Category Archives: Drugs

When the War on Planned Parenthood Makes People (Very) Sick

Posted on April 2, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

A few years back, when the rightwing assault on Planned Parenthood kicked into high gear, I explained why I supported Planned Parenthood: For the younger readers–and by younger, I mean those in their twenties–it’s hard to describe the AIDS-related paranoia … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Drugs, HIV, News Media, Public Health | Comments Off on When the War on Planned Parenthood Makes People (Very) Sick

One Reason Why the U.S. “Veered So Decidedly Toward Mass Incarceration”

Posted on May 3, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Eduardo Porter has a good piece about how the U.S. prefers to spend money on mass incarceration than other nations despite still having a higher crime rate and despite the harms these policies inflict on prisoners’ children, thus perpetuating the … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Drugs | 7 Comments

How Bad Is Massachusetts’ Opiate Epidemic?

Posted on April 22, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

No one really seems to know (boldface mine): Massachusetts is under siege from a frightening surge of heroin overdoses, Governor Deval Patrick said last month in declaring a state of emergency. That grim view has become unquestioned consensus among law … Continue reading →

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Back Bay, Meet Your New Neighbor

Posted on February 15, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

I’m guessing this new establishment to be located in Back Bay, Boston on Boylston Street between Arlington and Berkeley isn’t going to be particularly popular with the neighborhood (boldface mine): A medical marijuana business planning to open in Boston’s Back … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, Drugs | 1 Comment

One Way to Lower Drug Overdose Deaths

Posted on February 8, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

In light of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s recent drug overdose death, this seems like a good public health initiative (boldface mine): Although opioid overdoses typically take several hours to kill, once breathing has slowed past a certain point, it takes just … Continue reading →

Posted in Drugs, Public Health | 2 Comments

When Someone Claims the War on Drugs Is a War on Minorities…

Posted on November 23, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

…they might be right. John Ehrlichman, Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs under President Richard Nixon: The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar Left, and black people. You understand … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Drugs | 2 Comments

The Wrath of Dookhan: Massachusetts’ Inadvertent Experiment on Drug Decriminalization

Posted on August 27, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

For those of you who live outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (God save it!), you probably haven’t heard of Annie Dookhan, the drug lab chemist who was found to have falsified evidence in drug cases. Here’s a good description … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, Drugs, Massachusetts | Comments Off on The Wrath of Dookhan: Massachusetts’ Inadvertent Experiment on Drug Decriminalization

Marijuana: Arrests Versus Jail Time

Posted on January 3, 2013 by mikethemadbiologist

While the number of people who go to prison for marijuana possession is quite small (and make up a very small fraction of prisoners), it’s worth noting that the number of arrests for possession, if New York City is any … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, Drugs | 2 Comments

Implementing Medical Marijuana in Massachusetts

Posted on November 16, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

In the 2012 election, Massachusetts passed a ballot question calling for the legalization of medical marijuana (and yes, it’s depressing that passed, but an assisted suicide law did not. Priorities…). As I noted the last time a marijuana-related ballot question … Continue reading →

Posted in Drugs, Housing, Massachusetts | 2 Comments

The Mad Biologist’s Endorsements

Posted on November 5, 2012 by mikethemadbiologist

Which will carry even less weight than newspaper endorsements, which is to say, none at all. Regular readers probably won’t be surprised, but here they are anyway (I’m not going through the whole Massachusetts ballot, because life’s too short): President: … Continue reading →

Posted in Democrats, Drugs, Massachusetts, Voting | Comments Off on The Mad Biologist’s Endorsements