600 Joints a week?

[Laughing Armadillo]

The boy accused of murdering schoolgirl Jodi Jones smoked the equivalent of 600 cannabis joints a week, a court heard today.

Luke Mitchell, 16, told a psychiatrist that around the time of Jodi's death his use of the drug had doubled to four-and-a-half ounces a week, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.

A police officer told the court that was the equivalent of 600 reefer cigarettes.

Mitchell denies murdering his 14-year-old girlfriend Jodi on June 30 2003 at a wooded area near Roan's Dyke, between the Newbattle and Easthouses areas of Dalkeith, Midlothian.

He also denies being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin to a number of people, including Jodi.

Giving evidence, drug expert Detective Constable Brian Melrose told the court that in his time as a police officer he had never heard of anyone using such a large amount of cannabis.

He said: “Even as an adult it would be difficult to function on that amount.�

The court heard that during interviews with a psychiatrist, Mitchell said he was using two ounces of cannabis a week, an amount which he claimed eventually went up to four-and-a-half ounces.

Det Con Melrose said two ounces would be enough for 300 reefer cigarettes a week – which would equate to a 40-a-day habit. He told the court that level of use would cost the user £90 a week.

He said 600 reefer cigarettes could be made from four-and-a-half ounces of cannabis resin.

He added: “I've never heard of that.�

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3964388

150 joints from an ounce of herb?

While in London last year, I was aghast - yes, aghast - at the amount of tobacco most UK'rs added to the average joint. But even factoring that in, I don't think anyone's getting 150 joints from an ounce of anything except maybe PCP.

Maybe I should move to Scotland and become a "drug expert detective" because theirs need some remedial training.

[sara]

a drug expert detective -- Sherlock Dope or maybe it's Dopey Sherlock -- hmm. I'm amusing myself, sorry.

hi-dee-ho neighbor, from my shitty ass red state

[Laughing Armadillo]

high-diddly-ho yourself, sara. Thank Buddha, another shitty ass red stater; was starting to think I'd never have anyone here to commiserate with. Blue Staters have no idea how bad we've got it. I stay for love but it takes a toll and one of these days the paddywagon just might come and disappear me. On the plus side, I hear there's plenty of acid in the camps.

[sara]

Thank Chomsky.
I stay for love too, what else is there to stay for? And because on days when it feels like taking the proverbial piss into the wind I watch a Chomsky dvd -- I have no idea how bad the blue staters have got it; I've never lived in one, so who knows?

[Sloth]

Me, I don't even like the Blue States. Thank God I am soon headed for the Swedish State.

[Sloth]

Oh yeah, and if you love someone set them free.

[Laughing Armadillo]

Me, I don't even like the Blue States. Thank God I am soon headed for the Swedish State...Oh yeah, and if you love someone set them free.

I wouldn't be all that crazy about 'em, either - except on a comparative level. I ain't planning on dyin' on American soil, but, to be honest, I'm not really planning on dyin' at all.

Oh, and I did set her free, but she's been comin' back for twenty-two years (yes, I am an old bastard compared to the statistical sampling in these parts), so whaddya gonna do.

* * * * * * * *

Chomsky needs to be cloned or have his head cryogenically preserved or something. The thought of a Chomsky-less U.S. is depressing. But, then, the thought of the U.S. itself is depressing, so I guess I could cope for a finite period of time.

I have no idea how bad the blue staters have got it; I've never lived in one, so who knows?

I've never lived in an igloo, but I can extrapolate and get it pretty close despite my inexperience. For example, I know that if I'm busted for a moderate amount of herb on the West Coast, it ain't that big o'deal (even though it's an injustice)... whereas, the same offense in Oklahoma has serious fuckin' consequences.

Blue staters as a general rule are fairly oblivious to the rising tide of fascism on a national scale. That's human nature; people tend to be rather insular creatures and when you're surrounded by progressives, it's natural to see events through that lens. I'm surrounded by theofascist scum, so I see America through that lens. The difference is that it's all too easy for Blue America to perceive the neocon revolution - and it is a revolution - as a phase or an anomaly when, in fact, it's anything but. This is all happening by design and we know what happens when power goes unchecked: At some point, the whole house of cards will fall, and much that all of us take for granted will come crashing down on us like Placidyl on an empty stomach. Given this late date, the sooner the better. In the words of a t-shirt at Bounty Hunter: That which is falling deserves to be pushed.

[marky]

I think that's right - a lot of blue staters were shocked after the election because they get to thinking everywhere is pretty much like a blue state. What I can say is I just had to get the fuck out of the heartland after awhile, and since I've been out of it, it's been far too easy to forget what it was really like.

I'm rather surprised but pleased to hear you might be older than most of us Armadillo (maybe we need some more variety here? I don't know) because you come across as young, to me. Your philosophy reminds me much of the way me and my friends thought in our early 20's. Perhaps I've become too much of a realist over time. It's hard to talk about the human race evolving when it seems to be going backwards. Maybe I should post this on the other thread, though.

[Laughing Armadillo]

Thank you for the kind words, Marky.

I think you're dead-on with regard to the election, i.e. the reaction of the electorate. Pity the so-called heartland is rife with heartworms. I'm looking forward to the day when people say enough, but that won't happen until things get much worse. I voted in every presidential election since Carter/Reagan, but after this clusterfuck, tore up my voter card and just said fuck it... instead, I'll work my own special magic to exploit the social/cultural divisions in the country until I can get around to leaving and laughing even harder. Not because of any sense of profound obligation, but because - as Dick Cheney recently stated - it's very gratifying to say FUCK YOU to one's enemies, and I've got a shitload of 'em.

Philosophy-wise, in a way, I've come full circle (without having passed into the conservative zone). There was a time when I believed in laws & government - in the potential for government to do good things - at least enough to be somewhat hopeful about the long-term. I served in the military, for fuck's sake (for little reason other than curiosity).

But the more one looks at the disciples of Levi Strauss and the manner in which the Fascist Right has poured money into the system for over twenty years in order to effect a complete takeover, the more it becomes obvious that we're in a severe downward spiral; actually, it's more like a flat-spin in a small Beechcraft - completely irrecoverable.

While it saddens me (loss and transition are never easy), it's also increasingly liberating. I couldn't care less how bankrupt the nation becomes financially or morally, nor about the collective fate of those who wittingly or unwittingly risk life & limb to secure America's stranglehold on the rest of the world. Why should I? After a lifetime of commitment and with a little service thrown in for good measure, no one in a position of authority gives a shit what I or any other "regular" citizen has to say. The very concept of democratic ideals is one our friends in the political mainstream find repugnant, a rhetorical club used to exploit the masses and justify enslaving the rest of us inside and outside our borders. So fuck 'em hard & fuck 'em raw.

You know, it's funny how a lot of young people - present company excluded - appear to harbor a secret regret about "missing out on The Sixties." Yet, in many ways, this is The Sixties all over again with three major exceptions: (1.) The Fascists know exactly what to expect from those who would demand and fight for liberty, and; (2.) There's no critical mass in the way the Boomers had, and; (3.) No commies to worry about, so we can turn ourselves with all the malice and brutality we used to reserve for our Soviet adversaries - what I call the Balkanization of America.

Civil disobedience? Clueless. Ideals? Clueless. The concept of risk? Clueless. Narcissism is the order of the day, and there's nothing even close to rising up to stop it. Having devolved into an unimaginative lot of slaves and robots, we're a lot more like pre-war Germany than most care to admit. There are exceptions to all this cluelessness, occasionally, but not in the largest sense. I'm actually looking forward to a military draft because I believe it will be the catalyst missing from the powderkeg of social-cultural rebellion.

Again, thanks for the warm welcome. It's a pleasure to be here.

[TragicPixie]

mmm... do you have a problem with me being the baby marky? heh I think at least ... bleh I'm getting old.

[sara]

"It's hard to talk about the human race evolving when it seems to be going backwards"

This is why it is good to watch a Chomsky dvd -- he's been very observant of the human race for the last thirty, forty years (I don't know he's somewhere over seventy), and at least on Power and Terror in Our Times -- he does remind me that things have gotten better


"I've never lived in an igloo, but I can extrapolate and get it pretty close despite my inexperience"

Well, I can imagine, but I feel like experience really makes a difference in understanding; maybe I'm wrong about that. I would prefer to live in a place before I started speaking from its point of view, just me.

I also like the quote from The Outsiders (Sloth mentioned that book a while ago, it's standard in most schools around here) -- things are rough all over -- it's a good book, sort of timeless theme, if you know what I mean, also applies to a lot of situations.

[Laughing Armadillo]

Well, I can imagine, but I feel like experience really makes a difference in understanding; maybe I'm wrong about that. I would prefer to live in a place before I started speaking from its point of view, just me.

I've learned to trust my imagination (and it's not as easy it might sound). It's right more often than not; when that isn't the case, I can live with the consequences.

The only thing worse than making an error in judgment is being paralyzed by the prospect of being wrong.

[sara]

that's interesting -- I've learned not to trust mine -- however, it tends to be a little overactive at times, oh well.

Maybe this is just a difference of semantics, but what i meant was I wouldn't assume to know what it is like to be in someone else's shoes, whatever state they are sitting in, but I could imagine it.

[Laughing Armadillo]

that's interesting -- I've learned not to trust mine -- however, it tends to be a little overactive at times, oh well.

Too bad. The more you use it - even when doing so leads to heartache or disillusionment or a bad life choice - the better it develops and the more useful it becomes.

Maybe this is just a difference of semantics, but what i meant was I wouldn't assume to know what it is like to be in someone else's shoes, whatever state they are sitting in, but I could imagine it.

Nope, not a semantical difference. I understand what you're saying and would go as far as to say most people would agree with you. I just believe a highly developed sense of imagination is virtually indistinguishable from actual experience... which I learned from ta da, experience. Circular-sounding, but true for me.

[sara]

Since your such a believer in the uses of imagination. And I am so loathe to disappoint, I thought I might help you imagine what I mean when I say I stay for love. Here is a story that I've heard recently, and not in my head, mind you.

X

I am fourteen, and this boy got me pregnant. I didn't know his name; he was cute though. See, I was walking down the street in town the other day, and this girl, his sis, came outta this old house, and she say, “You wanta hook up wid my brother?�

And I says, “I guess.� I didn't really know what she meant.

So I go up in that old house, and he is stretched out on this mattress, and it is sort of dirty, and it smells real funny, but he is cute, and he say, real nice and slow, “Come here little girl.� So I did. And I didn't know what he wanted, but he made me feel real nice for a while, so I stayed.

Then I started getting sick. Throwing up in class and everything. And my girls they all say, “You pregnant.�

And I won't sure about that cause my ma, she's in jail for doing crack and my grandma, she won't tell me shit, cause she thinks I'm not old enough yet. So I had to go to the clinic, and it was a little scary, and they told me that I needed to talk to my grandma. But I didn't want to. I was real scared if I did, she'd kick me out and then I wouldn't have no place to live.

But the school called my grandma and told her I was throwing up all the time and couldn't make it to the bathroom, yep, once I threw up on my new jersey and that was no joke, the kids laughed, but it won't funny.

So my grandma took me back to the clinic, and then she called some doctor she know, and he gave me a pill, and the pill made me bleed, a lot.

And I bleed for a coupla weeks, and I thought it won't never going to stop, but it did. And my girls, they say I ain't pregnant no more, and I guess they right. I don't really know.



I've heard a lot more of these voices though. If you'd like to imagine what it is like to be hear them, I could certainly help you out there. If you're looking for a good laugh, though, I'm fresh out of my ability to entertain.

Anyway, I don't know who you voted for or what you mean by staying for love, but I know who I voted for and what it means to stay for love and neither has a damn thing to do with John Kerry or George Bush.

Sorry, you won't be a voting anymore. I just started.