Man Of Jackistan: Reason and Truth's Time and Place

Pennsylvania Must Reconsider Closing Its State Liquor Stores Tomorrow My Take Originally March 16, 2020 Governor Tom Wolf recently issued his emergency plans for the state of Pennsylvania's coronavirus response. With my county among those now claiming confirmed cases, and in lieu of an adequate response from the federal government, I welcome something of the sort.But when I found out that on Tuesday March 17, Pennsylvania will close its state-run liquor stores (Fine Wine & Good Spritis) in response to the coronavirus, I immediately wrote this letter to the state's Department of Health reasoning as to why they should not do that. For my out-of-state readers, the state government in PA has a monopoly on most alcoholic beverages sales outside of bars, restaurants, etc--though that has begun to change in recent years, allowing places like grocery stores to sell limited quantities of beer and wine. Nonetheless, almost all alcohol sold in the state that the buyer does not...

They Should Understand Addiction, Or At Least Try! Rant #4 ( Opinion ) Originally February 24, 2020 Somebody said that they hate when people don't understand addiction as a disease, or that sometimes, Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) such as buprenorphine (usually called by the most famous brand name of it, Suboxone) and methadone. These treatments involve taking a person addicted to opioids and administering Suboxone or methadone to them, in order to quell withdrawal symptoms and craving. Because both are actually just different opioid drugs, it prevents those things from happening. 'Giving drugs to addicts' seems controversial, especially when somebody knows little about those treatments or the science behind it. Below, I have cleaned up the response I gave to my friend: I am so annoyed when people say "I'd never get addicted to that because I have strong willpower" or "I've [drank/done drugs] and I never got addicted." Yes. So cle...

"Vote Shrooms-Ayahuasca 2020" Rant #3 ( Opinion) Originally February 1, 2020 On May 7, 2019, by the narrowest margin, the people of Denver voted "yes" on a controversial ballot initiative. Despite just 50.6% support at the polls, Initiative 301 passed, making Denver, Colorado the first city in the United States to decriminalize shrooms. Yes, those shrooms: also known as magic mushrooms, more formally referred to as psychedelic mushrooms. This categorization represents over 200 species of fungi that contain psilocin or psilocybin, mostly in the genus Psilocybe. These mushrooms grow allover the United States and the world. And for the last 50 or so years, it has been a crime to buy, sell, grow or hold any of them.  I've said this for years, going back as far as 2007-08 as more and more states considered and then legalized marijuana first for medical uses, then for recreational: the 2010s would be the decade of cannabis. States would start to l...

Q&A: "How Do People Pass Drug Tests Even Though They Still Get High?" Contains Subjective Input Originally January 14, 2019 With “don’t do drugs” being the lamest and least helpful response to this question, let me at least say that if a person has ingested a substance, its presence can be traced in their body for some time afterwards, so anyone who chooses to take drugs must take that into account when making a decision. Nobody should do any drugs, but realistically, those who choose to use are urged to at least take any precautions possible to minimize the harm done to themselves and others... Also, none of the info contained here should compel a person to try and cheat a drug screen, especially one for probation etc. Also, numbers such as the detection windows listed one should take with a grain of salt, do more research elsewhere to get an even better estimate, and remember: individual circumstances and the specific test will influence the outcome more than...

Q&A: "How Intense Is Opioid Withdrawal?" Includes Subjective Opinions Originally composed January 14, 2019 From time to time, I will take and answer questions. Additionally, on occasion, I will also answer questions or write articles by throwing my personal experience into the mix (always labelled as editorials). Question: "How Intense Is Opioid Withdrawal?" Well, it depends. That’s like asking “how much does getting a body part chopped off hurt?” One could lose a finger or a whole limb, and both will really hurt, though one will bring more severe pain than the other. Likewise, with opioid withdrawal, consider it on a spectrum. Somebody who has taken 5 mg of Vicodin (hydrocodone) twice a day for two months will likely experience some symptoms when ceasing to take the drug, though not nearly as many symptoms or to the degree that will be experienced by an I.V. heroin user who has injected $100 of the stuff each day for two years. Regardless of...