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New “Low Cal” Vodka

In the world of vodka, simpler is usually better. After all, a typical vodka is made of alcohol, water and almost nothing else. To get around this, manufacturers use a variety of marketing techniques in an attempt to brand themselves as something special. We are offered the Crystal Head vodka bottles sold by none other ….

Marijuana Friendly Cities

Kalamazoo, Michigan, besides having one of those unforgettable names, is also the home to Western Michigan University. The city is too large to be just a college town, but their latest ordinance suggests they have the party school attitude. In the city that boasts on its website, “Kalamazoo is a great place to live and ….

Tobacco Companies Nailed By Judge

In a criminal trial, if you plead guilty, the judge requires that you admit your crime in open court. One of his roles is to make sure you accept what you’ve done. Judges are required to question defendants and agree that the guilty plea is “knowing and intelligent.” The procedure is different in civil actions, ….

Adulterated Defense For DUI

The prosecutor called it the, “somebody put something in my drink” defense. But in Montana, it looks like it will be enough to get Leigh Paffhausen a new trial on her DUI charge. Paffhausen was tagged by the cops for DUI after being pulled over in January, 2010 (the wheels of justice grind slowly). She ….

Deaths In North Dakota Lead To Emergency Banning

The North Dakota State Board of Pharmacy issued an emergency ruling to ban whole classes of compounds sold as synthetic drugs after the deaths of two teenagers. The drugs blamed for the overdoses had been legal in the state, where critics have argued was slow to crack down on chemicals sold to mimic the effects ….

Separating The Medicine And The Marijuana

With the popularity of medical marijuana sweeping the country, scientists have been exploring exactly what benefits marijuana offers and how to exploit them. This is no different than the path taken by other plant derived medicines, but research has been limited because of the restrictions placed on testing human subjects with what amounts to an ….

Irish Council Votes To License Boozers

In an odd bit of news out of the Emerald Isle, Kerry County Council members voted to allow a higher blood level for rural drivers in their jurisdiction. The measure was introduced by a local pub owner who felt that the current 0.05 BAC was too restrictive and his rural patrons ran the risk of ….

Beer-Opoly Goes To Court

The names might not be familiar, but the brands are. InBev is the owner of Anheuser-Busch and includes 200 brands in play. Grupo Modelo is a Mexican brewer that owns the Corona brand and others. InBev is already the largest purveyor of beer in the US and coupled with the second biggest producer, MillerCoors, already ….

Russia Fights Beer Problem

In a country known for its vodka production and consumption, most don’t know it’s the fourth largest beer consuming country in the world. But now, Russian authorities have instituted several measures to curb beer drinking. The first took effect January of this year: low alcohol beer will no longer be treated as a food item. ….

Heroin Deaths Up After Pill Mill Shutdown

A disturbing article in the Miami Herald tells the sad tale of what can happen when drug enforcement is focused on one problem and addicts shift to another source of supply. Florida was once known as a state with very loose regulations on pain clinics. So loose that some were labeled “pill mills,” mere storefront ….

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