Anna Nicole trial: Overdose evidence barred 2010-07-31

The judge in the trial of Anna Nicole Smith's doctors and lawyer-boyfriend said Friday he was barring all evidence linking the defendants to Smith's fatal drug overdose because they were not charged with causing her death.Superior...

Alac welcomes liquor licence rejection 2010-07-31

A High Court decision backing a decision not to renew a convenience store's liquor licence has been welcomed by the Alcohol Advisory Council (Alac).Victoria Night 'n Day Foodstore of Christchurch had appealed a decision of the...

California: $2.4b cannabis bust 2010-07-31

FRESNO: Nearly 100 people have been arrested in an ongoing sweep of cannabis-growing operations that have netted more than US$1.7 billion ($2.4 billion) worth of the drug in California's Sierra Nevada range, federal and state agents...

Police tip bloodshed as rivals protect turf 2010-07-31

Turf wars between gangs, Asian organised crime and street dealers could end with spilled blood, say police, as criminals increasingly arm themselves in a bid to control Auckland's drug trade.The warning comes as armed police hunt...

Customs link in smugglers'$17m P plot 2010-07-31

A Customs broker has been charged with helping smuggle drugs worth up to $17 million in machine parts arriving at Auckland International Airport.Bo "Kevin"Niu appeared in Auckland District Court this week charged with possession...

Not PC | Raising your glass raises your standards 2010-07-30

I bet you didn't know that it's people of class who drink alcohol. True story. [HT TVHE] So naturally you'd also like to know about how alcohol also delays cognitive decline with age? [HT EC] Hooraw! Time for a martini, I think, to help combat the decline. Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)

Big News | 2010-07-29

The drink driving limitWhile there are various opinions as to whether the drink driving limit should be changed, one of the justifications of not lowering the limit was more research is needed to be done. This 23 page report, released under the OIA, provides some of the research , particularly when comparing blood alcohol concentration ( BAC) at the 0.05 and the 0.08 levels. Each year, drivers with a BAC betwe

Whale Oil | Mixed Messages 2010-07-29

I'm confused. Just a bare few months ago we had Geoffrey Palmer, wearing his Law Commission hat, recommending draconian changes to our liquor laws, allegedly because of our "binge drinking"� culture. Then the Government is said to be considering raising the drinking age from 18  to 20, despite the party voting resoundingly to oppose such a move at its National conference. And just last week we had Steven Joyce annou

Tactical Ninja | Short note to myself 2010-07-29

Dear Self,Please pat yourself on the back for your ability to recognise inappropriate situations and thus refrain from calling someone out on their reference to 'hard' drug use in a community that exists to debate other issues. Am I developing some self-control in my old age?Go figure. I know the War On Drugs brigade would like you to think that everyone addicted to heroin is skinny, covered in abcesses, h

Whale Oil | Tenderwatch - Establishing more Bro-rocracy 2010-07-28

Maori troughers at the ready."�get set"� bureaucracy Well, well well, what have we found here. It seems the MOH is wanting to hand out potentially hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to "investigate Maori tobacco control"�. Hang on a minute, isn't that a job for the MOH. Oh silly me, of course not. Let's fire out a government tender and dole out taxpayer money by the trough-full to people who never have a