Apparently there's some kind of big sporting event thingie happening in China right now. I guess the Chinese were eager to impress all the out-of-towners, and one of their ideas for doing that was, "Hey, let's not execute as many people!" Except, of course, drug dealers:

China’s intensified "people’s war on drugs" is undermining efforts to reform the use of the death penalty in the country believed to be the world’s most prolific executioner.

As host to the 2008 summer Olympic games, Beijing has pledged to use the ultimate punishment sparingly and cautiously, sending all death sentences handed down by the provinces for review by the country’s Supreme Court.

But, on the other hand, a drive to create a "drug-free" Beijing Olympics in August has allowed little respite in the use of China’s death machine, and scores of drug dealers have been sentenced and executed.

"We don’t feel there has been any decline in the numbers of people tried and sentenced to death," says Zhou Jianzhong, a criminal defence lawyer based in this southwestern city, who has handled close to a hundred death penalty cases in the last several years.

Personally, I think the problem with the war on drugs in America is that it wasn't originally branded the "people's war on drugs." It's our lack of attention to these nuances that is causing the collapse of the empire! Or something.

Wait, would you buy vodka or cognac from a man who is about to release an album called Detox? I'm so confused.

Hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre's cognac and vodka brands will hit liquor stores in the next 60 days, according to celebrity booze marketer Drinks America Holdings Ltd.... Aftermath Congac will come out first, followed by an 80-proof flavored and unflavored sparkling vodka, Drinks America said Monday in its fourth-quarter earnings statement. It added that the marketing for the beverages will be tied in with the release of Dr. Dre's long awaited "Detox" album. In late, July Dr. Dre told USA Today that the album would be out in "November or December."

Also, what the hell is a "celebrity booze marketer"? Seriously, that's an entire company?

Since we're happy the LSD theme today, have at this classic drug-themed ditty, Girl on LSD - Tom Petty

See the video here

Thanks to the folks at Entheogenic Reformation for digging this up...

This board doesn't usually talk up indie rock or alt country, but when one of the most widely respected young artists on the scene names her new album 'Acid Tongue', I have to wonder what is up. To be honest, Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley are not my usual choice of music, but they are extremely talented at what they do and have great live shows. Maybe it's the acid?

'Acid Tongue' is not out until September, but I know for sure this album will wind up on my Ipod, not because of the name, but because my wife loves this kind of music. The only other lazy indie-rocker that I really like is Elliott Smith, who was reportedly a large acid-head, a suicidally depressed drunk, and one of the best songwriters of our generation. I would take the opportunity to write up a large piece on his album 'XO', but I think I was talking about Jenny Lewis here. Depressed alt-rock always makes me miss Elliott Smith though. Sigh.

Okay, so I just found this site called "Cannazine" all about cannabis and such, and it is chock full of wonderful pot news a commentary. Since it is hard to tell how current any of their articles are (no pub date?), I'll point you to their top story and a topic we cover here periodically, the popular myth that pot is way stronger today than it was in days gone by.

Heard the latest from the Feds regarding their multi-billion dollar war on weed? According to the latest warnings from law enforcement, today’s cannabis is nearly twice as strong as the pot available in the 1970s and 80s. Sounds like its time for the Drug Enforcement Administration to don some new duds. How about t-shirts saying: "I’ve arrested millions, and all I got was stronger pot?"

I think that is funny. Hee hee. Check them out for all your pot news.

Parker writes, "Did you see the washington post story on the box turtle researcher following a turtle to a grow spot in DC. Check it out."

It's a gripping narrative about a turtle, a radio transmitter and large field of weed. I smell a major motion picture in the near future.

John Higgs, author of a new biography of Timothy Leary, recently put together a list of his ten favorite non-fiction books about psychedelia. The list is a mixture of the predictable (The Doors Of Perception? no way!!) and the somewhat surprising, such as this entry:

Bill Hicks: Agent of Evolution by Kevin Booth and Michael Bertin

Psychedelics are often thought to have faded in influence after the mid 70s, but this is not the case. Instead, they became more subtly integrated into people's lives, to the degree that they didn't overshadow an individual's other interests or achievements. Bill Hicks is a good example. Although he frequently talked about his psychedelic use on stage he is not generally labelled as just a 'drugs comic', and I suspect that my inclusion of this book in this list will surprise a few people. This honest biography by his close friend Kevin Booth shows how integral psychedelics were to his life and, ultimately, his legacy.

At any rate, it's a solid reading list for newbies and contains a few items that some psychedelic book collectors might want to track down.

You know, I never would have guessed that gallons of PCP were being smuggled all over the country in this day and age, but apparently it's true. For instance, here's the sad tale of a guy who's going to spend 27 years in jail for just an offense:

Parker was arrested on March 30, 2006, after Missouri State Highway Patrol commercial motor vehicle inspectors stopped a 2000 Peterbilt tractor driven by Parker, which was pulling a 1994 Boyd car-hauler trailer containing three vehicles, for a commercial motor vehicle compliance inspection at the D-4 East Weigh Station on Interstate 44 in Newton County.

During the inspection, which revealed several administrative and mechanical deficiencies, the officer became suspicious about the purpose of the travel. During a search of the tractor-trailer and vehicles, officers found 40 one-gallon-sized tin cans containing phencyclidine (PCP). Those cans were placed in two cardboard boxes, which were in a 2001 Ford Excursion located on the trailer. Officers also found 12 kilogram-sized packages of cocaine in the dash of a 1995 Nissan Quest van, which was also located on the trailer.

See, 12 kilos of cocaine - sure, I get it. But I had zero idea whatsoever that 40 gallons of PCP still had street value. Who is out there pushing their dealers for that kind of crazy juice? Apparently it's more widespread than I thought, as another story points out:

A 32-year-old Maryland man convicted of running a drug distribution ring that smuggled PCP into the region by the gallon was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge in Washington to life in prison without the possibility of release.... Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa Poteat said in court yesterday that Hopkins ran the drug ring and was responsible for smuggling nearly 90 kilograms of PCP into the Washington area. "It's an astronomical amount of PCP that is coming here and being dumped into the community," she said.

90 freakin' kilograms of PCP? Seriously? Even the son of a Connecticut state representative was recently busted for intent to distribute some part of 18.5 grams - you would think a politician's son could get himself involved in something a lot more high brow than PCP, but apparently not. I'm so behind the times. How do you seriously market a drug to people when the effects produce news stories like this one:

A Jersey City man high on PCP Sunday night screamed at police "You're gonna die tonight" as he grabbed for the guns of two officers before they pummeled him into submission with punches, kicks and baton strokes, officials said.

Wow, screw MDMA - let's get high and attack the cops! Because, you know, it's important to make sure that the police remember how PCP makes you invincible. Or something.

Horizons is a forum for learning about psychedelics. It seeks to open a fresh dialogue about psychedelics and challenges society to rethink their role in history, culture, medicine, spirituality and art. After a successful debut in 2007, it is now an annual event. Its dates for 2008 are September 19-21. Speakers have been announced and tickets are on sale!

2008 Speakers (in alphabetical order)

• Rick Doblin, Ph.D. - Founder/president of MAPS
  
• Alex Grey - Artist and co-founder of Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
  
• Allyson Grey - Artist and co-founder of Chapel of Sacred Mirrors
  
• Roland Griffiths, Ph.D. - MDMA and psilocybin researcher, Professor of Behavioral Biology and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
  
• John Halpern, M.D. - MDMA, psilocybin and peyote researcher, Associate Director of Substance Abuse Research at Harvard Medical School
  
• Sean Helfritsch & Isaiah Saxon - Video artists, creators of Bjork's Wanderlust 3D music video
  
• Allan Hunt Badiner - Co-editor of Zig Zag Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics
  
• Dan Merkur - Psychoanalyst, author of The Ecstatic Imagination
  
• Dimitri Mugianis - Ibogaine therapist
  
• David Nichols, Ph.D. - Founder of Heffter Research Institute, Distinguished Chair in Pharmacology at Purdue University
  
• Daniel Pinchbeck - Author of Breaking Open the Head and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl
  
• Sasha and Ann Shulgin - Psychedelics elders, authors of Tikhal and Pikhal