Alcohol

It's becoming more and more apparent that former UK drug policy advisor David Nutt is a really cool guy. First, he got in trouble for saying ecstasy is as safe as horseback riding, then he got fired for saying marijuana is safer than all sorts of things, and now look how he's spending his free time:

An alcohol substitute that gives the drinker the pleasant feelings of tipsiness without an unpleasant hangover, is being developed by researchers.

The team, led by drugs expert Professor David Nutt, has developed the drink using chemicals related to the sedative Valium.

It works on the nerves in a similar way to alcohol causing feelings of well-being and relaxation. [Daily Mail]

Well, I suppose I'd be interested in knowing a whole lot more about that. If this stuff does what they're saying, it could prove to be the greatest discovery of modern times:

The team is also working on an antidote pill that would mute the effects of the synthetic alcohol on the brain receptors, allowing drinkers to drive soon afterwards.

Dude, are you serious? It would be just delightful if the guy who got fired for failing to support the government's unhinged anti-drug agenda ended up saving lives on a massive scale. Can you even imagine what the Home Office would say if David Nutt won a Nobel Prize for inventing the cure for drunk driving?

"Marijuana is Safer," the brand spanking new book by NORML's Paul Armentano, MPP's Steve Fox, and SAFER's Mason Tvert (who came up with the whole "marijuana is safer than alcohol" trope) is set for book bomb tomorrow. The idea behind a book bomb is to get large numbers of people to buy a book on a designated day, thereby driving it up the best-seller lists on Amazon. If enough people buy "Marijuana is Safer" tomorrow, we could drive it to #1 on Amazon and generate even more publicity for the book--and the message it sends. While we will no doubt offer the book as a premium at some point in the near future, I want to encourage people to participate in tomorrow's book bomb to help get the word out. You can find out more at marijuana book bomb. I'll be reviewing "Marijuana is Safer" for the Chronicle this week, but don't wait for the review. If you've been thinking about buying the book, tomorrow is the day to do it.

Via Radley Balko, the irony is truly staggering:

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania liquor store clerks need to be more bubbly when they're selling Champagne.

The state's Liquor Control Board is spending more than $173,000 to try to make workers friendlier and more well-mannered at the nearly 650 stores it operates. The board says it wants to make sure clerks are saying "hello," "thank you" and "come again" to customers shopping for wine and spirits. [Comcast.net]

Seriously, alcohol users don’t need you to be nicer to them. Just be glad you can buy alcohol in a safe place, with products labeled for purity and no fear that you'll be charged with "intent to distribute" if police find a case of beer in your trunk.

Instead of being nicer to alcohol users, can we finally stop destroying people's lives for choosing other intoxicants instead?