250 Million Pounds of Drugs Flushed Annually

In yet another amazingly stupid example of how we’re killing ourselves and destroying the planet, it’s been revealed that health facilities around the world send an estimated 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals down the drain every year. Those drugs end up contaminating our water supply, and even small traces can cause serious cell abnormalities in humans – let alone the effects they have on other living things.  The discarded meds are expired, spoiled, over-prescribed, unneeded or otherwise unused.

From USA Today:

Few of the country’s 5,700 hospitals and 45,000 long-term care homes keep data on the pharmaceutical waste they generate. Based on a small sample, though, the AP was able to project an annual national estimate of at least 250 million pounds of pharmaceuticals and contaminated packaging, with no way to separate out the drug volume.

Researchers are finding evidence that even extremely diluted concentrations of pharmaceutical residues harm fish, frogs and other aquatic species in the wild. Also, researchers report that human cells fail to grow normally in the laboratory when exposed to trace concentrations of certain drugs.

One of the dangers of this is the fact that drug dumping has been linked to virulent antibiotic-resistant germs as well as genetic mutations that may promote cancers.  Tests of sewage from hospitals in Paris and Oslo have revealed hormones, antibiotics, heart and skin medications and pain relievers.  Though most drugs end up in landfills, the ones frequently flushed are the ones most susceptible to abuse.  The EPA is reportedly considering whether to impose a national standard for how much drug waste can be released into waterways by the medical services industry, but a decision isn’t expected until next year at the earliest.

Things like this are terrifying – what are we doing to ourselves? How could people think that things like this won’t have negative consequences? We’ve already learned that the EPA doesn’t necessarily have the people’s best interests in mind, so we can’t count on them to protect us.  When our water is polluted with cancer-causing drugs and we’re creating super bugs that could wipe us all out in a flash, you know that we need to make big changes and we need to make them NOW.

Link [USA Today]
Photo credit: Flickr user newtype2011

Rising Food Prices May Help U.S. War on Drugs

In a strange and unexpected twist, the rising costs of food may help the United States on its long-running battle against illegal drugs. Farmers in Bolivia are replacing coca, cocaine’s raw ingredient, with food crops in many instances. The United States has long tried to get Bolivian farmers to substitute coca crops with food crops, providing incentives, but Bolivian president Evo Morales fought the attempts. Morales defends the right to grow the plant, which has a traditional use as a mild stimulant with medicinal qualities. However, farmers are beginning to see benefits to growing food.

From The International Herald Tribune:

The Chapare region’s coca growers’ union, of which Morales is still president, is requiring each of its 35,000 members to plant one hectare of rice this year as part of a government plan for coca farmers to plant 50,000 hectares of rice. The region, a stretch of central Bolivian foothills, now raises just 9,000 hectares of coca.

If they limit their coca crop to a cato, growers are entitled to loans of 3,600 bolivianos to plant rice, corn and other increasingly lucrative foodstuffs, and even a grant of 14,400 bolivianos to build a house.

The amount of rice that the coca union is requiring could earn the same as a cato of coca, though it requires six times the land and a lot more labor. But the price of rice has tripled in Bolivia since last year and is continuing to rise.

Rice also feeds a hungry domestic market, whereas the U.S.-backed crop replacement efforts promoted export products like bananas and pineapples and pitted the Chapare’s poor farmers against global agribusiness giants like Dole and Chiquita.

If the farmers find that producing domestic food crops rather than coca is profitable, more may abandon coca growing. That would ease pressure on the United States government, who have long tried to find ways to beat cocaine at the source.

Well, rice and cocaine are both white, and both come in plastic baggies…

Link [International Herald Tribune] via [Wannabe Hippy]
Photo credit: Flickr user azrainman

FYI: Wildlife Refuges are the Place to Go for Illicit Hookups

So, the men’s restrooms at your local park are now infested with undercover cops who stick out like a sore thumb, given that they don’t have a leash connecting their junk to a collar around their neck. What do you do? The rest stops aren’t safe anymore. Airport bathrooms are now too conspicuous, thanks to that sellout Senator Craig. Fear not, trollers: you can now have anonymous unprotected sex at wildlife refuges without fear of getting caught. You might have to drill some new glory holes, but it will be totally worth it.

From MSNBC:

America’s wildlife refuges are so short of money that one-third have no staff, boardwalks and buildings are in disrepair, and drug dealers are using them to grow marijuana and make methamphetamine, a group pushing for more funding says.

A decrease in law enforcement has left the refuges vulnerable to criminal activity, including prostitution, torched cars and illegal immigrant camps along the Potomac River in suburban Washington, D.C.; gay sex hookups in South Carolina and Alabama; methamphetamine labs in Nevada; and pot growing operations in Washington state.

This is just what you’ve been hoping for. Not only are wildlife refuges free of cops and large enough to have huge meth-fueled gay sex parties, you can enjoy the scenery as you partake in the debauchery. Aww, look, it’s a cute little chipmunk!

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Flickr user Ed_45

LSD Inventor Albert Hofman Dies, Treehugger Gives Props, Treehugger Readers Freak Their Shit Out

Man, Treehugger readers can be a bunch of bitchy squares.

The inventor of LSD, Albert Hofman recently died. Mr. Hofman’s invention was a major influence (mostly positive, some negative) in the lives of millions of artists, philosophers, deadheads, green bloggers, and yes, even treehuggers. LSD’s ability to show people planes of thought outside the normal everyday consciousness is one of the undertold stories of modern history.

Poor Lloyd Alter over at Treehugger posted a Happy 100th Birthday post a few years back when Mr. Hofman ticked over the century mark and got flamed in the comments for it. His recent post giving props to the deceased Swiss chemist was again flooded with uptight squares saying stupid things like comparing Hofman to Pablo Escobar (Escobar got WAY richer).

Someone needs to drop hit of cool on those squarebots. You’re giving us treehuggers an uptight name.

Link [Treehugger] & [Guardian]