THE BALLAD OF HILLYBILLY HEROIN

Pharmaceutical corporations may not machine gum rivals or hang them under bridges, but in most ways, their ethics are all to similar to those of illegal drug dealers.  

“With the patent on OxyContin due to expire soon and almost $3 billion in sales at stake,Motherboard looks at the insidious ways that Purdue Pharma got America hooked, from its touting of time-release effects and controversial trials for kids to a PR blitz encompassing speaker-training conferences, all-expenses-paid symposia, starter coupons, public endorsements, a website full of spin and much dubious advertising in the form of a “public service” program that sang its praises. Worst, the company once dismissed the risks of an addiction that is now known to "bring addicts to their knees," and which has seen the death rate from opioids overdoses triple in just 15 years to now surpass the combined overdose deaths of cocaine and heroin. Today, it's increasingly said Purdue had to know "what the deal was." (Click here for the whole story)

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The secret word is Dose

THE FROZDICK FAMILY

Wang Chung Frozdick was the only one to take a newspaper to the opium den.

JOSEPH SEZ…

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
(Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945)

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GRATUITOUS IN BLACK

I’M WATCHING YOU

SUNDAY BREAKFAST

After years of rumor and speculation it now begins to emerge that marijuana may actually contain a cure for cancer. Doubtless, however, weed will remain illegal. Why? Because our leaders are as crazy as a box of frogs in party hats.The story was sent over by our pal Aeswiren. 

“A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco has found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever. "It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited," said Pierre Desprez , one of the scientists behind the discovery. We want to get started with trials as soon as possible." (Clickhere for the whole story

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The secret word is Bonkers 

MARILYN SEZ…

“There are worse ways to start the day than smoking dope naked by a swimming pool.”

A NEW CLOUD?

There are times when I wish I didn’t write science fiction. It makes this kind of thing far too ominous.

“The 'agitated wave' or 'undulatus asperatus' which looks like a rumpled blanket covering all or part of the sky. (Such as this photo above taken over Schiehallion, in Scotland by Ken Prior.) Cloud-spotters want to add it to the official list of cloud species. But it turns out its not at all easy to have a new variety of cloud officially recognized. So how come this type of cloud has only been spotted in the last few years? Is it a really new formation never seen before? Or did generations of meteorologists simply fail to notice it?”

IS IT A BIRD? IS IT A PLANE

GRATUITOUS LEE MARVIN (Every boy needs a role model)