There’s a myth that if we legalise a substance it would somehow take the illegality out of it.

Keith Hellawell, UK drug czar (quoted in the .sig of Todd Larason)

Roy Silvernail (Rant Central) muses on his addiction:

What would be intrinsically wrong with Nicotine Tic-Tacs?

I think it’s because they wouldn’t kill you.

Next time you protect me from a harmless druggie, could you not step on my foot?

Once upon a time, one saw signs at liquor stores and the like that said “If you’re lucky enough to look 26 or younger, please be prepared to show proof of age.” (Or maybe it was 24.) Over the years the cutoff has crept along; I’ve seen at least one that said 40.

Today it occurred to me: could that be because amphetamine addicts age rapidly?

I’m likely to want to refer to this later:

One of his friends was contemplating becoming involved in a drug-distribution scheme, and telephoned Nguyen for advice. After a lengthy conversation, Nguyen advised the friend to stay away from the scheme, that it would only lead to trouble. The conversation was taped, and Nguyen was charged as a co-conspirator in a scheme to distribute drugs. Did you notice that? He advised against becoming involved in the scheme, but was still charged.

(Cited by Mary Lou Seymour)

Reading an account of oral arguments in Ashcroft Gonzales v. Raich, a couple of months ago, gave me a sinking feeling: the Court was clearly hostile and the good guys were failing to make what I considered obvious points.

Guess what, folks, the Court’s flirtation with federalism was no more serious than you’d expect it to be in a body appointed by the Potomac Regime. (See also. The view hypothetically attributed to Scalia, a dissenter in Lawrence v. Texas, is explicitly echoed by O’Connor’s dissent in Raich.)

I have occasionally ranted that the war on wetbacks is wrecking the American spirit of casual charity. The drug war, too, is doing its bit:

The three men decided to rescue the animal so that it wouldn’t be hit by another car, and take it to a 24-hour veterinary clinic in Longmont.

. . . .

[Jason Lee] Laird, 21, and Zachariah Deming, 19, were ticketed for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The injured mountain lion, which wildlife officers guessed was four or five months old, had to be euthanized.

Cited by Libby Spencer (Last One Speaks), cited in turn by Pete Guither (Drug WarRant), whom I visited because Jim Henley (Unqualified Offerings) recently blogrolled him.

Later: Could be worse; I did not notice on first reading that they were “ticketed” rather than “arrested”.