Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for December 31, 2017

Now we have a race: lung cancer or cirrhosis of the liver, which will get him first?

first! also no replying to voice allowed

The actual gateway drugs to heroin, other than prescription meds of course. Cannabis is NOT the evil one,, and IS non-addictive (physically) medicine.

mr. trudeau you forgot about mr. oxicontin and mr. heroin and mr. crack and mr. meth .. just sayin.

Okay. I gave up smoking, now where’s the rest of my beer?

" …

Among adult residents of the nation’s 30 largest cities, Philadelphians rank in the bottom 10 on all five unhealthy behaviors, which are considered risk factors for chronic diseases and lower health outcomes.

The data come from the CDC’s 500 Cities Project, created in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which provides city- and neighborhood-level information to help the cities better understand the health of their citizens and plan public health initiatives. The data source is a 2014 national telephone survey sponsored by the CDC and administered by state health departments. In the past, such data was available primarily at the county level. The data also show the role poverty plays in the increased percentage of people with unhealthy behaviors.

…"

http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/Post-Launch-Images/2017/07/PRI_Philadelphia_Ranks_High_for_Smoking_and_Other_Unhealthy_Behaviors_fig1.png?la=en

“…

There were 52,404 drug overdose deaths in 2015, more than triple the 16,849 that occurred in 1999, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During the same period, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose fatalities – which takes population change into account – rose from 6.1 deaths per 100,000 people to 16.3. Increases have come across gender, age and racial and ethnic lines, and rural as well as urban areas have been affected.

…"

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/10/26/nearly-half-of-americans-have-a-family-member-or-close-friend-whos-been-addicted-to-drugs/

Yep, booze and butts. The national pass time.

Yeah, but Alcohol and Tobacco pay LOTS OF CASH to "Con"gress, so THEY are just fine, even though they kill MORE PEOPLE in a year then “Hard Drugs”.

In all fairness, the last time we as a nation tried to give up alchohol, it… ended very badly.

Actually, water is even more addictive than tobacco and alcohol. And food, too. Don’t even get me STARTED on air!

Well, prohibition didn’t work. Heavy regulation and taxing cigarettes seems to be working. I find it astonishing how much it has decreased.

But cigarettes really have NO positive side. I used to smoke 2 1/2 packs a day, and now I’m not even sure WHY. You get nothing out of it. It isn’t even pleasant.

But I also used to sit puffing away at my desk at work, other people in the room, and it never occurred to me that there was something wrong with that. Heck, they used to have ashtrays in the waiting rooms of hospitals. Not only is that no longer the case, it seems downright bizarre.

Cannabis doesn’t kill anyone.

pack a day for 30 years. I always enjoyed smoking, but knew I had to quit. I did, about a dozen years ago, and haven’t wanted one since. I consider myself lucky.

@the ruthless terrierist, alcohol and tobacco are legal, the others you mentioned are not. I think that this is called “false equivalency”.

Has The Voice finally fallen silent? Been muted? Run out of rubles ? Inquiring minds actually don’t give a damn, but the question needed asked anyhow.

I’m not an alcoholic, I just drink wine and lots of it.

I think today’s strip is not all that controversial and not really associated with our current occupant of the oval office, hence less interest by the snake. But, I could be wrong.

What happened? Did that snake from Wyoming die?

Gee. Sounds like the arguments about taxpayers.

“That pest is gone at last! Hey, remember how he used to…”

Everybody… SHHHHHHH!

Never had the money to be either a smoker or a drinker. Tried both ONCE; smoking made my eyes swell shut, and was so sick from a hangover, never did it again. A glass or two of wine every holiday is about it. Now, CHOCOLATE, on the other hand. . .

They go so well together, maybe Trump will make America great again by giving the poor cigarettes and beer instead of programs and jobs.

From the Doonesbury site – https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=DggUj6VYDhM

Happy New Year tonight! We will be staying in. There is a wind chill warning, with actual temperatures in negative digits.

And there is your reason why the 103 year (Some) Drug War should end. it only empowers elements of govt to go against us, perverts the invisible hand of Capitalism into claws and creates cartels that never existed before.

Just saw a news thing on California and recreational cannabis use, which I still have questions about as opposed to medical, and was pleased to see the dispensary guy pointing out the same as medical, do NOT drive or do anything requiring attention for at least two hours after using! I’ve followed that with medical use which has proven the most effective medicine for my PTSD and fibromyalgia pain/spasticity. (Like my paraplegic friends as well.)

Alcohol DEFINITILEY interfers more with motor skills, and judgement than cannabis. Also, in law enforcement, had lots of drunk driving, and drunk fighting arrests, never on folks using pot by itself. Which, mixing pot and booze IS a bad combination “recreational” users seem less either aware of, or concerned about. That is part of my concern with recreational use, where the users also tend to get more “loaded” than medical folks do.

Have a happy new year folks, and just try to use all substances in 2018, incuding voting, to make us all more safe and sane. (2017 has been a bitch!)

with everything going on in the country and we get this old chestnut???

Legalizing pot is so unpopular with the tobacco and alcohol industries because fine quality products can be more easily and discretely made at home with far less overhead. Plus sold/traded in small markets (e.g. neighbors, friends), hence much more difficult to enforce any regulation restrictions. Conversely, most wines, liquors and tobacco take more effort, equipment and land/space to produce. It’s easier for the average American, even alcoholics and cigarette smokers, to purchase vs. produce their own but large conglomerates to do so while making a huge profit.

Like a deceased friend once said: “Quitting smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I must have done it a hundred times!”

Smoking is SO twentieth century!

Beer tastes awful too. Alcoholism has to be the only explanation for all of the beer consumed.