Top 10 Most Addictive Substances In The World
Top 10 Most Addictive Substances In The World
These things grab on and don’t let go. For this list, we’ll be looking at the substances that have the highest rates of addiction, at least according to the majority of reputable researchers. We count down the Top 10 Most Addictive Substances in the World.
20 People Dating A Drug Addict: Do You Stay Or Do You Go?
20 People Dating A Drug Addict: Do You Stay Or Do You Go? -
Woman Complains To Police When Scammed With Brown Sugar During Cocaine Buy
Woman Complains To Police When Scammed With Brown Sugar During Cocaine Buy
A disgruntled would-be drug user has left police incredulous after calling to complain that she paid £200 for “brown sugar” instead of cocaine.
Officers in Craigavon, Co Armagh, described the exchange on their Facebook page and called for people who have been “scammed by your dealer and would like payback” to get in touch.
“Granted, it’s not exactly the sort of slick wheeling and dealing business savvy that would see you go the distance on The Apprentice, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone that drug dealers are scammers!” they wrote.
The post followed a call from a woman to the station who said she had been scammed by her drug dealer.
The PSNI summarised the exchange.
“Caller: I’ve been scammed.
Me: Ok, are you out any money?
Caller: Yeah I paid over £200 and got brown sugar instead.
Me: Instead of what?
Caller: Cocaine
Me: Um..”
The post attracted a string of comments from Facebook users.
“Nothing beats a sugar high,” one wrote.
“200 big ones for some sugar. That’s an offer not to be sniffed at,” joked another.
One user even managed to make a Brexit joke: “Is that what looms after Brexit? £200 for 2 grams of sugar?” he quipped.
A spokesman for the PSNI said: “Police have spoken to a female in relation to this matter. Appropriate advice and guidance was given.” - PA
21 Ganja-Loving Twitter Users Share The Highest Things They've Ever Done
21 Ganja-Loving Twitter Users Share The Highest Things They've Ever Done -
There are about a zillion wonderful benefits to legalizing marijuana: taxes that go to education, job creation, and thinning out our overcrowded prisons. Then there's the fun stuff. Twitter user @icexqueen asked her followers to share some hilariously high anecdotes and the thread made us laugh very hard for a Monday. We can only hope that as greens become more accessible we get more of these tear-inducing stories.
Undercover Cops Posing As Drug Buyers Arrested By Undercover Cops Posing As Drug Dealers
Undercover Cops Posing As Drug Buyers Arrested By Undercover Cops Posing As Drug Dealers
A huge mistake led to police officers arresting each other. Undercover police went to Detroit and posed as drug dealers. However, thanks to a mess up, another police group thought that they were real drug dealers and so they raided the house in what turned out to be one of the most embarrassing things ever seen in the department according to the Police chief (see video below).
The incident occurred when officers from the 12th precinct in Detroit went undercover with the purpose of pretending to be drug dealers so they could arrest buyers. Two buyers went to the house where the pretend drug dealing police officers were but they were actually police going undercover to arrest people selling drugs. They were from the 11th district of Detroit police. They began to search the place when they arrived and they were wearing body cams that captured the whole incident of the officers fighting and punching each other.
It was said that the whole incident turned out to be something like you would see on the Keystone Cops silent films. Now the event has sparked an investigation. This is not the first time that something similar has happened. During the 80s, an incident occurred that saw two police officers killed.
While it is understood that when going undercover only those that are immediately involved can know what is happening, it can bring about unwanted consequences and mistakes. It seems that in this case, the Detroit police kept the undercover operations too undercover as one department pretending to be drug buyers arrested the other pretending to be drug dealers.
College Student Finds A Man Living In Her Closet Wearing Her Clothes
College Student Finds A Man Living In Her Closet Wearing Her Clothes -
A student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro found a man inside her closet, wearing her clothes, after repeatedly noticing her belongings misplaced or missing.
The student told Fox 8 that she thought she had a ghost — she consistently locked her door and there was never a sign that anyone had broken in.
According to Greensboro police, on Saturday afternoon the woman heard a noise coming from her closet and opened the door to find 30-year-old Andrew Clyde Swofford.
"I just hear rattling in my closet. It sounded like a raccoon in my closet," the student, identified as Maddie, told Fox 8. “I’m like, 'Who’s there?' And somebody answers, 'Me.' He’s like, ‘Oh my name is Drew.’ I open the door and he’s in there, wearing all of my clothes."
Officers arrived at the Edge apartments, a students-only building adjacent to campus, around 3:30 p.m. and took Swofford, wasn't violent or threatening, into custody, Greensboro police Officer Ronald Glenn told BuzzFeed News.
Swofford was booked into Guilford County jail in lieu of $26,600 bond. He's suspected of breaking and entering, as well as identity theft, larceny, possessing stolen goods, and failing to appear in court in connection with previous cases.
According to Fox 8, building management changed the apartment's locks in December after a previous unexplained break-in. The student and her roommate found two men inside their apartment who they didn't know and notified property managers.
Burkely Communities, which manages the building and other student communities and apartment complexes in the area, did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News.
The women are now planning to move out, Fox 8 reported.
Husband Threw Meth Fueled Sex Bash For Ailing Wife
Husband Threw Meth Fueled Sex Bash For Ailing Wife
Inside A Home DMT Lab Run By A Real Life Walter White
Inside A Home DMT Lab Run By A Real Life Walter White
VICE visits a homemade DMT lab in the heart of London and sees how the product is made. Splitting his time between teaching chemistry and making DMT, ‘Bob’ shows he has become a real life, Walter White. From finding the source materials online to developing the crystals themselves, Bob leads VICE through the step by step process of creating one of the most elusive and potent hallucinogens in the world. Bob escapes the classroom daily to work on his profitable hobby and explains why this drug is so sought after.
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT): What You Need To Know
Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is an intense naturally-occurring psychedelic that’s also found endogenously in the human body. It’s not as popular as LSD or psilocybin, though its use has grown over time.
20 PEOPLE WHO SMOKED THE MARIJUANA TOO MUCH AND LIVED TO TALK ABOUT IT
20 PEOPLE WHO SMOKED THE MARIJUANA TOO MUCH AND LIVED TO TALK ABOUT IT
Police Offer Free Service To Test Meth For Zika
Police Offer Free Service To Test Meth For Zika
Police in Louisiana are encouraging anyone with crystal meth to bring it to them to be tested for the Zika virus.
The Harahan Police Department recently posted to Facebook that meth bought in any area of Louisiana has been contaminated with Zika.
“Please bring all of it to your local Police Department and they will test it for free,” the department said on Facebook. “If you’re not comfortable coming to us, an officer will be glad to come to you and test your Meth in the privacy of your home.”
Zika virus disease is mainly spread by mosquitoes. The symptoms, when developed, are generally mild and include fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache, according to the World Health Organization.
The infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations.
Police have not said how much meth is contaminated or if anyone has taken them up on the offer.
NZ Man 'Pulled Bag Of Cocaine From Penis' After Arrest
NZ Man 'Pulled Bag Of Cocaine From Penis' After Arrest
A man who laughed at police after they found no drugs in his pocket was later found to have hidden a bag of cocaine in his penis after a strip-search, a court heard.
Newcastle man James Mason told officers "f**k off you're not searching me before saying "ha ha, told you I had f*** all on us, you mugs", when they found nothing in his pockets.
The 21-year-old was arrested for being drunk and disorderly after swearing at police one too many times after an incident at a student accommodation.
But on the way to the police station officers witnessed Mason fiddling with his socks before putting his hands down his pants.
When they reached the station police demanded he is strip searched.
Mason then "removed his trousers, pulled back his foreskin and pulled a white bag of powder from his penis".
"The defendant was asked what it was and replied that it was cocaine," prosecutor Bethany Jendrzejewski said.
Mason was fined £120 after he admitted possession of a Class A drug and being drunk and disorderly in a public place.
Magistrates said they had "rarely seen such an example of foolish adolescent behaviour".
He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.
Social media users poked fun at Mason, with one saying "Did they also check to see if he had any crack cocaine?"
Another said: "Unexpected item in the bagging area"
73 Year Old Woman Worried About Meth She Was Smoking Asked Doctor To Test It
73 Year Old Woman Worried About Meth She Was Smoking Asked Doctor To Test It
A 73-year-old Florida woman wanted to make sure what she was smoking was really methamphetamine, so she took the drugs to her doctor for testing.
Polk County resident Barbara Lee Ray said she was “scared” of what smoking it was doing to her, according to the Miami Herald, which cited an arrest affidavit, and brought her doctor at the Complete Care Family Medicine Associates office in Fort Meade two clear plastic bags containing a crystal-like substance on Nov. 5.
Both bags tested positive for meth, the Herald reported.
Although it was unclear how she obtained the drug or why she was smoking it, she did tell her doctor she’s been smoking meth for about a month.
Ray was arrested and booked into the Polk County Jail on charges of methamphetamine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, the newspaper said.
The arrest warrant said Ray, who was released from jail on Nov. 7, appeared to be under the influence of the drug when she was taken into custody.
5 Times Scientists Gave Animals Drugs
5 Times Scientists Gave Animals Drugs
It might seem like researchers give animals drugs just to make a good headline, but these experiments have taught scientists a lot.
Woman Smokes Crack As Police Arrest Her At Gunpoint
Woman Smokes Crack As Police Arrest Her At Gunpoint
Michigan resident 36 year old Krisi Rettig has been charged with flee and elude, assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a controlled substance and operating while license suspended following the October 25 police chase. Her passenger Alexandra Weed has been charged with possession of a controlled substance.
Utah Lawmaker Doesn't Recommend 'Shooting Up Marijuana,' But Says 'No Big Deal' After First-Use
Utah Lawmaker Doesn't Recommend 'Shooting Up Marijuana,' But Says 'No Big Deal' After First-Use
A Utah lawmaker, and self-described marijuana virgin, learned his colleagues plan to vote against a controversial cannabis act, so he made the trek to Las Vegas, ate his first cannabis gummy bear and now wants legislature to follow suit. And he’s totally serious.
Democratic state Sen. Jim Dabakis held the tasting session on Facebook live weeks ahead of the revision to Prop 2, which will decide how weed can be ingested, where and how it’s sold and what kinds of conditions qualify for a medical cannabis card in Utah. He said at least one senator should try it before they debate the measure.
“Everybody, mellow out, recognize that this is nothing to be afraid of,” Dabakis said in the video posted 24 hours after his unforgettable cannabis test-drive. “Because the people who are terrified by it seem to be the people who HAVE NEVER TRIED IT.”
Standing in the parking lot of a dispensary called NuLeaf, Dabakis struggled with the packaging before eventually splitting the gummy in half and opting for a cautionary lick-test before eating it. He was sure no lawmaker had used marijuana prior to this plunge, so the senator decided he’d make the “great sacrifice.” Well, he made it through the experience unscathed after eating the other half and then eating the another half and then going to Cirque Du Soleil, according to Vice.
“I wouldn’t suggest shooting up marijuana to anybody, but I’ll tell you, it’s a lot of ho-hum,” said the (former) marijuana virgin. “I think the reefer madness crowd, you guys, you need to try it. It’s not that big of a deal.”
Moments later, the senator got specific and proposed that everyone in Utah’s legislature “go try gummy bears.” He added maybe they can pass a one-day law for a “special session and do it in the capitol with nurses around and doctors.”
A vast majority of Utah’s Senate is Mormon, Dabakis said, noting the Mormon church has been openly opposed to medical marijuana. But Dabakis swerved right past this obstruction with a dependable plan that that excuses conflicting religious beliefs, citing the experiment as “informational.”
“Make no mistake, anti-reefer madness people are in total control now, and they’re going to re-write what the people have, so having said all that I’m just saying: ‘It’s no big deal,’” he said, adding that taxpayer’s money was not used to purchase the $30 edible.
There was no “ahhhh moment” as the senator described it. He was just mellow. And maybe him not dying will do nothing for the proposition. But the videos, which collectively have over 400,000 views, garnered support from some of the public, if nothing else.
“I will pay for all the edibles to give to each member of Utah’s legislature!” a Facebook user wrote in the comment section. Another called him “a true hero to the people of Utah.”
10 Child Stars Who Ruined Their Lives
10 Child Stars Who Ruined Their Lives
Many children dream of being famous singers or movie or TV actors. But the harsh reality of having your name in lights at such a young age is nothing like the dream.
Some kids just can’t handle stardom. As these 10 stories of well-known child stars show, the riches and fame can lead kids down a path of drug addiction and other illegal behaviors. They may lose everything and ruin their young lives. It’s enough to make us reconsider whether being rich and famous is really worth it.
Lindsay Lohan
Born in New York City in 1986, Lindsay Lohan was first recognized by the public for her starring role as the twins in Disney’s remake of The Parent Trap. She then rose higher to fame during her roles in 2003’s Freaky Friday and 2004’s Mean Girls.
However, stardom did not do any favors for Lohan. As her fame grew, she began appearing in New York nightclubs and her life quickly devolved into a stream of negative publicity in the tabloids.
In 2007, Lohan was arrested after she crashed her Mercedes-Benz into a tree. Two months later, she was arrested again for being involved in a car chase during which she was also found to be in possession of cocaine. The result of this was two counts of driving under the influence and one count of reckless driving. She received the minimum sentence of four days in jail, although she only had to serve one.
Later in 2007, Lohan checked into rehab as required by her recent sentencing. When she was released, Lohan said that she wanted to stay sober and “out of Los Angeles.” After managing to stay clear of the press for a few years, she reappeared after being sentenced to 90 days in jail for missing a DUI hearing. In 2011, she was charged with the theft of a necklace from a jewelry store.[1]
Since her scrapes with the law, she has managed to stay out of the tabloids aside from the time when she was bitten by a snake in Thailand in 2017. Her current projects include the Lohan Beach House club in Mykonos, Greece, and a second club in Rhodes.
Amanda Bynes
Amanda Bynes appeared in her first commercial at age seven before moving on to stage productions including Annie, The Secret Garden, and The Sound of Music. Following this, she landed a role in Nickelodeon’s TV series All That while simultaneously hosting her own program The Amanda Show.
From there, her success kept growing. She soon starred in a number of roles, including her part as Holly on the WB sitcom What I Like About You. Unfortunately, her fame went to her head and she soon found her face printed on the front of tabloids for all the wrong reasons.
Shortly after her “retirement” in 2012, Bynes was involved in a car accident with a police vehicle. She was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. She was then involved in two more hit-and-run car accidents and caught driving with a suspended license after her car was impounded.
In 2013, Bynes was arrested for drug use in her New York City apartment lobby after reports that she had thrown a bong out her apartment window. For this, she was charged with reckless endangerment, drug possession, and tampering with evidence.
Later that year, she reportedly started a fire near a residential driveway in California and was placed on psychiatric hold. Later, she went into a rehabilitation center. In 2014, she appeared to have turned her life around. However, not long after getting her license back, she was charged with driving under the influence and placed on psychiatric hold again.[2]
Fortunately for Bynes, she has finally managed to regain control of her finances and straighten out her life. She took time off from the tabloids to mend family relationships and showed interest in other hobbies, namely at a fashion design school. People Magazine has confirmed that Bynes is in a “happy and healthy place in her life” as of August 2018.
Britney Spears
Born in December 1981 in Mississippi, Britney Spears landed her first major TV role at age 11 starring in The All-New Mickey Mouse Club. This success came after being rejected at her first audition at age eight.
In 1995, she began to focus on her music career and was quickly signed by Jive Records. They produced her first single, “ . . . Baby One More Time.” By 1999, the single had reached the top of the charts after the release of a controversial music video with Spears in a skimpy outfit.
Over the years, Spears began shedding her innocent girl image and building a mature career with which she could continue to grow. She performed her hit single “I’m a Slave 4 U” at the MTV Video Music Awards, drawing more attention as she danced with a python in a revealing costume onstage.
In 2004, Spears married a childhood friend and then annulled the marriage, all within a few days. Several months later, she married her backup dancer Kevin Federline, who had previously left his pregnant girlfriend to be with Spears. In 2005, they announced that their first child would be born in April of that year. From there, Spears’s life quickly went downhill.
In 2006, she was caught driving with her son on her lap. This led to national headlines questioning her ability to be a parent. She was accused of sending horrible messages to her fans despite her excuse that she was merely trying to get away from paparazzi.
She gave birth to their second son only two months before filing for divorce from her husband. Then she began hanging out at the club scene and reportedly checking in and out of rehabilitation. In 2007, Spears shaved her head before checking into a treatment center.
Shortly after she released another single to attempt a comeback, she was charged with a hit-and-run accident in a local parking lot. She underwent a psychiatric evaluation and spent some time in the hospital before making her debut in a triumphant return.[3]
In 2008, she released her next album, Circus, which made it to the top of the charts and marked the beginning of her comeback. She then took a role as a judge for the popular singing show, The X Factor, before heading back into the music scene to work with big names like Iggy Azalea. She appeared to be fully recovered as she ventured on her #PieceOfMe tour.
Brian Bonsall
Brian Bonsall was born in 1981 in California and grew up acting in Hollywood from a very young age. From 3–14 years old, he played roles in a variety of shows and movies, including Family Ties, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the Disney film Blank Check.
In 1995, Bonsall took a break from acting and attended high school in Colorado. There, his passion for punk music developed. He began performing in punk bands, including Late Bloomers and Thruster.
Unfortunately, his life took a turn for the worse as he was arrested for driving under the influence. In 2007, he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend and pleaded guilty to third-degree assault. This resulted in a two-year probation sentence.[4]
However, this didn’t mark the end of Bonsall’s troubles. Between 2007 and 2010, he was arrested on a number of drug possession and minor assault charges that were all highly publicized due to his stardom. In 2009, he beat a friend over the head with a broken wooden stool while under the influence and was given another two years’ probation after being charged with felony menacing and third-degree assault.
Now living in Boulder, Colorado, he is pursuing a career in music by playing rhythm guitar in Lowjob, a local punk rock band. He is also a part of acoustic duo Bootjack & Bonz.
Drew Barrymore
Born in 1975, Drew Barrymore landed a major role at age six in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Her career exploded in the 1990s as she starred in Poison Ivy, Guncrazy, Bad Girls, and Boys on the Side.
She also developed a vast character portfolio by starring in low-key films like The Wedding Singer, Ever After: A Cinderella Story, Never Been Kissed, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. She became one of the most talented actresses of her generation. However, life hasn’t always been easy for Drew Barrymore.
At age nine, her mother started taking Drew to nightclubs during the absence of her alcoholic father. It was in these years that a young Barrymore became familiar with the effects of drugs and alcohol. At just 13, she violently attacked her mother in an attempt to throw her out of the house. As a result, Drew was placed in a rehabilitation center.
After a subsequent suicide attempt, she went back to rehab and returned to her home life completely sober at age 14. To try to reclaim her life, she filed successfully for emancipation at 15 and moved into her own apartment with a job at a local coffee shop.
Drew took another wrong turn at age 19 by posing naked for the infamous magazine Playboy. Following the issue’s release, she received a quilt and a note from Steven Spielberg for her 20th birthday telling her to cover up. The note was accompanied by Photoshopped images from the magazine which had been edited to have clothes on them.
This triggered her journey to cleaning up her act for good. She now has a balanced life and is extremely successful in the film industry. Drew discusses her dark history in her autobiography, Little Girl Lost.[5]
Shia LaBeouf
Born in 1986 in California, Shia LaBeouf is best known for his starring role as Sam Witwicky in the Transformers movies. He began his career by doing stand-up comedy in his hometown before being inspired by a friend in the film industry. LaBeouf instantly began looking for an agent and auditioning for parts.
As well as his Transformers role, he is also known for his parts in Disney Channel’s Even Stevens and in the 2003 movie Holes. He won a Daytime Emmy Award for his performance with Disney which sparked the beginning of an incredible career. However, he also had a troubled childhood.
Coming from a financially unstable family, LaBeouf suffered mental and verbal abuse at the hands of his father, who had developed a substance abuse problem. While it is said that this drove LaBeouf’s desire to be in the entertainment industry, the abuse must have taken its toll on such a small child.
In 2005, at age 19, he was arrested and charged with assault after he threatened his neighbor with a kitchen knife. LaBeouf then proceeded to ram the neighbor’s car with his own, claiming the neighbor was blocking LaBeouf’s path to the garage.
In 2007, he was arrested again after being asked by security to leave a Walgreens store and refusing to do so. Following this incident, he failed to appear in court and faced a $500 fine.[6]
Not long after this, he was involved in a car crash and required three surgeries to fix his hand. He faced charges for driving under the influence and had his license suspended. Unfortunately, the last time LaBeouf appeared in the media was due to plagiarism accusations involving three graphic novels he had written.
Demi Lovato
Born in 1992 in Albuquerque, Demi Lovato landed her first role as a child star alongside Selena Gomez in Barney & Friends. From there, she was cast in a part on Disney Channel’s As the Bell Rings before landing the starring role in the Camp Rock series. It was during the filming of Camp Rock that she found her passion for recording, and since then, she has climbed the music charts.
In 2008, not long after Camp Rock wrapped, Lovato began filming Princess Protection Program, another Disney movie, with her good friend Selena Gomez. Then Lovato landed her own Disney TV show, Sonny with a Chance, which ran until 2011.[7]
While rising in the film industry, Lovato was also climbing the music ladder with her albums Don’t Forget and Unbroken. From there, her stardom was ever growing. But what did we miss along the way?
While on tour with the Jonas Brothers in 2008, Lovato began using cocaine. She has since admitted that she couldn’t go more than an hour without it. Due to this addiction, she would smuggle drugs onto planes, doing lines in her seat while neighboring passengers slept or using drugs in the bathrooms.
Despite her growing substance abuse problem, she was still compassionate. In 2009, she teamed up with Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers to record a single to raise money for charity.
In 2011, she accepted that she had a problem and admitted herself to rehab where she was treated for bulimia, self-mutilation, and “self-medicating” with drugs and alcohol. It was during her rehabilitation that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
After sobering up in 2013, she detailed her experiences in a book, Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year, in an attempt to help other young people struggling with addiction. She states that this book provides young readers with “lessons, meditations, reflections, and daily goals.”
Justin Bieber
Justin Bieber was born in 1994 and raised in Ontario, Canada. Growing up, he always had an interest in music. Bieber taught himself to play a number of instruments, including guitar, drums, piano, and trumpet.
His rise to stardom began when his mother started posting videos of Justin performing on YouTube. His account grew, and people fell in love with him. Eventually, his videos caught the attention of talent agent Scooter Braun. The agency helped a young Bieber to obtain a record deal.
His first single, “One Time,” was released in 2009 and became a worldwide hit, going platinum in Canada and the US. This was quickly followed by the release of his debut album, My World, which was also successful on an international level. My World 2.0 was released in 2010 along with his concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. However, the fame went to his head and his behavior became questionable.
His first run-in with the law came in 2011 when Bieber was just a teen. A woman claimed in a lawsuit that the 17-year-old star was the father of her child. Fortunately, DNA tests proved the pop star’s innocence and the lawsuit was quickly dropped. This was merely the beginning.
In 2013, Bieber was accused of spitting on his neighbor after making threatening comments. Shortly after, there were a number of complaints about his dangerous driving in the residential area. Later that year, he was in the press again after he was recorded urinating in public and yelling obscenities about former President Bill Clinton.
Bieber’s last big run-in with the law was in 2014 when he was arrested for drag racing and driving under the influence. He remained in custody until he was able to post bail and was further charged with resisting arrest.[8]
Aaron Carter
Aaron Carter, brother of Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, was born in 1987 and followed his older brother into the music industry. At age seven, Aaron began as lead singer for the band Dead End before making his solo debut as the opening act for the Backstreet Boys two years later. The performance landed him a record contract, which led to the release of his first single, “Crush on You.”
In 1997, his first album was released and went gold in Norway, Spain, Denmark, Canada, and Germany. His next album, Aaron’s Party, was released in 2000. A huge success, it reached triple-platinum certification in the US. His music career also opened a number of doors in the acting industry, where he landed roles in Lizzie McGuire, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and 7th Heaven. But scandals were going on behind all this success.
In 2008, Carter was arrested for speeding in Texas and the police found marijuana in his car. In 2009, Carter secured a place on Dancing with the Stars. However, his stage fright led him to become addicted to Xanax, which he was using to relieve his anxiety.[9]
Three years later, still addicted to the prescription drug, he was coerced to enter a rehabilitation program by his brother, Nick, and their mother. Unfortunately, it was the death of his sister from a drug overdose which drove him to sobriety in 2012. In 2013, he filed for bankruptcy to clear his $3.5 million of debt. He is now clean and back on track financially.
Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin is one of the most renowned US child stars. He was born in 1980 in New York City and came into contact with showbiz at age four by appearing in a number of Off-Broadway shows. At age eight, he appeared in the films Rocket Gibraltar and See You in the Morning.
In 1990, he starred in his greatest film, Home Alone, directed by Chris Columbus. Home Alone became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time and resulted in a sequel.
At age 14, Culkin starred in a number of low-rated films. The public became skeptical as to whether the child star, who was the highest-paid star of his age, had already peaked. This led to questionable behaviors by Culkin which further tarnished his once-perfect reputation.
The lead-up to his role in the sequel of Home Alone resulted in allegations that his father, Kit Culkin, was mismanaging his fortune. This was later confirmed as his parents entered into a custody battle during which it seemed that they were more interested in their son’s fortune than in their son.
In 2004, Culkin was arrested for possession of 17.3 grams of marijuana along with a stash of other controlled substances. Culkin was “demonized” by the press for his drug use despite the many other child stars who had spiraled much further than he ever did.[10]
For a while, Culkin performed with a Velvet Underground parody band called Pizza Underground. They performed covers of songs featuring lyric changes about the topic of pizza.
10 Unconventional Types Of Tourism
10 Unconventional Types Of Tourism
When we think of a tourist, we generally envision people wearing large hats and moving around in open-top buses with cameras hanging off their necks. Or they could just be sunbathing on the beaches in their bikinis and shorts. But there’s more to travel than just that.
As we are about to find out, there are a bunch of different types of tourism, many of which do not conform to the basic stereotype of a tourist. These forms of tourism can be controversial and even dangerous. And even if they’re not likely to cause uproar or get someone killed, there are some bona fide weird ways to travel out there.
10Jihad Tourism
When the Syrian war was in full gear and the Islamic State (aka ISIS) controlled considerable chunks of Iraq and Syria, several Western nations faced a surge in citizens leaving to fight for Islamist groups like ISIS. These people are called jihad tourists: Muslim citizens who leave their nation to get involved in a war that is none of their business.
Interestingly, not all jihad tourists fight. Like regular travelers, most are just there for sightseeing. They serve no particular purpose other than to swell the ranks of the terrorist group and maybe brag of being terrorists. Osama bin Laden himself was a jihad tourist. He left Saudi Arabia to fight for the mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The ranks of the mujahideen were filled with jihad tourists.
Most countries remain skeptical of the long-term consequences of having their citizens travel to other countries for jihad. There is the fear that some of these terrorist-tourists will return home when the war is over or when they can no longer cope with its rigors, only to carry out domestic terrorist attacks.[1]
9Slum Tourism
Slum, adventure, reality, or poverty tourism refers to a form of tourism by people who only want to satisfy their curiosity. Slum tourists will visit the congested, poverty-ridden slums of a country just to see what they look like. Popular destinations include Manila in the Philippines, Rio de Janerio in Brazil, and Mumbai in India.
Tour operators in the affected countries have noticed an upsurge in slum tourists and have created special tour packages to cater to these people. Nevertheless, slum tourism remains controversial. While supporters say it is a way to raise awareness of poverty, the people on the other side insist it is only an excuse to stare at the poor.
Interestingly, slum tourism used to be popular in the US. During the 19th century, rich and curious Londoners would travel to see the prostitution- and drug-ridden slums of New York and San Francisco. An entire industry sprang up around slum tourism at the time, with tour operators hiring actors to pose as drug users and gang members. Some actors took their act further by engaging in staged shoot-outs right on the streets, just to satisfy the ignorant tourists.[2]
8Suicide Tourism
Assisted suicide, the act of helping someone commit suicide, is illegal in some countries. But not in Switzerland. Today, Switzerland is seeing a new kind of vistor: suicide tourists. Suicide tourists are people who travel from their countries to access assisted suicide services in Switzerland.
Suicide tourism is as controversial as assisted suicide and regular suicide, if not more so. Supporters of suicide tourism will often point to the fact that the majority of the tourists are suffering and wish to die. Why else would they travel from a faraway country to Switzerland, where they have no family or relatives, just to be helped to die? Supporters also say suicide tourism can only be prevented if the tourists are allowed to commit suicide in their own countries.[3]
7Experimental Tourism
“Experimental tourism” is a catchall phrase for the act of trying something new. There is no hard and fast rule on what qualifies as experimental tourism, as any unusual form of excursion counts. You do not need to leave your hometown to become an experimental tourist. A trip to your city’s airport can qualify as experimental tourism.
If you do decide to leave your city, a trip to the government offices in the nearby city qualifies as experimental tourism. If you want something more unconventional, you could just get a map of a city, draw a line through its streets, and follow that line in the real world. Or you could visit a new city blindfolded and be guided throughout your trip by your friend. You leave blindfolded, too, so you do not get to see the city at all.[4]
6Disaster Tourism
Disaster tourists are people who travel to areas that have been destroyed by natural or man-made disasters. This form of tourism is alternatively called dark tourism. The tourists are only interested in satisfying their curiosity and seeing firsthand the effects of the disaster.
Popular disaster tourist attractions in the US include Pearl Harbor, which was bombed by the Japanese during World War II, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Gettysburg was the deadliest battlefield of the US Civil War, amounting to over 50,000 casualties in just three days. Other disaster tourist attractions include the places where Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King were assassinated.
Outside the US, there are Hiroshima, Pompeii, and concentration camps operated by the Nazis. Disaster tourists are not all about history and will readily flock to areas recently affected by disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and, maybe, wars. Lots of people visited New Orleans to see the aftereffects of the devastating Hurricane Katrina.[5]
In 2015, a tour agency in Russia offered to take disaster tourists to Syria so that they could see the ongoing war firsthand. While most of the tour was to be focused on the rear, the agency said it planned to take people to the front lines if it got the chance. The Syrian government itself wants tourists to come into the country despite the war and continues promoting the nation as a tourist attraction.
5Sex Tourism
As should already be obvious from its name, sex tourists are those who travel to another country for sex. Most of the time, the tourist will be traveling from a developed nation to a less developed one. It used to be the exclusive province of Western tourists, but more sex tourists are now coming from China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.
Popular sex destinations include Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. Sex tourism is so important to the economy of countries like Thailand that it already contributes around 12 percent of its gross domestic product. The tourists themselves want to explore sex in total freedom without having to worry about what would have happened if they were in their home country.
Sex tourism is not without controversies. It is basically prostitution, which is the leading cause of human trafficking. Prostitution and sex trafficking rings are often run by criminals. The prostitutes themselves are generally unable to speak out, since prostitution is usually still technically illegal in the destination countries.[6]
4Gun Tourism
Unlike the United States, not every country allows its citizens own assault and sniper rifles. In some nations, getting a pistol is almost impossible. Some citizens of Australia and countries in Asia and Europe who wish to lay their itchy fingers on firearms will travel to the US to scratch their itch.
Not every gun tourist comes to the US as a gun tourist. Some are regular travelers who become gun tourists the moment they decide to satisfy their curiosity at shooting ranges. Others are Americans who cannot afford to buy guns or are curious about shooting a particular type of gun. Hawaii and Las Vegas are popular gun tourist destinations.[7]
Hawaii is the more popular destination. Shooting ranges will hire boys to stand by the roadside and share fliers with tourists advertising their services. Interested tourists, many of whom have never fired a gun before, are taken to the indoor shooting ranges, where they can fire up to four different weapons, depending on the package they select.
3Atomic Tourism
As you probably guessed from the name, atomic tourism is centered around nuclear weapons. Atomic tourists will often visit nuclear museums, areas crucial to the development of nuclear weapons, or areas that have been destroyed by nuclear weapons or nuclear reactor meltdowns.
Popular destinations in the US include the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson, Arizona, where nuclear missiles used to be stored. Here, curious tourists can even enter a missile silo. There is also the Trinity test site in New Mexico, where the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945. Tourists are only allowed in on selected dates twice a year and can even visit the exact spot where the bomb was detonated.
There are also the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, where the first nuclear reactor was built and plutonium was produced for the first atomic bomb, and the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where it was enriched. Another is the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where curious tourists can learn about nuclear reactors.
Outside the US, there are the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum and the Hiroshima Peace Site, where tourists can learn about the bombs dropped by the US during World War II. In Ukraine, tourists can visit the areas around Chernobyl, which suffered a nuclear meltdown in 1986. The tour includes a visit to the deserted town of Pripyat, which was abandoned after the meltdown.[8]
2Drug Tourism
Drug tourism, the act of leaving your country for another with the sole intention of doing drugs, is increasingly becoming a niche industry in drug-producing nations like Colombia. Western and Australian tourists will often travel to Colombia just to buy and use cocaine.
The niche is growing because cocaine is dirt cheap in Colombia, at least by Western standards. In Australia, a gram of cocaine is sold for $300. In Colombia, it goes for between $7 and $15. It is also easy to buy cocaine in Colombia, where it is sold on the streets.
Sellers will often hang around the areas foreigners visit. Or they could just stand by the roadside hawking sweets and chewing gum but with their hidden stash of cocaine ready for buyers who know what’s up. Police rarely disturb drug sellers, provided they are bribed. Sometimes, the police set foreign tourists up with drugs just to receive bribes as low as $1.[9]
1Tombstone Tourism
Tombstone tourists are travelers who love visiting cemeteries. While this usually involves cemeteries containing the remains of famous people or national heroes, absolutely any cemetery with an interesting history can be a destination. Popular cemeteries visited by tombstone tourists include Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, and Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.[10]
Pere Lachaise Cemetery is the resting place of singer Jim Morrison. Tourists will often leave half-smoked cigarettes on his grave. Another famous resident of Pere Lachaise is writer Oscar Wilde. He obviously has a lot of female fans because they will always leave him notes and napkins stained with lipstick.
Tombstone tourism is not a new thing. It has been around since Victorian England. The Victorian Brits had a thing for cemeteries and built a good chunk of Britain’s cemeteries. However, people started staying away from cemeteries after the calamities of the World Wars I and II.
10 Mind-Blowing Things That Happened Last Week
10 Mind-Blowing Things That Happened Last Week -
This week, we’ll be continuing our brand-new policy of completely ignoring the dumpster fire that is US politics in favor of stuff less likely to make you want to hang yourself. So strap yourself in and prepare for a giddy ride through the turbulent waters we like to call “news that doesn’t involve Washington, DC.”
Canada Got Legal Pot
It was like all an old school stoner’s dreams come true at once. On Wednesday, October 17, legal weed finally came into full effect in Canada. Following a vote earlier this year by Justin Trudeau’s government, Canada is now the second country on Earth where pot is completely legal across the board. (Number one was Uruguay.)
Although weed is no longer illegal, the actual rules regarding the age at which you can buy it, how much you can buy, from whom you can buy it, and how much it costs all vary depending on which province or territory you’re in. One notable example is that Quebec and Manitoba have both banned citizens from growing cannabis plants at home. It’s expected that this will soon result in a constitutional challenge.[1]
The arrival of legal pot and the moneymaking powers of Big Marijuana in a G20 country suggests that time may well be up on humanity’s attempt to make a plant illegal. Hopefully, some other countries will soon follow suit.
Crimea Was Hit By A Horrific School Shooting
Not two days ago, an 18-year-old kid walked into Kerch Polytechnic College in Crimea and opened fire. His twin gun and bomb attack on the school resulted in at least 20 dying, with some reports putting the number at 21. It also resulted in over 40 injuries and scenes of carnage never before seen on the peninsula in peacetime.
Initial reports of the mass shooting suggested that terrorism was a motive. Indeed, Crimea’s speaker of parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, immediately claimed Kiev was behind the attack as revenge for Russia annexing the peninsula in 2014. However, it soon became clear that the shooter was simply the latest in a long line of loners and weirdos who chose to take out their insecurities on others using bullets.
Now that the carnage is over, the questions will begin. Russia has seen four other attacks on schools so far this year, although none anywhere near as deadly. Already, people are asking how the teenage gunman was given a license for such a deadly weapon.[2]
A Hostage Crisis Gripped Cologne
Sticking with the grim news for a moment, this week also saw a violent crisis grip the German city of Cologne. On Monday, a 55-year-old man entered the city’s main train station and hurled a Molotov cocktail into a McDonald’s. This mildly injured two people and left a third woman with horrific burns to her legs. The perpetrator then took another woman hostage in a drugstore, triggering a hostage crisis that looked like it could descend into tragedy at any moment.[3]
Thankfully, his repeated threats to set his hostage on fire were never carried out. Police stormed the pharmacy soon after contact was made, shooting and arresting the attacker. His hostage mercifully escaped with only minor injuries.
The attacker was a Syrian refugee who had apparently been influenced by ISIS, although German police are saying that psychological problems may have also been a factor. Luckily, his violent plan never really went anywhere. He joins a long list of recent attackers—from the failed New York suicide bomber to the idiot who crashed his car outside Westminster in London—who were thankfully foiled by their own incompetence.
The UK Considered Making Misandry A Hate Crime
Misandry (the complete hatred of men as a social group) is the yin to misogyny’s (the hatred of women) yang. With misogyny being more of a problem across the world, misandry rarely appears in the headlines. Until this week. In a surprise move, British Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced a new review into hate crime in the UK. Along with many other categories, the Law Commission will now debate whether to include misandry.
UK hate crime law allows for tougher sentences where the motivation is proved to be against a community as a whole. Currently, the law has five categories of hate crime: those relating to sexuality, race, religion, transgender identity, and disability. Additionally, local police forces can add their own definitions, a decision that was taken in 2007 after 20-year-old Sophie Lancaster was murdered for being a goth.
The new review aims to expand the categories to include hatred toward women, hatred toward the elderly, and possibly hatred toward men. While some already consider the UK too willing to label things hate crimes, others have welcomed the move.[4]
China Unveiled Plans To Launch An Artificial Moon Into Space
If there’s a quixotic plan being unveiled somewhere in the world today, chances are it’s in China. The Middle Kingdom is currently hurtling forward technologically as it sets its sights on space. This Thursday, we got the most quixotic announcement yet. The city of Chengdu revealed plans to launch an artificial moon into orbit. This fake moon would then be used to light up the city at night.[5]
Sound a little nuts?
Unbelievably, this idea has been attempted before. Not so long ago, Russia announced near-identical plans to use a satellite to reflect the Sun’s rays down onto Siberia in the depths of winter and provide some light.
The project was ditched, but now Chengdu is reviving it. The hope is that four fake moons will eventually be launched and will illuminate the city enough at night to save billions of yuan in electricity costs.
The man behind the project, a Mr. Wu, has said the moons will provide an eternal “dusk-like glow” over an area of 50 square kilometers (19 mi2). Whether his dreams get any further than Russia’s remains to be seen.
The Gambia Launched A Truth And Reconciliation Commission For Its Dictatorship
In December 2016, something very odd happened in the tiny African nation of The Gambia. Yahya Jammeh, the nutcase dictator who had ruled the country for 22 years with an iron fist, unexpectedly lost what was meant to be a rigged election to his rival, Adama Barrow. When Jammeh tried to cling to power, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) forced him out. Suddenly, The Gambia went from dictatorship to democracy.
This week, Barrow finally moved to rid the country of Jammeh’s poisonous legacy. His government announced The Gambia would launch a Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission to investigate crimes committed by the dictatorship. The plan is to put victims at the center and bring those responsible for state-sponsored murder and torture to justice.[6]
One big question mark is whether Jammeh himself will be tried. In January 2017, he fled The Gambia for Equatorial Guinea, where he currently lives in exile. Whether his new home will extradite him is unknown.
A Bavarian Upset Shook Up German Politics
It was absolutely terrible news for Angela Merkel, but it wasn’t exactly good news for her opposition, either. On Sunday, Bavaria went to the polls for state elections. Although Merkel’s CDU party wasn’t standing, it’s “sister” party, CSU, certainly was. Under the leadership of Horst Seehofer, the CSU had tracked right, attempting to get the drop on the right-wing AfD. If that was the plan, it went over like a lead balloon.
Although the CSU still got more votes than any other party, its support effectively tanked, dropping 10 percentage points from 2013 and losing its absolute majority. More ominously still for Merkel, her junior coalition partners, the center-left SPD, plummeted to fifth place amid one of their worst-ever showings. It could be that the current coalition is already doomed.
Yet news was no better for anti-Merkel right-wingers. Although the AfD put up a strong showing, they fell far short of their own expectations, tumbling to fourth place. They were leapfrogged by the center-right Bavarian Free Voters and by the Greens.[7]
The Greens were the night’s real winners. Doubling their vote in a notoriously conservative state and coming in second on a pro-EU, pro-immigrant platform, they appeared to show that the populist left is now also on the rise in Germany.
France Launched An Investigation Into Its Leading Left-Wing Firebrand
Jean-Luc Melenchon is a guy you may not have heard of, but he is absolutely a household name in France. The veteran left-winger pulled down 20 percent of the vote in the first round of last year’s presidential election, only narrowly missing out on third place. He’s known for his outspoken opposition to Emmanuel Macron and simultaneous softness toward Vladimir Putin.
This week, though, he became famous for something else. On Tuesday, Melenchon’s Paris home was raided by police investigating misuse of election funds. But the real damage came when video was released of the raid. Melenchon was filmed screaming “I am the Republic!” at police officers and shoving them. When one officer got visibly annoyed, Melenchon taunted the young man, daring him to “go on, just try and touch me!”[8]
The video has pretty much trashed Melenchon’s reputation in France, at least for now. The unedifying sight of a rich politician bullying a cop hasn’t gone over well with the public. It’s also landed Melenchon with an additional charge of “intimidation” alongside his graft charges. At the time of this writing, he is being questioned by police.
A Politically Charged Schism Split The Orthodox Church
In the end, the schism came frighteningly fast. Last Thursday, Ukraine’s Orthodox Church was granted autocephaly from Moscow’s and became independent. Previously, the Ukrainian church had answered to Russia, but a split had been in the cards ever since the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
It was the response from Russia that was the really big news. On Monday, the Russian Orthodox Church announced it had cut ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople is somewhat like the Vatican of the Orthodox world. It’s the leading authority that all other churches are meant to look toward. Russia’s Church splitting off represents a tremendous schism and a crisis for the planet’s 300 million Orthodox Christians.
Yet this wasn’t just a religious schism, it was political, too. Russia’s Orthodox leader, Patriarch Kirill, is a fully paid-up Putin fanboy who had warned Constantinople not to indulge the Ukrainian Church. Nor was he the only one playing politics with faith. The Ukrainian president declared autocephaly was all part of the government’s pro-West drive.[9]
The Hunt For Vanished Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi Got Even More Intense
Last week, we told you about Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi-born Washington Post journalist who vanished inside the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul. Well, that story’s still ticking over and it’s getting more troubling and more gruesome by the day. Khashoggi still hasn’t surfaced, and Turkey continues to claim that he was murdered by a Saudi hit squad. Now, Ankara says it has the evidence to prove it.
Turkey claims that Khashoggi was beaten in the embassy, tortured, drugged, and then killed and dismembered. This week, Ankara released a tape purporting to be from inside the consulate. On it, Saudi forensic specialist Salah Al Tabiqi allegedly ordered music to be put on so that he could start chopping up Khashoggi. It’s unknown how Turkey acquired this tape. Saudi Arabia says it’s a fake.[10]
This was also the week that Turkish police searched the consulate looking for evidence. If they find any, the killing of Khashoggi could cause huge problems with the Saudi Crown Prince’s current reform drive and attempt to give his country a makeover. We’ll be keeping an eye on this story for the foreseeable future.
25LBS Of Meth Disguised As Aztec Calendars Found In Orange County
25LBS Of Meth Disguised As Aztec Calendars Found In Orange County
Nine people in an Orange County drug ring have been indicted for trying to ship 25 pounds of meth disguised as Aztec calendars and decorations from Garden Grove to Hawaii.
The drugs were part of a nearly 90-pound shipment that appeared to be colorful, decorative Mexican items, including the replicas of the 500-year-old Aztec calendar stone.
The U.S. Attorney's office said Tuesday that 25 pounds of disguised meth were intercepted in July in Orange County.
Officials say the traffickers also tried to ship five pounds of the drug to Hawaii inside bags of ground coffee.
Each defendant faces a series of charges including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
20 People Confess: I Once Bribed A Cop To Get Out Of A Ticket
20 People Confess: I Once Bribed A Cop To Get Out Of A Ticket
10 Unbelievable Things That Have Required A Doctor’s Prescription
10 Unbelievable Things That Have Required A Doctor’s Prescription
Doctors are certainly known for issuing drug prescriptions. However, depending on the country, state, or city, they could also write prescriptions for other things. Most of these surprising prescription items are downright weird, since they usually shouldn’t require a prescription.
In most instances, people were left unable to get their hands on the following things unless they had a doctor’s prescription. Some of the following items are still prescription-only today. Here are ten things you might never have guessed were once prescribed by doctors.
Sex Toys
A doctor’s prescription was once required to buy a sex toy in the city of Sandy Springs, Georgia, in the United States. The ban on sex toys was dictated under a city ordinance outlawing the buying or selling of “any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs.”
However, the city permitted the sales and use of sex toys only if they were for “bona fide medical, scientific, educational, legislative, judicial, or law enforcement purposes.” While the law did not explain how a sex toy could be useful for judicial and law enforcement purposes, it demanded that anyone requiring a sex toy for medical purposes have a doctor’s prescription.
Some residents challenged the legality of the ordinance in court. One was a woman who was left with nerve damage after suffering from multiple sclerosis. She said her sex life was negatively affected, and her marriage would have fallen apart if she had not used sex toys.
While she probably got her prescription to get the toy, she found it ridiculous that she needed to do so. Another plaintiff was an artist who uses sex toys for his artworks. He said he could not produce his art unless he got a doctor’s prescription for a sex toy.[1] In March 2017, the ban on sex toys was lifted.
Condoms
Need a condom in Ayala Alabang? You will need a medical prescription for that.[2]Ayala Alabang is one of the most expensive areas of the Philippines’ capital, Manila. It is also a religious battleground, with conservative Roman Catholics on one side and some liberal citizens on the other.
The majority of Filipinos are Roman Catholics, and Catholicism forbids the use of any form of artificial birth control, including condoms. This explains where the ordinance banning the sale of condoms came from.
The ban has divided opinions among Filipinos, for whom birth control remains a hotly debated topic. Some believe the government should be promoting birth control instead of suppressing it. Luckily for those worried about pregnancy or STDs, the prescription requirement is not strictly enforced.
Chewing Gum
Chewing gum has been banned in Singapore since 1992. While still enforced, the ban was relaxed in 2004 as part of trade discussions between Singapore and the United States. Under the agreement, Singapore approved the importation and sales of what it called “therapeutic gum.”
Those who want to obtain therapeutic gum (such as nicotine gum or gum marketed as beneficial for teeth) need a prescription and have to get it from a doctor or pharmacist. The gums are only sold in pharmacies for this reason.[3]
Getting a prescription and visiting the pharmacy is just one part of the hassle of getting therapeutic gum. Buyers are expected to provide their name and ID cards before the pharmacist can sell them gum. Any pharmacist who violates the rule could get a two-year jail sentence and a $2,940 fine.
Alcohol
In 1920, the United States passed the National Prohibition Act, outlawing the sale and production of alcohol. What followed was the emergence of what was called “medicinal alcohol.” Medicinal alcohol was the same as regular alcohol. The only difference was that a doctor’s prescription was required to buy it.
Medicinal alcohol was basically a creative attempt to work around Prohibition. Doctors prescribed it to cure real medical conditions like cancer and depression. It was a brisk business, with patients doling out $6–$7 for a prescription. The prescription lasted for ten days, so the patients always came back for another one.[4]
Winston Churchill, the future prime minister of the United Kingdom, also got his own prescription for medicinal alcohol when he visited the US in 1931. Arriving in New York, Sir Churchill was hit by a car while exiting a cab. Not one to miss a good opportunity, he had his doctor write him a prescription for medicinal alcohol. The doctor prescribed a minimum of six shots of alcohol during every meal. There was no overdose, and Sir Churchill was allowed to stop drinking at his discretion.
Cigarettes
Years ago, it was absolutely normal for doctors to prescribe cigarettes to asthmatic patients. The cigarettes back then were not the regular ones we see today. They were nicotine-free versions containing anti-asthmatic compounds like stramonium. Tobacco cigarettes containing nicotine were becoming more popular at around the same time, and so were cannabis and opium cigarettes.
The anti-smoking campaign soon came around, and people became aware of the dangers of smoking. However, doctors ignored the negative effects of smoking and continued to focus on the health benefits of tobacco. Things changed after World War II, when users became wary of all forms of cigarettes. This led to the demise of asthmatic cigarettes.[5]
Female Condoms
Female condoms (aka internal condoms) have not been spared the doctor’s prescription in the United States. The only reason for this boils down to one thing: money. F2C is the only brand of internal condoms approved by the FDA for sale in the United States. Despite its monopoly, it suffered poor sales.
This was why its makers, Veru Health, switched to a prescription-only business model in 2017. Under this model, patients with F2C prescriptions would get it on their insurer’s bill, since it was included as one of the birth control methods in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). The insurers would then pay Veru Health for the condoms.
Veru Health’s change in business model was criticized. First, people without insurance needed to shell out about $20—up from $3.50—for the condoms. While Veru Health markets the condom as a female condom, men and women often use it during anal sex. The higher cost could discourage them from buying it, making them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections.[6]
E-Cigarettes
E-cigarettes are among the latest controversial inventions out there. While manufacturers promote them as the solution to make people quit smoking, critics say they could actually cause non-smokers to start smoking. The fact that they often contain fruit flavoring could also make them appeal to children.
Public Health England (PHE), an agency under the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care, has proposed that e-cigarettes should only be sold with a medical prescription. That way, they will only be available to people attempting to quit smoking. PHE says e-cigarettes are less risky to people around the smoker and 95 percent less harmful than regular cigarettes. They also help 20,000 people quit smoking every year.
In 2016, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) issued British American Tobacco a license to market an e-cigarette called E-Voke as a “smoking cessation aid.” This means that British doctors can actually prescribe E-Voke to people trying to quit smoking.[7]
Vibrators
At a time when female sexuality was poorly understood, it was absolutely normal for doctors to prescribe a pelvic massage to cure women of what they called hysteria. Women affected with hysteria were said to be restless, anxious, and easily irritated.
The “pelvic massage,” aka giving the woman an orgasm, was handled by a doctor. But the doctors found the task to be very demanding and unpleasurable. Dr. J. Mortimer Granville saved the day when he invented the vibrator in the 1880s. Though he originally designed the device to treat muscle pain, it soon found use for inducing “hysterical paroxyms.”
The vibrator (originally confined to medical facilities) was operated by a doctor to help women diagnosed with hysteria reach orgasm.[8] Inventors eventually came up with all sort of products, and women soon started buying them for personal use. Vibrators slowly made the transition from the doctor’s office to bedrooms, while cases of “hysteria” gradually reduced until finally disappearing. (Note that this account of the origin of the vibrator has been challenged as mythical by some.)
Chocolate
Chocolate has been used as a drug throughout history. The Aztecs used it to treat all sort of diseases and ailments, either as a standalone or by mixing it with other herbs, roots, and barks. In Europe, chocolate was considered a food and drug, and it was absolutely normal for doctors to prescribe it to treat diseases.
Sometimes, doctors mixed bitter and disgusting drugs with chocolate so that their patients would take them. Obviously, only few people will readily ingest a powder made from grounded-up earthworms. However, they had no qualms when it was mixed with chocolate.
Fraudsters soon infiltrated the chocolate market and started selling chocolate as an all-in-one cure for every disease under the Sun. While chocolate worked for some of the ailments, it was possible that it only did because users boiled it in water before drinking it. Boiling kills harmful organisms in water, making it safer.[9]
Heroin
Heroin is considered one of the worst hard drugs out there. Yet, doctors once considered it medicine and would often prescribe it to treat a number of ailments, including cough, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. It was even sold over the counter and was readily available in pharmacies. Parents would often buy heroin to administer to their children before bed.
Heroin was developed, manufactured, and sold by Bayer pharmaceutical company as a non-addictive replacement for morphine. Some doctors became wary of the true effects of the drug and voiced their concerns. However, their warnings were ignored until hospital wards got filled with patients addicted to heroin.
This forced Bayer to permanently suspend production in 1913. The US issued a partial ban in 1914, turning heroin into a prescription-only drug. This changed little, and heroin was delisted in 1920. Addicts found other sources for their heroin, and many turned to crime to fund the habit.
Today, heroin is illegal in most parts of the world. Believe it or not, though, some countries, including Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the UK, and Canada, allow doctors to prescribe heroin as a last resort for addicts undergoing rehabilitation. The prescription is heavily regulated and will only be issued if nothing else works.[10]
FDA Is Throbbing Mad At E-Cig Comany That Put Viagra And Cialis In Vape Liquids
FDA Is Throbbing Mad At E-Cig Comany That Put Viagra And Cialis In Vape Liquids
The US Food and Drug Administration made clear on Thursday, October 11 that it has a major bone to pick with an electronic-cigarette vendor that illegally pumped prescription erectile dysfunction drugs into unapproved e-liquid products intended for vaping.
The cocky company, HelloCig Electronic Technology Co. Ltd, even advertised the vape liquids with labels and images using drug brand names. For instance, it sold one of the vaping liquids as “E-Cialis HelloCig E-Liquid” alongside an image of a bottle and tablets of Eli Lilly’s erectile dysfunction drug Cialis. It also sold a product with the brand of an anti-obesity drug that had been pulled from the market in Europe for causing psychiatric disorders. The e-liquid really contained the erectile dysfunction drug in Viagra, the FDA found.
In other instances, the company falsely claimed that e-liquid products were “FDA approved product[s] with FDA.”
The throbbing mad agency issued a stiff warning and firmly threatened “civil money penalties, criminal prosecution, seizure, and/or injunction” if HelloCig didn’t pull its products off the market immediately. The company has 15 days to respond.
FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb blasted the company in a statement, saying:
There are no e-liquid products approved to contain prescription drugs or any other medications that require a doctor’s supervision. Prescription drugs are carefully evaluated and labeled to reflect the risks of the medications and their potential interactions with other medicines, and vaping active drug ingredients is an ineffective route of delivery and can be dangerous. There are no e-liquids that contain prescription drugs that have been proven safe or effective through this route of administration.
The FDA’s warning is part of an ongoing effort to deflate misleading and illegal claims on vaping products. The agency’s main goal is to block products that specifically entice youth to try addictive nicotine-containing products. Last month, Gottlieb declared that e-cigarette use among teenagers has “reached nothing short of an epidemic proportion of growth.”
“I use the word epidemic with great care,” he wrote in a statement at the time. “E-cigs have become an almost ubiquitous—and dangerous—trend among teens. The disturbing and accelerating trajectory of use we’re seeing in youth, and the resulting path to addiction, must end. It’s simply not tolerable. I’ll be clear. The FDA won’t tolerate a whole generation of young people becoming addicted to nicotine as a tradeoff for enabling adults to have unfettered access to these same products.”
As such, the agency has banged away at e-cigarette companies and any questionable tactics. Most notably, the agency seized more than a thousand sales and marketing documents from popular e-cig maker Juul Labs during an unscheduled inspection a few weeks ago. Juul e-cigarettes resemble USB drive devices and have been wildly popular—particularly with teens. They currently make up the lion’s share of the e-cig market. The FDA’s primary concern is advertising and e-liquid flavorings, such as candy and fruit flavors, intended at hooking youngsters.
With that focus, FDA conducted lab analysis on HelloCig’s e-liquids, finding products that contained tadalafil (Cialis) and/or sildenafil (Viagra). The FDA also scrutinized the company’s product called “E-Rimonabant HelloCig E-Liquid,” which was marketed alongside an image of a bottle and tablets of Acomplia, an anti-obesity drug developed by Sanofi-Aventis. Acomplia was never approved by the FDA, but it had been previously approved in Europe in 2006. It was withdrawn from the market in 2008, however, after it was found to significantly increase the risk of psychiatric disorders. HelloCig’s e-liquid did not contain rimonabant (Acomplia), but it did contain undeclared sildenafil, the FDA found.
Woman High On Meth Dies After Pumping Gasoline Into Her Anus
Woman High On Meth Dies After Pumping Gasoline Into Her Anus
A 32-year old Erie, Pennsylvania woman has been killed after an overdose on meth caused her to insert a gas pump nozzle into her anus and begin pumping gasoline.
The woman, who is yet to be formally identified by authorities, is believed to have a record for multiple drug offences in Pennsylvania. Officials who are involved in the investigation believe the latest incident was caused by the woman overdosing on meth.
“The victim has been known to abuse multiple substances, but her drug of choice is meth,” said one investigator. According to witnesses, the woman ran across several lanes of traffic to the gas station and grabbed a pump nozzle before pulling down her skirt.
Horrified motorists looked on as the woman proceeded to shove the nozzle into her anus and begin pumping gas. “Oh that feels good!” she is said to have called out to the onlookers, who were too shocked to attempt to stop her.
The woman continued to pump gas until the cashier activated the emergency stop. She later collapsed onto the ground and paramedics were soon on the scene to provide assistance. However, the gasoline had flooded the woman’s internal organs after it was absorbed through her rectum.
“The gasoline entered her bloodstream and had a toxic effect, shutting down her key organs,” said one doctor who tried in vain to treat the woman when she arrived at hospital. “Unfortunately there was nothing we could do for her.”
How Capitalism Broke China's Healthcare System
How Capitalism Broke China's Healthcare System
The changes in China's healthcare system in the past decades have led to endangering situations such as decreased chances of seeing a doctor and DIY drug making.
FAST FACTS: 10 Outrageous Facts About Pablo Escobar’s Absurd Wealth
FAST FACTS: 10 Outrageous Facts About Pablo Escobar’s Absurd Wealth
Pablo Escobar was a family man, a giver to the poor, and one of the wealthiest and most feared criminals ever to have lived. In less than two decades, he became more than just the head of the Medellin Cartel; he was also known as Don Pablo, El Padrino, (“The Godfather”), and El Zar de la Cocaina (“The Tsar of Cocaine”).
Escobar’s cocaine empire bagged him an estimated net worth of $30 billion by the early 1990s. He was one of the richest men in the world. Pablo Escobar truly was the King of Cocaine, and these are some of the most outrageous facts about his unimaginable wealth.
10. From Poverty To The One Of The Richest Men In The World
Born December 1, 1949, in the city of Rionegro in Colombia’s Antioquia Department, Pablo Emilio Escobar was the third of seven children. He was a quiet child, often lost in his own thoughts. As his older brother, Roberto Escobar, recalled, “My brother was always thinking.”
The future cocaine kingpin was born during La Violencia, a civil war in Colombia from 1948 to 1958 between the Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party that cost the lives of 200,000 people. The families who survived were forced into poverty.
Escobar wanted better for himself in life and began to make money of his own. He started to sell old tombstones, robbing them from forgotten graves, sanding off the names, and reselling them.[1] It wasn’t long before Escobar discovered there was a lot more money to be made in the cocaine trade, and he began to build his own organization.
9. His Cartel Supplied 80 Percent Of the Cocaine In The US
The Medellin Cartel was a partnership between drug traffickers Pablo Escobar, Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha, Carlos Lehder, Jorge Luis Ochoa, and Juan Matta-Ballesteros. However, Pablo was always at the top of the criminal organization. As former US Drug Enforcement Agency officer Javier Pena explained, “Escobar was the CEO, very charismatic, very powerful, very demanding.”[2] Those who would not cooperate with Escobar were executed. He had a saying, “Plata o plomo,” which essentially meant: “Take my silver or take my lead.”
Eventually, the demand for cocaine in the US had surpassed the demand for coffee as the cartel was smuggling more than 15 tons of cocaine into the US per day. By the late 1980s, they had an enormous fleet which included 142 planes, 20 helicopters, 32 yachts, and 141 homes and offices. At the top of his game, four out of every five lines of cocaine snorted in the United States were supplied by Pablo Escobar and his cartel.
8. They Spent $2,500 A Month On Rubber Bands To Hold The Money
In the 1980s, Escobar’s cartel was bringing home an estimated $420 million a week, totaling around $22 billion a year. That was a lot of money to account for, which was left to his brother, Roberto Escobar. According to Roberto, the cartel spent around $2,500 a month on rubber bands just to hold the stacks of cash together.[3]
Escobar became a Robin Hood character in parts of Colombia. He used some of his fortune to build neighborhoods, schools, and hospitals. He also funded the medical expenses for those less fortunate and appeared heroic in the eyes of many people. The drug lord was a huge supporter of Medellin’s Atletico Nacional soccer team, which he funded, and attended many of the games. Following his death in 1993, more than 20,000 people gathered at the cemetery on the outskirts of Medellin, as his legacy, in their own eyes, had touched their hearts.
7. He Was On Forbes ‘s Rich List Seven Years In A Row
In 1987, Forbes magazine published their first issue listing 100 of the world’s richest billionaires, including Pablo Escobar. With Escobar’s 40-percent stake in the cartel and Jorge Luis Ochoa-Vasquez’s 30-percent stake that he shared with his brothers, they were the only two Colombian billionaires to make the cut. There’s no denying that they had a great advantage in the race of the richest, as their fortune was tax-free. Forbes estimated Escobar’s net worth in 1987 to be more than $2 billion.
Despite having three federal indictments in the US for cocaine marketing, money laundering, and contract killing, Escobar was able to keep his name on Forbes ’s list for seven years running. In the first issue that included the drug lord, Forbessaid of Escobar: “A husky 5-foot-6-inch man normally given to rugby shirts, chino pants, and sneakers, Escobar is a prime example of a Colombian paisa—an aggressive, unsentimental country hustler.” In 1993, Escobar made his final appearance on the list, and they wrote, “We suspect that, as have his fellow drug lords the Ochoa brothers (now languishing in jail), Escobar will soon leave this list. Perhaps, this earth.”[4]
6. He Didn’t Care If He Lost $2 Billion In Cash
In every business, there are going to be losses—even the cocaine trade. However, Escobar’s losses were on a different level, as his brother and accountant Roberto described in Pablo’s biography. He wrote, “Pablo was earning so much that each year we would write off 10% of the money because the rats would eat it in storage or it would be damaged by water or lost.” That’s a roughly $2 billion cash dinner for those rodents.[5]
Escobar trusted his fortune to his older brother, but that trust soon turned out to be misplaced. According to The New York Times, five different entities brought the cocaine kingpin down; the Cali Cartel, Los PEPES (short for “People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar”), both the Colombian and US governments, and his own brother, Roberto. Escobar’s son Sebastian Marroquin wrote in his book Pablo Escobar: My Father : “My uncle Roberto Escobar, the official informant of the DEA, actively contributed to delivering him to his enemies.”
5. His Home Had Pet Hippos, Giraffes, And Elephants
When money is no object, the list of things you can splash your cash on is limitless. Pablo Escobar began collecting exotic pets, including hippos, giraffes, antelope, ostriches, and elephants. His self-made zoo was housed at his lavish colonial estate known as the Hacienda Napoles, which also boasted a private airport, a bullring, and a kart-racing track, all set in 5,000 acres of land.
Following his death, the cost of running the zoo was too much, and many of the exotic creatures were rehoused. However, 24 of his hippos escaped and decided to relocate to the river surrounding the central Colombian hacienda, and they’ve multiplied over the years. They are now the largest population of wild hippos outside of Africa and even featured in their own National Geographicdocumentary titled Cocaine Hippos.[6]
4. He Paid His Pilots $500,000 For One Trip
When you have 15 tons of cocaine to smuggle a day (roughly around the same weight as two African elephants), it can be a logistical nightmare. The first of the shipments were flown between Colombia and Panama by Escobar himself. Then, with the help of a fleet of planes, including a Learjet, he was able to get his cocaine straight into the US. The jet wouldn’t return home empty; it would be stuffed with more millions for the cartel.
Working for Escobar would ensure an impressive payday. Pilots flying to the US would have their plane tires loaded with cocaine, and one trip could earn them up to $500,000. Another method he used was soaking jeans in liquid cocaine, exporting them legally, and then extracting the drug on the other side. Officials were bribed, and those who could not be bribed were murdered. Although he was a hero to many, he is believed to be responsible for an estimated 4,000 deaths.[7]
3. He Once Set Fire To $2 Million To Keep His Daughter Warm
One of the craziest stories about Pablo Escobar and his wealth is that he set fire to $2 million because his daughter was cold. His son, Sebastian Marroquin, told Don Juan magazine that when his family was on the run from federal agents, Escobar would regularly blindfold them, put them in a car, and drive to a new hideout location. That way, if any of his family members were captured, they could not reveal where his location was. Escobar’s paranoia was fueled by his greatest fear—to spend the rest of his days locked inside an American jail cell.
According to his Sebastian, when they were living in a hideout in the Medellin mountainsides, his younger sister Manuela developed hypothermia. One morning, when she was really sick, Escobar took two sacks containing $2 million and made a bonfire with it to keep her warm and well.[8]
2. He Served Time In His Own Luxury Prison With A Spa
In 1991, under the constant pressure of being hunted, Pablo Escobar worked out an agreement over the course of six months with Colombian authorities. His terms were that he would go to prison for five years; however, this prison would be built to his own specification and close to his family home. The terms were agreed to, as the Colombian government was already facing a political headache thanks to his actions.
The prison Escobar built was dubbed “Club Medellin” (among other names), as it included a jacuzzi spa, soccer field, discotheque, and a private bar. There were even phone and fax lines fitted so that he could continue his business and manage what was left of his crumbling empire. The “prison” was perfect for Escobar, who feared both assassins and extradition to the US. His motto was: “Better a grave in Colombia than a cell in the US.”
In 1992, the Colombian government decided to move Escobar to a military installation. During the transfer, a shoot-out between Colombian soldiers and Escobar’s associates ended with the kingpin and his gang escaping through the mountainside. Once again, he had evaded the law.[9]
1. His Money Is Still Buried Out There Somewhere
On December 2, 1993, after 16 months on the run, Pablo Escobar died in a shoot-out on a rooftop with members of National Police of Colombia. To this day, what happened to the remainder of his staggering fortune is still unclear. There were four different categories to his wealth—obvious assets like cash, cars, and houses; immediately hidden assets that were accessible from caves or secret compartments in his houses; remotely hidden assets laundered through banks in other countries and foreign businesses; and lost assets that are completely hidden.
The Colombian government was able to uncover $100 million worth of these stashed treasures, including pure gold bullion, barrels full of cash, jewels, and machine guns. According to former DEA agents, there is still more than $1.3 billion buried on Colombian soil, with only Escobar’s cartel members and the deceased drug lord himself knowing of its exact whereabouts. Sonar and digging technology have been used to help locate the missing cash, but there is still a whole world of wealth out there.[10]
15 WTF Things That Happened When People Hooked Up While High
15 WTF Things That Happened When People Hooked Up While High
$18 Million Worth Of Cocaine Found In Bananas Donated To Texas Prison
$18 Million Worth Of Cocaine Found In Bananas Donated To Texas Prison
It was a donation that turned out to be absolutely bananas.
On Friday, two sergeants from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice found nearly $18 million worth of cocaine while unloading two pallets containing 45 boxes of bananas, which were being donated to the Wayne Scott Unit in Brazoria County, Texas, as reported on the department’s Facebook page.
“One of the boxes felt different than the others. They snipped the straps, pulled free the box, and opened it up," the TDCJ said in a statement on its Facebook page. "Inside, under a bundle of bananas, he found another bundle! Inside that? What appeared to be a white powdery substance.”
In total, the TDCJ stated that the shipment contained “an estimated street value of $17,820,000."
View the original Facebook post below:
According to CNN, the sergeants uncovered 540 packages inside the shipment. Officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection would eventually confirm that the “white powdery substance” inside the bananas was in fact cocaine.
The bananas, which were fully ripe, had been donated because they arrived at the port but were never claimed.The donation came from the Port of America in Freeport, Texas, according to USA Today.
CNN reported that the department is unclear about where the cocaine came from, nor does it know when it entered the banana shipment.
Authorities from several departments are investigating.
In 2017, two tons of marijuana were disguised as limes in a shipment that crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, according to CNN. Those drugs were reportedly worth $789,467.
EX-UNDERCOVER DRUG COP EXPLAINS WHAT IT’S ACTUALLY LIKE TO BUY HEROIN FROM DANGEROUS DRUG DEALERS
EX-UNDERCOVER DRUG COP EXPLAINS WHAT IT’S ACTUALLY LIKE TO BUY HEROIN FROM DANGEROUS DRUG DEALERS
Ever wondered what really underpins international drug policy? Or how you get out the way of a samurai sword being wielded by a drug dealer? Whistleblowing ex-undercover drugs cop and chairman of LEAP UK, Neil Woods, opens up about the ins and outs of the profession.
What Ecstasy Does To Octopuses?
What Ecstasy Does To Octopuses?
But octopuses are very different creatures. They’re clearly intelligent and their behavior is undoubtedly sophisticated, but their brains have a completely different architecture than those of mammals—for one thing, they’re shaped like donuts. “It’s organized much more like a snail’s brain than ours,” Dölen says. With such a dissimilar anatomy, she wondered whether these animals would respond to drugs in unpredictable ways. And to find out, she needed a way of assessing how sociable an octopus is.
She and her colleague Eric Edsinger put five Californian two-spot octopusesindividually into the middle of three connected chambers and gave them free rein to explore. One of the adjacent chambers housed a second octopus, confined inside an overturned plastic basket. The other contained an unfamiliar object, such as a plastic flower or a Chewbacca figurine. Dölen and Edsinger measured how long the main animal spent in the company of its peer, and how long with the random toy.
Next, she dosed the animals with ecstasy. Again, there’s no precedent for this, but researchers often anesthetize octopuses by dunking them in ethanol—a humane procedure with no lasting side effects. So Dölen and Edsinger submerged their octopuses in an MDMA solution, allowing them to absorb the drug through their gills. At first they used too high a dose, and the animals “freaked out and did all these color changes,” Dölen says. But once the team found a more suitable dose, the animals behaved more calmly—and more sociably.
With ecstasy in their system, the five octopuses spent far more time in the company of the same trapped male they once shunned. Even without a stopwatch, the change was obvious. Before the drug, they explored the chamber with the other octopus very tentatively. “They mashed themselves against one wall, very slowly extended one arm, touched the [other animal], and went back to the other side,” Dölen says. “But when they had MDMA, they had this very relaxed posture. They floated around, they wrapped their arms around the chamber, and they interacted with the other octopus in a much more fluid and generous way. They even exposed their [underside], where their mouth is, which is not something octopuses usually do.”
But most octopuses, with some exceptions, are solitary hermits, and Jennifer Mather from the University of Lethbridge isn’t convinced that ecstasy is making them sociable. Instead, the drug might just mess with their ability to detect the chemical cues of potential mates. “There’s no proof that it is anything more than attraction,” she says.
Harriet de Wit from the University of Chicago, who has studied ecstasy’s effects on animals, has other concerns. “It’s an innovative and exciting study,” she says, but it’s unfortunate that the duo always tested the octopuses first after a dunk in normal salt water and then after an ecstasy bath. In pharmacology studies, scientists normally mix up the order in which animals receive the drug and the saline control. Without that counterbalancing, it’s hard to say why the octopuses were behaving differently the second time around: Was it because of the ecstasy, or simply because they had become familiar with the arena, the plastic toy, or the other octopus?
Dölen admits that the study is just a pilot, and one with a very small sample size. “We would obviously want other people to try and repeat it in a much larger group of animals,” she says. “But we wanted to publish it, because there really aren’t established protocols for delivering drugs to octopuses or doing social tests with them.” She hopes that her findings will encourage more neuroscientists to study these beguiling animals.
Octopuses have their own version of sert, and Dölen and Edsinger showed that it’s just a 50 percent match to ours. Despite these differences, the specific bit of the protein that sticks to ecstasy is almost identical in both species, which is why the drug affects both. “We weren’t expecting it to have quite so much overlap,” Dölen says.
“Octopuses really are the best example we have on Earth of a second intelligence,” says Robyn Crook, a neuroscientist from San Francisco State University. We last shared a common ancestor with them around 800 million years ago, and their brains have evolved independently from ours. And yet Dölen’s study showed that our brains have a few extreme similarities, from the molecular level to the behavioral one. It strengthens the idea, Crook says, that “there are only so many ways to make an intelligent brain.”
10 Wild Stories About The Music, Drugs And Riots On L.A.'s Infamous Sunset Strip
10 Wild Stories About The Music, Drugs And Riots On L.A.'s Infamous Sunset Strip
These days, the Sunset Strip is awash in billboards, high-end shopping boutiques and swanky nightclubs. But from the 1960s to the 1980s, it was the place for rock n’ roll legends to do their rock n’ roll legendary things.
From drugs in bathrooms (and outside of bathrooms) to foam parties in hotels to protests, the Strip defined music, debauchery and rock n’ roll for three decades. Here are some of the wildest stories to come from that time.
12 Times Tumblr Pondered The Agony And Ecstasy Of Elon Musk
12 Times Tumblr Pondered The Agony And Ecstasy Of Elon Musk
Why is it that everyone's obsessed with Elon Musk? Is it the fact that nobody else seems to embody the bold industrialist man of science ideal that's been a part of American mythology since Thomas Edison? Is it because he sits at the crossroads of our generation coming to terms with the limitless possibilities and unavoidable flaws of capitalism? Perhaps it's the fact that while other billionaires are dull, hoarding assets and amassing wealth through inscrutible financial instuments Elon is in the news every day pushing new (and sometimes strange) ideas? It could be the fact that he is a canonical part of the Marvel Universe (I'm not the only one who remembers that cheeky cameo in Iron Man 2).
Considering all the controversies and weird rumors that have surrounded him in 2018 it's no wonder why we can't seem to stop talking about him. Money, fame, happiness, drugs, politics, technology, THE FUTURE ITSELF are all wrapped up in the world of this quiet computer programmer who grew up to inspire (and draw ire) from the entire world.
Tesla Stock Plummeted After Elon Musk Smoked Weed On Joe Rogan’s Live Podcast
Tesla Stock Plummeted After Elon Musk Smoked Weed On Joe Rogan’s Live Podcast
If you happen to see Azealia Banks circling the unemployment office, this would be why. Her recent position as the number-one source for exposing Elon Musk’s deeply cringey behavior has just been made redundant. Elon can personally take it from here.
Elon hasn’t had such a great couple of months. It was discovered recently that Elon donated to the Republican party. He’s been accused of union-busting. Tesla shares dropped after Elon called one of the Thai cave rescuers a pedo. It was recently discovered that he’s still calling that Thai cave rescuer a pedo. Yesterday, Elon Musk appeared on the 1169th episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Joe Rogan, a two-and-a-half hour podcast episode that was streamed live on YouTube.
Elon could have used his time on The Joe Rogan Experience to build up some goodwill and reassure stockholders that he’s not slowly losing his mind. But…he didn’t do that. Instead, Joe and Elon talked about Tesla, watches, Mars – all subjects that are very relevant to his interests. Then Elon proved he’s definitely a super cool, chill dude by sipping whiskey and taking a puff from a blunt that Joe had rolled.
Around the 2:10:00 mark, Joe lights up and Elon asks if it’s a joint or a cigar. Joe asks if he’s ever smoked a blunt before, and Elon answers like he’s starring in a peer pressure drug PSA by saying: “Yeah, I think I tried one once.” Joe then comments that he probably can’t smoke because of stockholders, to which Elon responds by taking a puff. If any stockholders are concerned, don’t worry – I’m pretty sure none of the chronic made it to his lungs.
Elon’s attempt at looking cool might have won some people over, but not the people that count in business. According to NBC News, Tesla stock dropped 9% today. Two high-profile executives, Human Resources head Gabrielle Toledano and Chief Accounting Officer Dave Morton, also announced today that they’re leaving the company. Dave joined the Tesla team just last month. He released a statement saying that the “level of public attention” placed on the company was more than what he’d expected.
Tesla’s stock dropped sharply around 10am, but it began to rise again. NBC News says that Tesla could, and probably will, bounce back – even if temporarily.
According to Azealia Banks, Elon wanted to set his Tesla stock price at $420 a share because he’s so into weed. Yet he’s beyond awkward when it comes to actually smoking it. Not to mention his obsession with underground tunnels and Mars. You know, it’s really too bad they’re not his target market, because Elon would be a hit in the just-discovered-weed teen stoner market.
Guy Freaking Out After Smoking Spice Will Make You Want To Avoid Synthetic Drugs
Guy Freaking Out After Smoking Spice Will Make You Want To Avoid Synthetic Drugs
If you don't stay away from synthetic drugs... you're gonna have a bad time.
9 People Who Abused Drugs In Nazi Germany
9 People Who Abused Drugs In Nazi Germany -
In Nazi Germany, drug use was generally considered taboo. Cocaine and heroin were looked down upon, as the Nazis falsely believed that they were part of a Jewish conspiracy. Yet, thousands of Germans used drugs in order to cope with the war. Abuse was widespread among everyone from ordinary citizens, to soldiers, to some of the top Nazi officials. Even housewives partook, eating the methamphetamine laced Hildebrand chocolates so they could clean faster.
Though the Allies also used drugs to cope with the pressure, the drug abuse in Nazi Germany is extensively recorded in interviews, medical records, journal entries and official reports. Some historians theorize that this widespread drug use was pivotal in several key events - such as the invasion of France.
The majority of the people on this list got away without any punishment, even though they broke the law - which goes to show that even though the law was harsh, it was badly enforced, and most often used against minorities.
Some of the names on this list will surprise you, so read on...
9. Dr. Franz Wertheim
To cope with the pressures of the war, doctors were prone to taking drugs. Franz Wertheim, a medical officer in the military was no different. In 1940, Wertheim wrote that, "we doctors experimented on ourselves. We would begin the day by drinking a glass of cognac and taking two injections of morphine. We found cocaine to be useful at midday.” Wertheim wrote also that he and his fellow doctors “were not always fully in command of our senses.”
Cocaine use was looked down upon, as the Nazis saw it as a degenerate drug, and falsely associated it with the Jewish community. It was also used heavily in The Weimar Republic- a period of democratic rule in Germany that the Nazis had heavily opposed. Despite this, Cocaine was commonly prescribed by doctors, as a form of pain relief.
8. Dr. W. Horn
During Nazi rule, though drug abuse was very taboo, the law was not consistently enforced. Some addicts were put in concentration camps, whilst others got away with just a fine. Drug policy was heavily influenced by the Nazi's racist ideology, which helps explain why some addicts got away with much lighter punishment than others.
Dr. W. Horn was first identified as an opiate addict in 1942. He was convicted for falsifying prescriptions and was fined 500 Reichsmarks, and had to have treatment in a sanitarium. In 1944, Horn admitted to falsifying prescriptions again, which was a breach of the opium law. He was fined 6000 Reichsmarks, (which was a huge amount) and had to pay for the trial. Yet on this occasion, he was not sent to a hospital or given prison time.
Despite breaking the law, he kept his medical license and continued to treat patients even after the war ended. This reflects the strange attitude the Nazis had towards drugs. The Nazis were hesitant to be too harsh on doctors with addiction issues, as their support of the party was vital.
7. Heinrich Böll
Before he became a Nobel prize winner, Heinrich Böll was conscripted into the German army, even though he was by no means a supporter of the Nazis. Pervitin was commonly used by soldiers to help them stay awake for battles and patrols. Böll became dependent on Pervitin. We know this because of the letters he sent home to his family.
In one letter, he wrote, “please remember to send me, at the next opportunity, an envelope containing Pervitin. Father can pay for it out of what he lost to me from our bet.” In another, he wrote, “I’m exhausted and now I want to knock off. If possible send me some more Pervitin and some Hillhall or Kamil cigarettes.” The regularity and casualness with which Böll refers to Pervitin goes to show how lightly it was thought of, and how extensive his addiction was.
The dangers of the drug were not widely recognized. In 1940 the army ordered 35 million tablets for the soldiers. Böll no longer had to ask for more from his parents.
Clearly, he was able to overcome his addiction. In 1972, he became the Nobel Laureate for literature and his pacifism is remembered.
6. Dr. Otto Ranke
Ranke was an army physiologist. It was thanks in part to his research that Pervitin use became widespread. He wanted to find a way to reduce the amount of sleep a soldier would need and found that Pervitin was more effective and cheaper than coffee.
He would often be asked by officers for more and once gave 2000 tablets to the 10th Panzer division. Not only did he contribute to the popularity of Pervitin, he also became addicted to it. On average he would take two tablets each day. In a letter to a colleague, he wrote: “With Pervitin you can go on working for thirty-six to fifty hours without feeling any noticeable fatigue.” He would often go without sleep, just so that he could keep up with his workload.
5. Dr. Theodor Morrell
Theodor Morrell was Hitler’s personal doctor. He also treated many other high-ranking Nazi officials. Like the other doctors on this list, he developed a drug habit, though it is unknown exactly what he took.
He would make his assistant, Dr. Weber, travel from Berlin to the Berghof, just to give him injections of his preferred substances. He once wrote that Weber was “the best at giving injections and the only one guaranteed to find my veins.” Collapsed veins are a symptom of severe drug abuse.
He had severe health issues and side-effects later in his life, as a result of this drug abuse. On the 16 April 1945, when attempting to treat Hitler, Morrell experienced shaking hands, before passing out. Later that year, after Germany was defeated, he was captured by American soldiers. Whilst incarcerated for interrogation, Morrell experienced paranoid episodes, and his speech was often incoherent.
4. Erwin Rommel
In 1940, during the invasion of France, Rommel oversaw the 7th Panzer Division. He became known for the speed at which his troops were able to take territory, using Blitzkrieg tactics.
However, like many other soldiers, Rommel consumed substantial amounts of Pervitin. He was described as having “no apparent sense of danger- a typical symptom of excessive methamphetamine consumption.”It is alleged his habit was so excessive that he consumed it as if it were “his daily bread."
Given his Pervitin consumption, the seemingly impossible feats that he and his troops were able to accomplish are more understandable. His division would often fight throughout the night, going without sleep. He and his troops were also able to travel enormous distances without stopping, their highest record being 270km in a single day.
3. Herman Göring
Second, only to Hitler, Göring had joined the Nazis before they came to power. In 1923, he was injured in the Beer Hall Putsch, an attempt by the Nazis to seize power over Bavaria. Because of his injuries, he became addicted to morphine. His addiction continued throughout the war.
Though he was very powerful and influential, this did not stop him from taking morphine, even whilst working. He would often leave meetings to take another dose, with some officials observing a noticeable change in demeanor afterward. He even kept a special syringe - handcrafted, with a gold ring, kept in a specially designed box. He would often use this first thing in the morning.
When finally captured by the allies, he had 24,000 opioid tablets in his suitcase. He would take twenty times the recommended dose every day, and his dosages had to be gradually reduced.
2. Eva Braun
Mistress to Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun abused a range of drugs, including eukodal and cocaine. These were provided to her by Dr. Morrell, even though she didn't have any condition to justify these prescriptions.
She experienced side-effects because of her drug use. By 1944, she had become paranoid. Her dependency had worsened to the point where she would dig at her forearms with her nails and would bite her lips so much that they bled.
But why was she taking these drugs? It was out of dedication to Hitler. Even though she was 19 years younger and in better health than Hitler was, she demanded that Dr. Morrell give them both the same medications. This was so that “she could be on the same wavelength as her lover.”
1. Adolf Hitler
Hitler liked to present himself as a teetotaller, who didn’t smoke, drink alcohol or coffee. In 1930 it was reported that “He doesn’t drink, he practically only eats vegetables, and he doesn’t touch women.”
However, Hitler’s drug abuse is the most well recorded and most extensive of anybody on this list. Dr Morrell’s books reveal that he provided Hitler with over 90 kinds of pills over the course of the war. Hitler would take up to 28 different pills a day. He would also have between 8-10 injections per week.
The drugs he used included Cocaine (this was to treat sinus issues), as well as the opioid Eukodal. By 1944, each of his doses of Eukodal were four times the recommended amount. He had track marks on his arms, because of his regular injections. It is speculated whether his severe tremors were due to Parkinson’s disease, or his drug habit. So much for being a teetotaller.
Florida Couple Built Drive-Thru Window In Mobile Home To Sell Heroin
Florida Couple Built Drive-Thru Window In Mobile Home To Sell Heroin
A Florida couple was arrested last week after they were caught allegedly selling drugs out of a drive-thru window they constructed out of the side of their mobile home.
William Parrish Jr. and McKenzee Dobbs of Ocala, Florida, were arrested on August 23 after investigators raided their mobile home following reports of four drug overdoses in the area, WFTV reported.
Ocala Police said the couple had turned a kitchen window into a drive-thru so customers would not have to constantly enter and exit their home, potentially drawing unwanted attention, WFTV reported. The house had signs directing people where to drive and indicated whether it was open or closed, police said.
https://twitter.com/JasonKelly407/status/1035287676604358656
“We were seeing some overdose incidents that were happening in this particular area, specifically at this particular location,” said Ocala Police Capt. Steven Cuppy. “There [were] some heroin sales that were going on there. Subsequently, through the investigation, we were able to determine that product was laced with fentanyl.”
Parrish, 32, was charged with driving under the influence, keeping a dwelling used to sell drugs, possession of drugs with intent to sell and resisting arrest without violence, according to Marion County Sheriff’s Office inmate records.
Dobbs, 20, has been charged with keeping a dwelling used to sell drugs, possession of drugs with intent to sell, possession of fentanyl and possession of fentanyl with intent to sell, court records show.
William Parrish Sr. told WFTV his son had been “trying to get himself straightened out” and maintained reports of overdoses were a “lie.”
Ocala is located inland, about 66 miles west of Daytona Beach.
Could Psychedelics Be The Cure For Depression?
Could Psychedelics Be The Cure For Depression?
In a lab in Basel in April 1943, Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann accidentally touched his hand with his mouth while he was synthesising a chemical intended to stimulate respiration and the nervous system. After ingesting the drug, he realised he had made something far more potent: what we now know as LSD.
In the 50 years since this golden era, scientific progress in psychedelic research has been limited. A backlash against the hippy counterculture – “the war on drugs” – halted research into psychedelics. In 1971, the UK parliament introduced the Misuse of Drugs Act, classifying psilocybin, LSD and DMT as illegal class A drugs. All further research on psychedelics was banned.
The definition of a schedule 1 drug, which the most illegal classification, is a substance that has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Since the 1970’s there has been strong advocacy to take cannabis off the schedule 1 list. Cannabis has been found to improve many health issues, such as seizures, sleep disorders and arthritis. Although cannabis still remains on the schedule 1 list today, The evidence is so strong in favor of medicinal marijuana that it has become legalized in over half the U.S states and many countries around the world.
The legalization of cannabis has opened the door to re-examine the possible medical benefits of other currently illegal substances, like psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, MDMA and DMT. The first new studies in over 30 years are finding that these so called dangerous drugs can have a profound positive impact on mental health when used properly.
Depression is a growing problem and antidepressants continue not to work for up to half of the people who take them. A recent study examined the treatment of 20 patients suffering from depression. Half took antidepressants and half took psilocybin. After three months, the antidepressant effects were found to be greater for those taking psilocybin than for people taking typical antidepressants and therapy. Patients said they went from feeling “totally disconnected” with themselves and the world to “connected”, and from repressing and avoiding emotions and memories to accepting them.
Unlike antidepressants, which are taken daily, psilocybin therapy would take place a few times over a series of months until the patient decides that they no longer need it.
In most cases, only a few sessions of psilocybin are needed to bring about permanent change. Other research has found a similar positive impact on depression with the use of LSD, DMT and Ketamine. The push for more research on psychedelics is growing fast, but we still need a much deeper understanding before this becomes mainstream.
Investigators Say Chicken Restaurant Used To Launder Meth Money
Investigators Say Chicken Restaurant Used To Launder Meth Money
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Hickory Hill chicken restaurant has a connection to a major drug operation in Shelby County. A major methamphetamine organization went down this week, with 17 people indicted on drug charges. Investigators say the leader, Vanrico Clayton, laundered $30,000 by investing drug profits in a chicken restaurant on Mt. Moriah Extended. They also say a contractor who remodeled the restaurant got paid in meth. A source close to the investigation says the restaurant is Pop Dat Chic-N.
People at a neighboring business says sheriff’s deputies swarmed the restaurant Tuesday. "It just looks like a regular place you would go have dinner or lunch at," said Lynn Clinton, who comes to this area all the time and said she was shocked. The District Attorney's office says drugs were packaged in Frayser, then delivered to homes and businesses throughout the Mid-South. Many of the drug sales happened within a thousand feet of several different elementary schools. We went to the restaurant at a time when it’s supposed to be open, but it was closed and no one came to the door when we knocked.
10 Foods That Are More Addictive Or As Addictive As Drugs
10 Foods That Are More Addictive Or As Addictive As Drugs
Other than possibly cannabis, we have been advised to stay away from drugs because of their negative consequences. As is often said, once you start, it is difficult to stop. What many of us do not know is that drugs are not the only things that are habit-forming.
Certain foods can also be addictive, with some even having the same chemical effects on our bodies as drugs. The result is that we become physically or mentally dependent on these foods and keep munching them to cure the ridiculous addictions.
10. Cookies
Consuming a large number of cookies might seem like a habit. But as we are about to find out, it could be the result of an addiction. In one study, Jamie Honohan of Connecticut College injected rats with either a saline solution or one of cocaine or morphine. Thereafter, he put the animals in a maze containing rice cakes and Oreos, leaving the rats to move around freely.
He realized that the animals moved to the area containing the Oreos, which they clearly preferred to the rice cakes. They became excited after eating the cream filling of the Oreos, just as they remained excited when injected with the drugs.[1]
Honohan later tested proteins from the rats and discovered that their accumbens—which is known as the “pleasure center” of the brain—was more excited when they ate Oreos than when they were injected with cocaine.
9. Wheat
Wheat is an addictive food that no one seems to notice. One of its properties is high gluten content, making “gluten free” the catchphrase for supposedly healthy wheat foods. However, consuming large quantities of wheat is unhealthy, whether it contains gluten or not.
Today’s product is not the same as the wheat of the past. Instead, modern wheat is the result of genetic engineering that has been going on for about 50 years. It is called “FrankenWheat” for this reason. It contains lots of starch, gluten, and addictive proteins that keep you coming back for more.
When consumed, these addictive proteins are broken down into polypeptides, which attach to brain receptors to make consumers high and addicted. Polypeptides also get into the bloodstream. At this point, they are called gluteomorphins, which is just a name derived from “gluten” and “morphine.”[2]
Wheat addicts will always crave more sweet wheat products like cookies and cakes. Interestingly, wheat addiction can be treated with drugs like naloxone, which doctors use to cure heroin or morphine overdose. Besides the addiction, wheat has been linked to cancer, obesity, heart disease, and several other medical disorders.
8. Meat
Meat is a natural and good source of animal protein. As a result, it is hard to distinguish between a person addicted to meat and someone who just needs its protein content.
Meat contains hypoxanthine, a caffeine-like stimulant that makes us feel satisfied. Hypoxanthine even has the same properties as caffeine. Older meat contains more hypoxanthine, which is why some people exhibit withdrawal symptoms and a serious craving for this type of food if they do not eat it for a while.[3]
Meat contains other addictive substances like guanylic and inosinic acids, which have the same effect as hypoxanthine. Worse yet, once you are addicted to hypoxanthine, you will need to consume more meat to reach the same level of satisfaction.
7. Ice Cream
Ice cream arouses the same part of our brain as drugs. Over time, we will need to eat more ice cream to maintain that arousal. When we don’t, we become depressed, just as drug addicts do when they do not get drugs.
Kyle S. Burger and Eric Stice from the Oregon Research Institute studied the effect of ice cream addiction on the human brain. While scanning the brain activity of 151 teens, the researchers showed these young people a cartoon of a milkshake to measure their cravings before giving them actual milkshakes to consume during the scans.
The researchers noticed that the teens who had consumed a lot of ice cream in the weeks leading to the study were not as excited by having a milkshake as those who hadn’t eaten much ice cream previously. This was measured by activity in the brain’s pleasure center while having a milkshake.
As with using hard drugs, the teens who ate ice cream prior to the study needed more milkshakes to reach the same level of satisfaction as those who did not eat ice cream before the study.[4]
6. Cheese
Cheese is another addictive food we shove down our throats from time to time. It is found in many junk foods including pizza. It could even be the reason why some of us are addicted to pizza. This is because cheese contains the opiate molecules casein and casomorphins.[5]
Casomorphins are fragments of casein and have the same effect as morphine in the body. They attach themselves to the brain receptors that drugs like morphine and heroin do. In response, the brain releases dopamine in the same way as when someone takes drugs.
Cheese makers know these facts and take advantage of them to sell more of their products. Although cheese will not turn you into a crackhead, it will make you high and addicted, although at a lower level than drugs.
5. Sugar
Like every other food, sugar can be healthy or unhealthy depending on how it is used. Unlike every other food, it can also become addictive. A study by researchers at Queensland University of Technology discovered that sugar has the same effect on the body as cocaine. Both make the body release dopamine.
Over the long term, the amount of dopamine released becomes smaller compared to the amount of cocaine or sugar consumed, leading addicts to want more. When a sugar addict does not get enough sugar to trigger the release of dopamine, he could fall into depression in the same way that cocaine users feel when they cannot get the drug. When sugar addicts stop eating sugar, they may exhibit withdrawal symptoms just like cocaine users.
Another study by Dr. James DiNicolantonio found that sugar is even more addictive than cocaine. In the study, rats addicted to cocaine switched to sugar after tasting it for the first time. The relationship between sugar and drugs becomes much closer when we realize that the Food and Drug Administration has approved varenicline, the same drug used to treat nicotine withdrawal, to treat sugar withdrawal.[6]
However, an earlier study by researchers from Edinburgh University concluded that sugar addiction is actually a behavioral problem and not an addiction. In essence, people consume sugar because they love it and not because they are addicted to it. In fact, their research claims that it is impossible to become addicted to sugar.
4. Coffee
The United States tops every other nation in caffeine consumption. The average American drinks three cups of coffee a day, and that is without counting their intake from other products like energy drinks and soda. Why do Americans drink so much coffee, you might ask? It could be the result of an addiction.[7]
This beverage contains caffeine, which has been crowned the “world’s most addictive and widely used drug.” It triggers the release of dopamine, making us feel good in the same way that drugs make users feel good. Caffeine also causes a serious addiction that can only be cured by drinking more coffee.
3. Soda
Some sodas like Pepsi and Coca-Cola are irresistible because they contain caffeine, which is super addictive. So even if you do not drink coffee, you can still get caffeine in cola. Research indicates that 80 percent of Americans consume caffeine in one way or another every day.
Caffeine in cola enters the bloodstream and the brain where it disrupts the adenosine receptors responsible for slowing down the nerve cells in the brain. When this happens, our body goes into a state of alertness and releases adrenaline, which is usually released naturally when we are in danger.
The body soon realizes that there is no danger and creates more adenosine receptors to block the effects of the cola. The drinker, who is already addicted at this point, is then forced to consume more soda to reach the same level of satisfaction as before. Besides caffeine, soda has been criticized for containing caramel coloring, phosphoric acid, and plenty of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.[8]
A can of Coca-Cola has 10 teaspoons of sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, which causes diabetes in the long run. Caramel coloring has been linked to cancer, and phosphoric acid is just too acidic at a pH of 2.5. For comparison, car batteries have a more acidic pH of 1 and water has a neutral pH of 7.
Phosphoric acid in soda does not damage our stomachs because the stomach digests this acid with the aid of calcium phosphate from our bones. This could cause bone problems like fracture and osteoporosis in the long run.
2. Potato Chips
Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to quit eating those bags of potato chips? According to a study, this is because they are as addictive as hard drugs. So once you pop the contents of a bag of chips, you might not stop.
Like cheese, potato chips trigger the release of dopamine that messes with our bodies and gives us the same effect as drugs do for users. Research by Dr. Tony Goldstone of Imperial College London revealed that pictures of potato chips and junk foods in general excited the same part of the brain as images of alcohol do for boozers and pictures of drugs stimulate for drug users.[9]
1. Chocolate
Chocolate turns out to be another innocent food as addictive as drugs. This is because it contains sugar, fats, theobromine, and enkephalin, the caffeine of the cacao world. Theobromine and enkephalin are stimulants. Theobromine is known to trigger the expansion of our blood vessels and a drop in our heart rate and blood pressure to create a relaxing feeling, just like drugs.
The effects of enkephalin need more study because most of the relevant research was done on rats. However, unlike rats, humans are not easily influenced by enkephalin. Researchers discovered that rats fed M&M’S candies experienced a spike in enkephalin secretion, which excited the opioid receptors of the brain just like heroin and morphine. At the same time, this made the rats crave more chocolate to keep the secretion going.[10]
THE METHIEST THING YOU WILL SEE TODAY
MAYBE SHE'S BORN WITH IT MAYBE IT'S METHAMPHETAMINES
This is what they should show to kids in school instead of cheesy after school specials.
Man Shoots Tequila Bottle Clean Off Friend's Head
Man Shoots Tequila Bottle Clean Off Friend's Head
Before you try this at home, how about you consult your old pal William Burroughs on whether or not it's a good idea, eh?
UK Is Dealing With An 'Epidemic' Of Psychotic Patients Hooked On 'Monkey Dust'
UK Is Dealing With An 'Epidemic' Of Psychotic Patients Hooked On 'Monkey Dust'
Emergency services have told Sky News they are dealing with a city-wide “epidemic” of violent psychotic patients hooked on a synthetic drug known as monkey dust. While cities around the UK deal with former legal highs such as spice, black mamba and other drugs – increasing numbers of users in and around Stoke have become hooked on “dust” that they can pick up for as little as £2.
Exclusive footage from police body-worn cameras in the city shows a user jumping from the roof of a building and then immediately leaping to his feet and grappling with police officers. In another video, a man who had a bone protruding from a serious arm wound carries on fighting paramedics – the patient seemingly unable to feel any pain.
Also referred to as MDPV, monkey dust stops users from feeling pain, leads to hallucinations and causes severe paranoia. Users commonly believe they are being chased and often try to climb buildings, lampposts or lash out at anyone around them.
POLICE PELT NAKED COLLEGE STUDENT HIGH AS A KITE WITH PEPPER BALLS
POLICE PELT NAKED COLLEGE STUDENT HIGH AS A KITE WITH PEPPER BALLS
Friday night: Went to bed a college student with a bright future. Mum and dad are paying my rent at a nice off campus apartment. They paid for my car and tuition. School is mostly easy. Two more years and I’ll be part of the college placement program and have a nice job, get a good woman and marry. Saturday afternoon: REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER.
10 Criminals Who Turned Their Lives Around
10 Criminals Who Turned Their Lives Around
The phrase "a leopard doesn't change its spots is often cited in reference to criminals, but these former convicts certainly proved this to not always be the case.
10 Dangerous Health Fads And Medical Treatments Used In The Past
10 Dangerous Health Fads And Medical Treatments Used In The Past
Health fads are nothing new, but they are much older than many people think. The ancient Egyptians, for example, practiced strange methods of losing weight and treating illness, much like people did in the 20th century. Whatever the era, people tried whatever was at hand to achieve perfection . . . even if the methods were a bit on the crazy side.
Throughout the years, people have done some crazy things to fix their bodies, and only science and the benefit of hindsight have proven them as dangerous as they really were. Whether someone was trying to lose weight or get rid of a pesky STD, humans have been at this health craze thing for a long time. Here are ten of the craziest things people have done to fix themselves.
10. Mercury To Treat Syphilis
As just about anyone in the world knows, mercury is highly toxic and should never be ingested. We are warned against high levels of mercury in fish, and people are generally wary of the substance. It wasn’t always like that, though, and for centuries, mercury was the go-to treatment to cure syphilis. If you know anything about that disease, it’s not surprising that people would try anything to cure it. Syphilis is a debilitating and horrific ailment that will disfigure and kill a person if left untreated. These days, we use penicillin, but back in the 1300s, quicksilver was on hand to help anyone suffering from the STD.
It was rubbed on the skin, injected, or taken orally, and while it remained a popular treatment until the mid-20th century, it never worked. If anything, it helped to kill the patient faster, which probably alleviated some of the pain associated with the illness, but that’s like cutting off the head to cure the headache. Eventually, it was proven that a compound of mercurous chloride (calomel) did help in treating the disease, but this wasn’t until 1910, and it was still fairly toxic.[1]
9. Lobotomies To Treat Mental Illness
Mental health problems are an area of medicine that has only recently been studied and treated as an illness. As recently as the mid-20th century, we were still locking people up in institutions to “treat” their mental disorders, but this was often just a means of taking people out of society. They would be heavily medicated and receive little to no treatment, and many were tortured with barbaric forms of medicine, including electroshock therapy. Another option for those suffering from serious mental health disorders was something called the “ice pick lobotomy.”
Lobotomies became popular in the United States back in 1936, and by 1949, up to 5,000 of the operations were performed annually on patients as young as four years old. The procedure involves stabbing long metal probes through the eye socket under local anesthesia so that the brain can be literally scrambled by sweeping through the frontal lobe.[2] The damage caused personality changes and effectively killed the patient, though their bodies remained alive. The practice was popular, but by the 1970s, it had become highly criticized and was mostly phased out. Its brutality resulted in long-term brain damage to tens of thousands of patients who could have been treated by other, less invasive means.
8. Arsenic Consumption For Weight Loss
Arsenic is one of those things most people associate with rat poison, but for a time, people happily consumed it in the form of a diet pill. Back in the 1800s, people in Austria began ingesting arsenic in their coffee as a weight loss method. They would put small amounts in their morning cup of Joe and increase it over a period of a few weeks until diarrhea set in. Once their poo began to run, they would slowly decrease the dosage and enjoy the benefits of not being able to keep anything solid in their bodies.[3] Sure, they would lose weight, but they were also poisoning themselves.
The fad spread into pill form and was marketed as a weight loss diet miracle around the world well into the 1920s, but it probably killed people more than anything else. We now know that arsenic doesn’t just make you feel lousy and have to run to the bathroom; it causes your cells to die. It also increases a person’s risk of cancer even in small doses, so it should be avoided at all times.
7. The Last Chance Diet
There are a lot of ridiculous fad diets out there, including the Cookie Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, and many others, but few have been as deadly as the aptly named “Last Chance Diet.” Back in 1976, Dr. Robert Linn marketed what he called the Last Chance Diet by insisting that the only way to stay thin and remain healthy was to eat nothing and consume only his magic tonic, Prolinn. The problem with the diet was that it required no exercise, and Prolinn consisted of fewer than 400 calories of energy, which is far too low for any adult.[4]
Prolinn was composed primarily of collagen, which was essentially nothing more than ground-up hooves and the hides of animals killed at a slaughterhouse. The drink was little more than the leavings of animal waste nobody else wanted, but once it was turned into a beverage, Dr. Linn turned it into liquid gold . . . and killed an estimated 30 people. Linn was investigated by the FDA, and his diet is one that absolutely nobody should try.
6. Tapeworms For Weight Loss
If there’s one thing everyone should know not to do, it’s purposefully ingest a parasite like a tapeworm. Even though common sense dictates that this a bad idea, people have been doing it since Victorian times. The idea is simple: Ingest a capsule containing a tapeworm egg, and once the egg hatches and the worm fully forms, it will feed off the food a person consumes. This enables them to eat whatever they want, and it won’t gain them any weight because the worm will be pulling in all those horrible calories for them. The reality isn’t as neat and tidy, as tapeworms can lead to a plethora of problems for the infected, and they must be removed.
Not only was this diet popular in Victorian England, but it persists to this day. People are still purposefully infecting themselves with tapeworms so that they can lose weight. Fortunately, worms are relatively easy to remove these days, but back in the 19th century, it required a number of dangerous methods. These included swallowing a large metal cylinder (which often choked the patient) to purposefully poisoning oneself to get rid of the worm. Many people died as a result of simply trying to remove the worm, and despite what you may read online, there is never a reason to purposefully infect yourself with a tapeworm![5]
5. LSD To Treat Alcoholism
Alcoholism is one of the most serious diseases, afflicting millions of people every day, so it’s no surprise people turn to unconventional methods to treat it. For a lot of people who either don’t want to or are unable to attend a meeting type of treatment, there is LSD . . . potentially. Back in the 1960s, research was conducted to determine whether or not dropping acid could curb a person’s desire for alcohol. When it was undertaken, the study had mixed results and was abandoned, until recently. Back in 2012, researchers dove back into the collected data and began studying the effects of hallucinogenic medications on treating alcoholism.[6]
The study found it to be effective in 59 percent of participants, so it may not be the most far-fetched treatment option on this list. Granted, the Food and Drug Administration isn’t likely to approve the treatment anytime soon, but there is an alternative on the market called naltrexone, which provided similar results. The dangers of LSD treatment come with the potential side effect of psychedelics that most people are aware of: a bad trip. Improper use of LSD and other drugs like it can lead to complications for people with mental illness and other significant health issues.
4. Tobacco Enema (And Other Crazy Stuff People Have Shoved Up Their Butts)
If you’ve ever told someone to go blow smoke up their ass, there’s a chance they could have taken you seriously. The idiom comes from the actual 18th-century practice of blowing smoke up someone’s rectum in the form of a tobacco enema. The practice was developed into a common medical procedure used well into the late 1700s. The main use of the tobacco enema was to treat drowning victims. It was thought that the smoke would encourage a person’s respiratory system to kick into gear while the smoke literally helped to dry the person out. It worked about as often as you might think.[7]
Blowing smoke up there isn’t the only strange enema treatment folks have used over the years. In addition to tobacco smoke, people have regularly gotten coffee enemas. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Another strange enema people seem to enjoy is the oil enema used to treat constipation. The most dangerous enema people have tried would have to be the alcohol enema, otherwise known as “butt-chugging.” This one is particularly dangerous, as anything you shove up your butt will be quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. This can be deadly, seeing as the alcohol doesn’t have the chance to filter through your liver.
3. Bloodletting
Bloodletting is one of those practices that was common for so long, it’s surprising we survived as a species. Thanks to the benefit of hindsight, we now know the worst thing you could do when sick is to drain your body of blood, but for centuries, that’s exactly what “doctors” did to their patients. The practice revolved around the concept that blood could become corrupted and needed to be removed from the body in order to allow it to heal. It may sound ridiculous to a 21st-century individual, but it made a lot of sense for a span of some 2,000 years.[8]
Interestingly, bloodletting may have been beneficial in some instances. When used to treat hypertension, it makes sense that removing some of the blood would alleviate the symptoms of high blood pressure. In pretty much every other instance, it would weaken and potentially kill a patient through infection. This was especially true in the years before we discovered antibiotics. Infections would arise from the source of the wound, and few would properly recover.
2. Heroin Cough Syrup
There was once a time when you could go down to your local pharmacy and grab a dose of cough syrup laced with heroin. Sadly, those days are long behind us, but they do paint a picture of how different medical treatments were back in the 19th and early 20th centuries as compared to today. The German pharmaceutical company Bayer promoted a cure for coughing and colds in children back in the late 1890s via a combination of aspirin and heroin. This practice continued until 1912, when years of accumulated data suggested that patients were building up a “tolerance” for heroin, resulting in an increased number of addicts.[9]
You might think it was taken off US shelves at the time, but it continued to be sold in stores until 1914, when it was made available by prescription only. Patients could continue to get it with a doctor’s prescription until 1924, when the FDA put the ban hammer down on the drug. Similarly, cocaine was used as an anesthetic and was famously an ingredient in Coca-Cola for a short time in the 19th century.
1. Radium For Everything
When Marie Curie and her husband Pierre discovered radium, it was one of the biggest finds in the 19th century. Marie later died of asplastic anemia thanks to her lifetime of exposure to the element, but long before her death, radium was considered a miracle substance that companies simply had to include in all of their products. Ironically, it was believed that radium had miraculous health-benefiting properties. Before the effects of radiation on human cells were fully understood, companies put radium in products including toothpaste, chocolate, and water, all meant for consumption. This continued well into the 1930s.
Other uses for radium included placing it in toys and night-lights, thanks to its luminous properties. The substance emits a faint glow, which was used to illuminate dark rooms without electricity. It was also placed into cosmetics that people smeared all over their faces, in heating pads, and in suppositories. Radium was even employed to treat impotence, which it likely only worsened. Radium remained a part of everyday life for years and wasn’t removed from all products until the 1960s, so be careful what you purchase at an antique shop. You never know what might contain radioactive material.[10]
Yes, You Can Fail A Drug Test By Eating A Poppy Seed Bagel, Just Like Seinfeld Said
Yes, You Can Fail A Drug Test By Eating A Poppy Seed Bagel, Just Like Seinfeld Said
“I found out why I was testing positive for opiates. Poppy seeds.”
A semi-funny line on an overrated television show or the truth?
Both.
Elizabeth Eden ate a poppy seed bagel one morning, likely thinking nothing of it. Later in the day, she went into labor. A doctor informed her she tested positive for opiates and refused to administer a second test despite her protest and belief that the bagel produce a false positive.
This dick of a doctor called state officials on Eden, which meant her daughter had to stay in the hospital for five days and Eden was assigned a case worker. The case worker, who has seen the episode of Seinfeld, dismissed the case.
There you have it. The country doesn’t have an opiate problem. We have a poppy seed problem.
Street Dimebags Vs Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
Street Dimebags Vs Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
In 2016, VICE met business partners in Atlanta who had a dream of getting into the legal weed business, but couldn’t see a way to take their illegal grow off the streets. Two years later, the entrepreneurs—Felix and Kingston—are now running Gas House, a successful legal weed company in Oakland whose products are sold in dispensaries across California. In an industry home to a small number of black business owners, Felix and Kingston have become pioneers inspiring others to leave the underground market behind.
VICE met up with the duo to learn more about how they market their products, and the legal requirements they had to meet to transition from the black market to an above-board operation. Then we talked with dispensary owners, locals, and cannabis entrepreneurs about the access and inclusion gaps in California’s legal weed industry—and what companies like Gas House are doing to close them.
MOBILE DRUG LAB BREAKS DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND GETS BUSTED
MOBILE DRUG LAB BREAKS DOWN ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND GETS BUSTED
This rolling lab was capable of producing 16,000 pills an hour before it was shut down in Georgia.
The Cool New Thing To Do When You're High Is Picking Up Garbage
The Cool New Thing To Do When You're High Is Picking Up Garbage
The weed devotees over at Reddit’s r/trees are usually posting about the kind of stuff you’d expect. The front page today, for instance, features this diagram showing why getting high is better than getting drunk, a meme image about world peace with a cartoon of a stoned turtle, and photos of giant buds.
A new strain of thought has emerged to dominate the message board’s meandering, sticky-mouthed discourse: how cool it is to pick up trash when you’re high.
A Reddit user named, believe it or not, PRV_Psychonaut posted a photo of a bag of trash he collected from “a common smokespot” (surprisingly not, like, a couch or deck chair) and implored others to “keep the movement going!” alongside the hashtag, #StonerCleanupIniative [sic].
The post sparked something and the movement, it now seems, has begun. Before long, other users started sharing their stories of smoking and cleaning, providing helpful examples of how to augment your routine, too. Why not pick up trash while getting stoned and walking your dog? Or while going fishing in your classic “I Like Weed” baja hoodie? How about taking a few of the minutes you usually spend zoning out in front of a creek to round up discarded condom wrappers, algae-covered beer bottles, and scraps of mystery plastic?
Best of all, you can get in your specially designed weed truck (complete with “REGGAE” vanity plate) to make the world a little cleaner this weekend.
It isn’t every day that we get to see the birth of a new social movement. Let’s count ourselves fortunate that we’re living through this one. #StonerCleanupIniative, everyone.
