yikes indeed.
Reminds me of an old not-so-joke about no matter how good you think your doctor is, somebody - somebody - has to be the worst doctor there is. Finished last in med school; barely passed licence; got tossed from two residencies, but managed to get a practice ... and somebody's got an appointment with him tomorrow!
Yikes indeed.
Reminds me of an old not-so-joke about no matter how good you think your doctor is, somebody - somebody - has to be the worst doctor there is. Finished last in med school; barely passed licence; got tossed from two residencies, but managed to get a practice ... and somebody's got an appointment with him tomorrow!
It doesn't sound like the MDs screwed this one up, but I guess it's possible.
Q: What do they call someone who finishes last in her/his med school class?
Yeah I knew that
I didn't actually mean to imply that it was the doc's fault - at least not from a malpractice standpoint - but it is a bit scary to think of mistaking stage 4 cancer for pneumonia.
Yeah I knew that
I didn't actually mean to imply that it was the doc's fault - at least not from a malpractice standpoint - but it is a bit scary to think of mistaking stage 4 cancer for pneumonia.
Guessing here: Nothing differential showed on whatever imaging he had, no other symptoms pointed towards non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and quite invasive lung biopsies on 34 year-olds are very rare.
Anyhow, sounds like knowing that it was non-Hodgkin lymphoma at any point after he got sick would not have made a difference. Maybe if it was caught long before he got sick . . .
Tongue-in-cheek, I know. But no, not brave, just stupid as a bag of rocks. Why do something with personal risk when there's no chance of the action advancing your cause. Unless you just want to start a "Tennessee Man" trend.
Brave dude. The pot may or may not be a big deal, but smoking inside a govt building is really really bad.
I just liked the story; it reminded me of the time I was told by a cop to throw away my open can of beer into a nearby dumpster. On the way to it, I began to suffer "dry mouth" and took another swig from my can. That's when they arrested me. So I have a sense of empathy for the guy. But during all that, I was never charged with underage drinking; just possession of open beer in public, so there is that.......
I just liked the story; it reminded me of the time I was told by a cop to throw away my open can of beer into a nearby dumpster. On the way to it, I began to suffer "dry mouth" and took another swig from my can. That's when they arrested me. So I have a sense of empathy for the guy. But during all that, I was never charged with underage drinking; just possession of open beer in public, so there is that.......
Some friends and I once got wasted on tequila by a local creek. One made the short climb to the all-night restaurant parking lot before the rest of and unwittingly laid down on the hood of . . . an occupied cop car. After ensuring that we weren't driving, the cop let us go.
I just liked the story; it reminded me of the time I was told by a cop to throw away my open can of beer into a nearby dumpster. On the way to it, I began to suffer "dry mouth" and took another swig from my can. That's when they arrested me. So I have a sense of empathy for the guy. But during all that, I was never charged with underage drinking; just possession of open beer in public, so there is that.......
Some friends and I once got wasted on tequila by a local creek. One made the short climb to the all-night restaurant parking lot before the rest of and unwittingly laid down on the hood of . . . an occupied cop car. After ensuring that we weren't driving, the cop let us go.
That cop must have been related to the cat fan pseudo cop; if he couldn't tell the difference between someone climbing up on his hood and lying down, or having a Porsche escort slamming into it and THEN having a guy get out and lie on his hood, he needs to be promoted to Captain and a desk job or run for some GOP public office. Anyway, glad you guys got away from that crazy bastard.
... Some friends and I once got wasted on tequila by a local creek. One made the short climb to the all-night restaurant parking lot before the rest of and unwittingly laid down on the hood of . . . an occupied cop car. After ensuring that we weren't driving, the cop let us go.
That cop must have been related to the cat fan pseudo cop; if he couldn't tell the difference between someone climbing up on his hood and lying down, or having a Porsche escort slamming into it and THEN having a guy get out and lie on his hood, he needs to be promoted to Captain and a desk job or run for some GOP public office. Anyway, glad you guys got away from that crazy bastard.
You know that I'm no cop fan, but we COULD have been leaving the creek to get in a car in that same parking lot and drunkenly drive away. This cop was cool, he could have busted us for public drunkenness even if we weren't driving. Of course, this was nearly 40 years ago and we were student-aged. I don't know that people there get the same tolerance these days.
... Some friends and I once got wasted on tequila by a local creek. One made the short climb to the all-night restaurant parking lot before the rest of and unwittingly laid down on the hood of . . . an occupied cop car. After ensuring that we weren't driving, the cop let us go.
That cop must have been related to the cat fan pseudo cop; if he couldn't tell the difference between someone climbing up on his hood and lying down, or having a Porsche escort slamming into it and THEN having a guy get out and lie on his hood, he needs to be promoted to Captain and a desk job or run for some GOP public office. Anyway, glad you guys got away from that crazy bastard.
You know that I'm no cop fan, but we COULD have been leaving the creek to get in a car in that same parking lot and drunkenly drive away. This cop was cool, he could have busted us for public drunkenness even if we weren't driving. Of course, this was nearly 40 years ago and we were student-aged. I don't know that people there get the same tolerance these days.
Well, not being a cop myself, I sort of figure you did just that; drive away at whatever condition after paying respect at the creek; happens all the time.
"Congratulations to drugs for winning the war on drugs"
Maybe if everybody that went to war was on drugs, there would be a lot less war. Some avoided war and drugs by managing to dodge the draft by using medical, religious, or other dishonest methods. Those folks are generally for war (unless it involves them or their family) and against drugs (unless it involves them or their family).
"Congratulations to drugs for winning the war on drugs"
Funny, sad and true.
Maybe if everybody that went to war was on drugs, there would be a lot less war.
During WW2 whole armies were on speed. We should try different drugs to limit war.
Some avoided war and drugs by managing to dodge the draft by using medical, religious, or other dishonest methods. Those folks are generally for war (unless it involves them or their family) and against drugs (unless it involves them or their family).
… As the pandemic morphed from looming threat to ongoing crisis in mid-March, forward-looking police departments and prosecutors’ offices began to act. In Philadelphia, progressive District Attorney Larry Krasner cited public health concerns as he called for police to revise their arrest policies. The following day, Police Chief Danielle Outlaw issued an internal memo telling police not to arrest people for drug and other low-level non-violent offenses — at least for now.
Police Chief Outlaw!
… It’s not just Philadelphia. Just days later, Krasner joined DAs from 30 other cities in signing on to an open letter urging local governments to make change in the face of COVID-19. The prosecutors, including those from Baltimore, New York, San Francisco, and St. Louis, called for police to adopt “cite and release policies for offenses which pose no immediate physical threat to the community, including simple possession of controlled substances.” They also called for the release of people being held solely because they can’t come up with cash bail and for reducing jail and prison populations “to promote the health safety, staff, those incarcerated, and visitors.”
… Meanwhile, in Chicago, Cook County State”s Attorney Kim Foxx announced that her office was putting a moratorium on prosecuting low-level, non-violent drug offenses while the pandemic rages….
But in New York City, the current epicenter of the pandemic in the US, where dozens of NYPD officers have already contracted COVID-19, the department said it “won’t slow arrests.” If the NYPD is being stubbornly recalcitrant, at least one of the city’s borough prosecutors is getting on board with using discretion. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez announced that his prosecutors wouldn’t be going after “low-level offenses that don’t jeopardize public safety.”
The NYPD’s stance is hard to fathom, especially as the city is being swamped by a deluge of new coronavirus cases, and the department may by forced to shift its positions as the crisis deepens. At this point, though, it seems to be suffering from a sort of institutional inertia, blindly valuing the arrest of small-time drug offenders and other scofflaws over the health and safety of its own officers and the city’s residents. In the midst of the current crisis, it would behoove police and prosecutors everywhere to knock off the rote drug busts and concentrate on the threat staring them in the face.
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