SCIENCE BUZZ – A visual representation of the effects of caffeine, LSD, mescaline, and hashish on spiders. The deformities in webs increase with each drug’s toxicity (surprise surprise), but the photos are still pretty shocking.

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The Best Links:

1. Funny Video of Spiders Spinning Webs on Drugs
2. Photos of Spiders on Various Drugs

POLITICS BUZZ – There’s an initiative in the works that could end up on the November ballot that allows for marijuana to be sold to anyone, and anywhere that already sells alcohol. More weed stores means more jobs for Californians, more taxes to be collected, and more stimulation for the fledgling economy. On the other hand, forgetting to go to work because you ate a giant pot brownie for breakfast is kind of counter-productive.

The Best Links:

1. California to Legalize Weed for Everyone
2. Marijuana Hotbed Mendocino County No Longer Embracing Weed
3. YouTube - the Last Interview of Dr. Tod Mikuriya
4. YouTube - News Report: Medical Marijuana in California High School

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SCIENCE BUZZ – Some medical experts question how Prozac is affecting American troops. Active troops were banned from taking psychotropic drugs until 2004. Now 20% of troops in Afghanistan have joined 30 million Americans prescribed with Prozac. “There’s no question [military officials are] using them to prop people up in difficult circumstances,” says Harvard Medical Psychiatrist Dr. Joseph Glenmullen. Is Prozac a quick-fix for troops with emotional trauma?

The Best Links:

1. America’s Medicated Army: Time Magazine
2. Prozac Info from the Mayo Clinic
3. The Power of Prozac in America
4. Should Prozac Be Prescribed Over the Counter?

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TV BUZZ – The reality show starring stage mom Dina Lohan and her 14-year-old daughter Ali Lohan, is scheduled to premier on the E! network on Memorial Day. I don’t care how high-brow you claim to be, this show will undoubtedly be your new guilty pleasure. Which is perfect timing, now that the Hills season is over.

The Best Links:

1. Lindsay Lohan was banned from “Living Lohan” by her mother
2. Dave Letterman Calls Ali Lohan “Lindsay”, All But Sealing Her Fate
3. Living Lohan vs. Denise Richards: It’s Complicated - Both Premiering on E! Memorial Day Weekend
4. Watch the New Video Promo
5. Don’t Believe Anything Dina Lohan Tells You!
6. Lindsay Too Good For Reality TV, Won’t Appear on Mom’s Show
7. Ali Lohan Plays the Victim
8. “‘Living Lohan’ Pulls The Curtain Back To Reveal The Real Dina Lohan, Daughter-Pimping Warts And All”

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POLITICS BUZZ – In response to Barack Obama’s calls for change, the Republican’s have unveiled their new “Change You Deserve” campaign for 2008. It turns out the slogan was also used to market the popular anti-depressant, Effexor. Sometimes those Republicans just get things so right.

The Best Links:

1. Cole and Boehner Just Not Enjoying Congress Like They Used To
2. Maybe It’s Because of All the Terrorism
3. It “addresses the depressed opportunities House Republicans might be feeling…”
4. The FDA Previously Tried To Stop The Effexor Marketing Campaign
5. Straight From Mr. Boehner

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CULTURE BUZZ – People like filming their friends tripping on salvia almost as much as doing it themselves. New York lawmakers are pushing to outlaw salvia divinorum, the as-yet totally legal hallucinogen, in part because of the many funny YouTube videos of people falling over and laughing.

The Best Links:

1. Is YouTube to Blame for Possible Salvia Ban?
2. “First Timer”
3. “Funniest” Salvia Trip On YouTube, Or Rather the One With the Most Laughing
4. “Aaron’s first salvia trip”
5. “Buddha’s Salvia Trip”
6. “Salvia 80x Crazy Trip”
7. “Ashley’s Salvia Trip”
8. “I’m Sweating”
9. “I’m not going to roll on the floor” (Rolls on floor)
10. “Phil tripping on Salvia”

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SCIENCE BUZZ – The new smoking-cessation wonder drug really does help people quit, but apparently it also causes nightmares, blackouts, paranoia, depression, hallucinations, and even suicide. Well, no one ever said quitting was easy. The FDA is investigating, and stated recently that a connection between Chantix and serious psychiatric problems appears “increasingly likely.”

The Best Links:

1. This Is My Brain on Chantix
2. FDA: Chantix May Pose Psychiatric Risks
3. The Productive Highs and Dark Lows of Chantix
4. Pfizer’s Chantix Created “Living” Nightmare For One User?
5. Pfizer Heightens Chantix Warning
6. FDA Probes Chantix Suicide, Behavior Concerns
7. Chantix and Side Effects Lawsuit
8. Chantrix: Chantrix Is the Most Successful Stop-Smoking Pill To Hit the Market. User Experiences and More.
9. Chantix Official Site

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CULTURE BUZZ – They now exist in Los Angeles. We thought the Japanese really had the leg up on vending machines, but marijuana vending machines are one of those things that make us proud to be an American.

The Best Links:

1. AVM’s Are the New Soda Machines
2. You Still Need a Prescription, Unfortunately
3. YouTube - Medical Marijuana Vending Machine News Report
4. Time To Get a Weed ATM Card
5. “the Pharmacists in LA Give You a Choice Between OG Kush and Granddaddy Purple”
6. Dope! Medical Vending Machines to Get You High

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FOOD BUZZ – Hershey’s is stopping production on candy they say looks too much like street drugs. After catching flack from police and teachers for creating a breath freshener that glamorizes drug use, Hershey decided to pull Ice Breakers Pacs. Joining the ranks of bubblegum cigarettes, we’ll now have to look for ‘dime bags of freshness’ on the black market.

The Best Links:

1. Hershey Stopping Production of Mints That Police Say Resemble Street Drugs
2. Packaging World’s Analysis of the Ice Breakers Pacs Brouhaha
3. “Worldwide Leader in Weird: Drug Death, Thy Name is Hershey’s”
4. Community Offended by Hershey’s Mints That Look Like Drugs
5. Video of Dallas Police Discussing Ice Breakers Pacs
6. Is Hershey’s Cracked?
7. “I Was Wrong: Hershey’s Ice Breakers Are Brilliant”
8. A roundup of opinions about Ice Breakers Pacs
9. Dime Bags of Freshness
10. New Ice Breakers Look Like Illegal Drugs
11. Hershey Pulls Mints That Look Like Illegal Drugs
12. New Ice Breakers Look Like Illegal Drugs
13. Ice Breakers PACS Look Like Drugs

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CELEBRITY BUZZ – Wilson reappears in the tabloids for going on a “tobacco water-pipe” buying spree. Looks like he finally redeemed that gift card Willie Nelson sent him after, well, you know.

The Best Links:

1. Oh No! Oh No! He’s Doing Bong Hits!
2. The Smoke Shop He Visited Has “High Prices”
3. He Reportedly Tried To Hide Behind A FedEx Truck
4. It Was Probably Just A Gift Bong For Luke Wilson
5. Pressing Questions: What Kind Of Weed Does Owen Wilson Favor in His Bong?

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