Wait for the tox results, MSM.

Sure enough.

The Miami guy who took off all his clothes and attached a homeless guy, including chewing on his face, was not in fact high on “bath salts”.

Lab tests detected only marijuana in the system of a Florida man shot while chewing another man’s face, the medical examiner said Tuesday, ruling out other street drugs including the components typically found in the stimulants known as bath salts.

If you will recall the main stream media reporting up until now, just about every single news item referring to this case referenced speculation from law enforcement sources that this guy was high on “bath salts”.

The commentary to the effect that this case “proved” that we needed to control bath salts now, RIGHT NOW!!!! AIEEEEE!!!!!! was rampant.

I’m sure this case played no role in the recent attempts by Congress to criminalize several drug compounds which were alleged to be components of “bath salts”. As I was just discussing, the only ones to survive the axe of Sen Leahy were 4-MMC and MDPV… but of course the DEA has emergency scheduled these and methylone already.

The DEA, of course, has a process. In which they evaluate the available evidence before moving for a scheduling action. You may not agree with their position on the evidence and you may think they are engaged in an exercise in confirmation. But you cannot deny that they have to come up with …something. Something a little better than “law enforcement officials suspect [insert unusual behavior] was caused by [insert current drug of interest to the MSM and or legislators looking to get some press]”.

The information driven process is superior. At all times. Yes, even for the MSM.

I say it again, wait for the tox results. Before you rush to present your salacious story about the latest event which might possibly have involved a recreational drug. Your credibility demands it.

Blogrolling: unlikely activist

I invite you to put the new blog of Professor J. David Jentsch on your list. At the unlikely activist you will find fare such as:

The mystery of addictions, Part 1: Why spend money on addiction research at all?

If they are remarkably lucky and have proper medical and psychological support, they may return to a healthy life and never use again. But for most, their freedom is only temporary, and they will relapse again days, weeks, months or even years later, returning them to their suffering and to their fateful spiral. You see, drugs kill. They are powerful toxins that can stop breathing or a heart. If they are injected, they can bring infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV along with them. And because they intoxicate the mind, they lead to reckless driving and other behaviors that risk the lives of the addict and those around them.

Ignoring science, from the bench

Put differently, juveniles and teens have a brain fully capable of feeling powerful emotions (like anger), but their ability to resist those emotions and to behave in a socially appropriate manner (like to inhibit aggressive reactions) is not at adult levels. The 5 justices who struck down harsh penalties for child offenders recognized this; it was a crucial part of their logic in this, and the earlier death penalty, case.

But like a frightening number of people in our society, the other 4 justices viewed the science as either being wrong or irrelevant. Their own ethical or philosophical views about crime and punishment appeared to trump their interest in scientific principles and facts. In this regard, they are not unlike strident animal rights activists opposed to biomedical and behavioral research involving animals.

A solemn voice in support of medical researchers

In the fall of 2010, an animal rights extremist sent me razor blades and heinous threats to cut my throat in the mail. It became a national news story, again highlighting the abject cruelty of some in the anti-vivisection movement. During this time, I turned on my phone one evening to see that I had received a voice mail. Anticipating the worst – yet another cruel, rabid and profane threat from my opponents – I found something quite different. I have kept this communication private for long enough. Now, at the wishes of the caller, I am sharing it with the broader community to demonstrate that support for humane animal research is everywhere…. It comes not from greed or ignorance, but from love and a hope that no one should ever suffer the same loss as the caller.

VoiceofSupport (click on this link to listen to this .wav file)