This documentary is well worth seeing.  It explains how the 13th Amendment did more than free the slaves, because it had an exception that said criminals could be imprisoned.  A massive cultural effort ensued to criminalize blacks, and our so-called "criminal justice" system was not sufficient to protect them from powerful white men determined to keep them down.

A Netflix documentary (called 13TH) shows us is just how easy it is to criminalize a previously enslaved population.  This history is ugly, and the present is not pretty either.  The percentage of our populace that is behind bars far exceeds that of any other nation, and the percentage of that imprisoned mass that is black or brown in skin color is also ridiculous.  There is definitely something wrong.

13TH was directed by Ana DuVernay who has quite a resume.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_DuVernay
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13TH_(film)
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I was wearing my new black PEACE T-shirt, that says shalom in Hebrew and something analogous in Arabic.  We were walking back to our condo along the coastal trail in Kapa'a, and I stopped in the restroom to let off happy hour.  While I was in there the locals accosted Will and he approached a pack of 4 guys and one gal who were hanging out by a sign.  One guy tried to sell him some herb, and when he didn't want any, asked to buy some.  When I came out of the rest room, I approached Will and the gang at the sign, and the woman asked if he was my man, and said something about how I should tell those guys to be nice to him.  At this point two of the guys left, leaving only the two, one young, one old, crouched beside the sign.  The woman, who turns out to be named Laura and has lived 44 years on Kauai, is of hispanic origin as indicated by her perturbation of my name.  She was tipsy.  Had all her teeth so I didn't suspect meth.  The remaining two brown men never entered the conversation, they stared at the ground and sneaked peeks at us when we looked away.  The woman kept talking about clothing and climates and places she had been, and Will was polite and engaged.  I was watching his back, watching our backs, because there were a lot of people toward the beach from us and the men weren't acting friendly.  A white man, drunk, passed by us and I turned to watch him.  He approached me and said we should not be at this beach, "It is not a good beach, not good people" and he told me we should move along.  He shook my hand and left.  I started backing away from Laura, and turning around to watch the goings ons in the parking lot.  My body language would tell anyone that I was watching for hazards and extricating myself from her.  Eventually Will managed to get away and she finally took the cue and made her goodbyes.  I didn't need to hear any more about her clothing challenges when traveling.  I know how cold it can be in Oregon.  And I didn't want to be around if the natives were restless.  I do think she was trying to protect us.  Thank you Laura and all the peace loving people of the world.  Thank you for tolerating the clueless tourists.

A group of 30 homeopaths at a conference in Germany became ill from an apparent overdose of a psychotropic medication. The article implies that the trippers had no intention of tripping, but I have my doubts.  Perhaps the food was spiked, or they were told it was "harmless".  Or perhaps they thought themselves ready for an incautious dose of a mind-expanding drug, and got more than they bargained for.

A homeopathy conference descended into drug-induced madness after thirty healers were spiked with a powerful hallucinogen.

Ambulances raced to the conference in Handeloh, south of Hamburg after 29 healers were found suffering from delusions having taken 2C-E.

The synthetic drug is a powerful hallucinogen, with effects similar to LSD, experts say.

German broadcaster NDR said that victims were, ‘staggering around, rolling in a meadow, talking gibberish and suffering severe cramps.’

SOURCE
http://metro.co.uk/2015/09/08/drug-madness-at-alternative-medicine-group-after-30-healers-are-spiked-5382472/

Americans are broad-minded people. They'll accept the fact that a person can be an alcoholic, a dope fiend, a wife beater, and even a newspaperman, but if a man doesn't drive, there is something wrong with him.
--Art Buchwald

If you live and Portland and haven't picked up a copy of this month's Willamette Week (free news weekly, online here: http://www.wweek.com/portland/index.php), this issue is likely to get snapped up. They've named it the 420 Issue and it is all about the businesses and culture incurred by the recent legalization of cannabis in Washington and soon Oregon. What struck me initially is the amount of wordplay around the subject, and the generation of witty new phrases, words and hashtags that accompanies the surge in businesses and products containing cannabinoids. There is great excitement about the new availability and openness that comes with legalization.

I for one am OK with recreational and medical use. I think that the risks to society of adults using cannabinoids are fairly minimal. It certainly doesn't make people drive dangerously the way alcohol does. It does have a whole set of risks that aren't covered in this issue, and that really need to be kept high in our awareness as this drug becomes widely acceptable.

One risk that is coming into focus these days is of extreme overdoses. Back when folks just inhaled smoke, coughing stopped them from partaking too much. Vaporizers now make inhalation gentler and it is easy to overdose when consuming edibles. With either method you can't tell how much intoxicant is in there. With humans ingeniously extracting and concentrating the active principles, it could be very strong, or contaminated with solvents. With edibles the effect takes time to kick in. It is terribly easy to overdose for folks who are experimenting for the first time, and who have no tolerance at all.

The conventional media take on overdose--blaming it for many deaths and claiming that it is deadly--is probably overblown. It takes a massive amount of pot to kill, perhaps more than anybody is likely to actually reach because unlike opioids it is so unpleasant getting there. It is however a relative unknown: having been illegal for so long, we don't have scientific studies about overdose. We hardly have science to justify all the medical uses that have already been approved. We are going to find out now.

Another risk is incurred by the fact that edibles make the drug palatable to people who would never smoke it. It is tempting to children as candy. There is the danger that children, teens and early 20-somethings will enjoy sugary yummies containing cannabinoids and permanently alter their brain development. Later on in life there is still a brain changing effect, but in early life when the brain is still forming, the effect can be severe.

On top of these new risks due to the availability of edibles, there is the old risk of respiratory injuries resulting in sinusitis and bronchitis, and risk of more dangerous conditions like pneumonia and COPD. There is also the fact that marijuana increases heart rate significantly in most individuals. Folks who already have hypertension or heart palpitations might give themselves a heart attack.

I suppose my main message in the light of all this 420 excitement is BE CAUTIOUS and PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN because there is a lot we don't know. I believe in freedom and individual discretion as most Americans do, and I also know that people can be terribly foolish and injure themselves and others, especially when intoxicants are involved. I cannot protect the whole world from poor choices, but I do hope that this warning is heard widely. Please take care of each other and if you are going to play with the newly legalized products, start very small.

I think the title is "Sweet Carolina" but in my mind the title ought to be "Pockets full of Dust" or something like it. This song is about how a lost soul can end up in a lonely place.

Cocaine and booze
are the eggs and bacon
of the addict's world,
the perfect combination.
--Ozzy Osbourne
(in The Week 7/4/14 p8)

OK, maybe that's a little exaggerated, but basically any drug causes a dopamine surge that changes your brain such that the rewards of normal life don't seem good enough anymore. This study actually found that pot smokers have a bigger nucleus accumbens (the brain area associated with pleasure, reward, and reinforcement learning). They say that 19 million Americans have smoked pot recently. That's a lot.

Here's the article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/04/16/even-casually-smoking-marijuana-can-change-your-brain-study-says/
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http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/777749_3

I'm glad they're looking at this. Turns out that there are more adverse events with homeopathy than there are with placebo, so there must be something in there. The remedy most common implicated is Rhus Tox, which is a dilution of poison ivy.