Drugs

MacArthur Park Los Angeles California
Yes, namesake of the infamous song.

The LA Times has a story about an Oxycontin distribution ring that involves, well, just about everyone. The whole attitude of the story was one of 'oh dear, people are breaking the law and people are getting drugs and people are making money and this is just awful and how did it happen?' In other words, a whole lot of bullshit, which irritated me enough to comment:

There is something wrong with our country where people vote for the DEA, and on the other hand vote with cash for drugs. The DEA's mere existence is keeping many people in agony because their doctor is afraid to prescribe enough painkiller. Yes, some people become addicted, but the situation is not as bad as the prohibitionists would have you believe. This whole business of controlling the distribution of drugs was designed for our benefit, but its effect is to keep prices and profits high. As for overdoses, I suspect many of them are deliberate. There are situations where life can get so bad that dying is preferable.

Authorities seized over 6,500 plants with a value of over $9 million during Tuesday's operation.(Yamhill County Sheriff's Office)

While we were out of town last week, the police raided a marijuana farm in Dayton, Oregon, which is about thirty miles from here. WTF? Marijuana is legal here, why are they busting these guys? Something about licenses and regulations I guess.
     Pot (marijuana) shops are popping up all over the Portland metropolitan area and likewise, the alternative newspapers, the ones you can pick up for free at the newspaper boxes on the street, are full of ads for these pot shops. I suspect this is not going to end well. In a few years there will only be two pot shops in Portland, one on the Eastside and one on the West. Most people will be buying their pot in WalMart.