ښالاماندر

Humans will be extinct in 100 years – a wonderful way to start out the post, but i’d tend to treat anything said by the guy who helped wipe out smallpox with a great deal of respect. you can argue about it all you like, but this is a guy who knows what it’s like to become extinct, and if he says humans are on the way there, i’d tend to believe him.

Scientists discover riding a bike is incredibly hard – in spite of the fact that the formula they came up with sounds pretty interesting (inertial forces + gyroscopic forces + the effects of gravity and centrifugal forces = the leaning of the body and the torque applied to the handlebars), given all the things that are going wrong with the world currently, there have got to be better things for “scientists” to be working on, don’t you think?

6-Year-Old Northeast Ohio Girl on ‘No Fly’ List – more idiocy on the part of home clownland security. all their antics sure make me feel a whole lot safer… 8/

and, speaking of feeling safer, Police tasered an 86-year-old disabled grandma in her bed and stepped on her oxygen hose until she couldn’t breathe – wow… just… wow.

no further comment necessary… 😐

Apple collecting, sharing iPhone users’ precise locations
Apple now collecting, sharing precise location of iPhone users – yet another reason why i’m no longer a mac fanatic… i’ll use a mac, but i’m NOT getting an iphone, and i’m probably not going to get a smart phone at all… 8/

Opt Out of Behavioral Advertising – Opting out of a network does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising. It does mean that the network from which you opted out will no longer deliver ads tailored to your Web preferences and usage patterns… but it’s a start, and if you’re as paranoid about network privacy as i am, you’ll understand the necessity for such a thing.

about every two weeks or so i get a call from a person who is looking for an “incense” called “K2”, or “Spice” – Toxicologist Warning to Parents: Look for Signs of K2 – ‘Fake Marijuana’ and After Indianola teen’s suicide, Iowa officials set sights on banning K2 – i find it really sad that people have apparently resorted to poisoning themselves, because it’s the only legal alternative, rather than getting legitimately high from something that is illegal, but has never killed anyone. from The 420 Times, “If you’re a kid and you’re thinking of trying K2 because it’s still legal to buy in your state, you’d be better off running the risk of buying real, illegal marijuana. Even if you get caught, you won’t die from inhaling a toxic substance or experience “hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and, in some cases, tremors and seizures,” like you do from K2. You’ll just be another statistic in The War on Drugs.”


Toxicologist Warning to Parents: Look for Signs of K2 – ‘Fake Marijuana’
ScienceDaily
Mar. 3, 2010

In the last month, Anthony Scalzo, M.D., professor of toxicology at Saint Louis University, has seen nearly 30 cases involving teenagers who were experiencing hallucinations, severe agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, vomiting and, in some cases, tremors and seizures. All of these teens had smoked a dangerous, yet legal substance known as K2 or “fake weed.”

According to Scalzo, K2, an unregulated mixture of dried herbs, is growing in popularity because it is legal, purported to give a high similar to marijuana and believed to be natural and therefore safe.

“K2 may be a mixture of herbal and spice plant products, but it is sprayed with a potent psychotropic drug and likely contaminated with an unknown toxic substance that is causing many adverse effects. These toxic chemicals are neither natural nor safe,” said Scalzo, who also directs the Missouri Regional Poison Control Center at SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center.

What makes K2 so dangerous? Further testing is needed, but Scalzo says the symptoms, such as fast heart beat, dangerously elevated blood pressure, pale skin and vomiting suggest that K2 is affecting the cardiovascular system of users. It also is believed to affect the central nervous system, causing severe, potentially life-threatening hallucinations and, in some cases, seizures.

While JWH 018, a synthetic man-made drug, similar to cannabis, may be responsible for the hallucinations, Scalzo suspects that there is another unknown toxic chemical being sprayed on K2.

K2, also known as “spice,” has been sold since 2006 as incense or potpourri. It sells for approximately $30 to $40 per three gram bag, which is comparable in cost to marijuana, and is available over the Internet.

“K2 use is not limited to the Midwest; reports of its use are cropping up all over the country. I think K2 is likely a bigger problem than we’re aware of at this time,” Scalzo said.

Legislators in Missouri currently are considering a proposed ban of K2, which Scalzo supports. In the meantime, he says that parents should be on the lookout for warning signs such as agitation, pale appearance, anxiety or confusion due to hallucinations.

“Look for dried herb residues lying around your kids’ room. Chances are they are not using potpourri to make their rooms smell better or oregano to put on their pizza,” Scalzo said.


After Indianola teen’s suicide, Iowa officials set sights on banning K2
By Jared Strong
June 22, 2010

State leaders will launch a campaign that could include TV and radio spots to warn about the dangers of a legal yet potent drug that has been linked to the recent death of an Indianola teen.

Gov. Chet Culver wants to spread the word about K2, a synthetic version of marijuana that is sold in a handful of Des Moines-area stores and elsewhere in Iowa. Some lawmakers plan to put pressure on the shops that sell the product and then ban the drug in the next legislative session.

“The introduction of new and dangerous substances is of special concern,” said Polly Carver-Kimm, a spokeswoman for Culver. She said he supports a ban on K2 and other potentially dangerous legal drugs.

K2, or Spice, is billed as incense, and its package warns against human consumption. Teenagers and young adults smoke it to get high. It costs about as much as high-end marijuana, but employers don’t test for it.

David Rozga, 18, smoked K2 on June 6 before he suffered a severe panic attack, told friends he was “going to hell,” then went home and shot and killed himself. Rozga’s parents and police blame the drug for the incident.

The Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy issued a statewide warning last week about K2 because of Rozga’s death. Culver announced on Monday that he had asked the state Department of Public Health to wage a public information campaign against the drug.

Public health director Tom Newton could not be reached for comment, but Carver-Kimm said the campaign would most likely include press releases and public service announcements on TV and radio.

Rozga’s parents have called for a ban on the drug, and state lawmakers have been quick to support the idea. Sen. Staci Appel, D-Ackworth, who represents Indianola, said she has already started work on a bill that would ban K2.

“This is very worrisome to me,” she said. “I want to do something to help.”

Rep. Kent Sorenson, R-Indianola, who is a friend of the Rozga family, said he would also pursue a ban next year if he wins an election against Appel in November.

In the meantime, Sorenson wants residents to call the stores that sell K2 and ask them to stop.

“That’s not going to solve the problem, but it’s something that we need to do until we can pass legislation,” he said.

Rep. Mark Smith, D-Marshalltown, has sponsored bills for at least three years to outlaw salvia divinorum, a legal psychoactive herb that is sold alongside K2. Smith wants to sponsor a new bill that would restrict both drugs.

K2 came to central Iowa about two months ago, said Gary Kendell, director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy. Relatively few people knew about the drug until Rozga’s death.

“I’d never heard about it until then,” said Kaleigh Heng, a junior at Waukee High School. “I thought it was really terrible that kids are starting to find things that are actually legal to smoke.”

East High School graduate Chris Jones, 18, said a friend told him about K2 about a month ago.

“He said it’s like smoking weed,” Jones said.

But Kendell has said K2 is potentially worse than pot: “It causes hallucinations. That doesn’t happen with marijuana.”

Like many parents, Indianola Mayor Ken Bresnan said he had not heard of the drug until reading about Rozga’s death in the Des Moines Sunday Register. He said the city would be at the forefront of prevention efforts, but that city leaders most likely wouldn’t ban the sale of K2 because he didn’t know of any store in the city that was selling it.

Rozga’s friends bought the K2 that Rozga smoked at a Des Moines-area mall, a police report said.