Sunday, 22 May 2011

Drug fight needs injection of reality

Any rational debate about safe drug-injecting rooms should weigh these questions. Would lives be saved? Would it improve users' health and chances of rehabilitation? Would it improve neighbourhood amenity? Or would the facility serve as a ''honeypot'' that increased local drug trade? Today, we know the answers from trials such as the supervised injecting clinic in Sydney's Kings Cross. On all measures it has been a success. The evidence is in and the Yarra City Council has responded by voting 6-1 for a trial in Richmond's Victoria Street.
Regrettably, the plan, which needs legislative approval, is unlikely to proceed. The state government won't have a bar of it. ''I don't support the normalisation of any of this sort of behaviour,'' Premier Ted Baillieu said. The state won't be ''sending the wrong message''. What message is that and to whom? As The Age observed of this debate a decade ago, ''Hard drugs are bad. The law says so. Society agrees.'' Drug users and addicts are oblivious to ''messages'' of normalisation or disapproval. In any case, Victoria runs needle exchanges for the same public health reasons as apply to injecting rooms.
Security cameras and police operations push such problems on to other streets or, worse, deeper into laneways, yards, doorways and stairwells of residential areas. Last year, the Burnet Institute found two-thirds of drug injectors in Melbourne last did so in such places, increasing concerns about residents' well-being and safety. The point is that safe injecting facilities protect both users and local residents.
@'The Age'

The Hourglass

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How Snake Oil Got a Bad Rap (Hint: It Wasn’t The Snakes’ Fault)

These days, “snake oil” is synonymous with quackery, the phoniest of phony medicines. A “snake oil salesman” promises you the world, takes your money, and is long gone by the time you realize the product in your hands is completely worthless.
But get this: The original snake oil actually worked. Save this one for the next cocktail party; it will blow your friends’ minds.
In the 1860s, Chinese laborers immigrated to the United States to work on the Transcontinental Railroad. At night, they would rub their sore, tired muscles with ointment made from Chinese water snake (Enhydris chinensis), an ancient Chinese remedy they shared with their American co-workers.
A 2007 story in Scientific American explains that California neurophysiology researcher Richard Kunin made the connection between Chinese water snakes and omega-3 fatty acids in the 1980s.
“Kunin visited San Francisco’s Chinatown to buy such snake oil and analyze it. According to his 1989 analysis published in the Western Journal of Medicine, Chinese water-snake oil contains 20 percent eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), one of the two types of omega-3 fatty acids most readily used by our bodies. Salmon, one of the most popular food sources of omega-3s, contains a maximum of 18 percent EPA, lower than that of snake oil.”
However, it wasn’t until several years after Kunin’s research that American scientists discovered that omega-3s are vital for human metabolism. Not only do they sooth inflammation in muscles and joints, but also, they can help “cognitive function and reduce blood pressure, cholesterol, and even depression.”
So why does snake oil have such a bad rap?...

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Q&A: Mark E Smith

'My fancy dress costume of choice? A Jack Straw outfit, including voice and face.' Photograph: Gary Calton

Mark E Smith was born in 1957 and grew up in Prestwich, Greater Manchester. He left school at 16, and worked in a meat factory and then for an import-export company in Manchester docks. In 1976, he formed the post-punk band, The Fall, who were championed by the late DJ John Peel. He has been the only constant member since the band formed. Tomorrow, The Fall will play the Friends Of Mine Festival in Cheshire; in September, they will release their 29th album, on Cherry Red Records. His autobiography, Renegade, was published in 2008.
When were you happiest?
Every day is great for me. I dislike rose-coloured glasses.
What is your greatest fear?
Being trapped in a lift with Chatty Man or at a UK music festival with no transport. Fear is something I try not to absorb.
What is your earliest memory?
Having a hot wash at the age of four, before my first day of school.
Which living person do you most admire, and why?
All nurses and television programmers at 4am who "update". But mainly myself, as Napoleon.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Having to clean my teeth and look after my health.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
A lot of people seem obliged to have a viewpoint.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
It is weekly.
Aside from a property, what's the most expensive thing you've bought?
Human souls are not cheap.
What makes you unhappy?
All UK comedians.
What is your most treasured possession?
A tree in my front garden.
Where would you like to live?
Peking during the Boxer rebellion, 1900.
What would your super power be?
No food necessary. True bats know false powers drag you down.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I could use a new brain and other organs.
If you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose?
A decent bitter/lager.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Orson Welles or Brian Cox.
What is your most unappealing habit?
Random spitting, stealing lighters – both are unconscious.
What is your favourite smell?
Rain.
What is your favourite word or phrase?
"See you later."
What is your favourite book?
North, by Céline, and My Autobiography: Kevin Keegan.
What would be your fancy dress costume of choice?
A Jack Straw outfit, including voice and face.
What is the worst thing anyone's said to you?
Don't think you can leave me/this company/this train etc.
Cat or dog?
Not dog – mutual hatred.
Is it better to give or to receive?
The first.
What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Spiked Opal Fruits/Starbursts (in whisky) – cheap.
What do you owe your parents?
Pointing the way to the front door.
Rosanna Greenstreet @'The Guardian'