Science is great

1: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2002 Mar;160(2):213-9. Epub 2001 Dec 20.

Modulation of the effects of alcohol on driving-related psychomotor skills by chronic exposure to cannabis.

Wright A, Terry Ph D. School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK.

RATIONALE:
Many previous studies have reported that alcohol and cannabis produce additive psychomotor effects in acute combination, but few have explicitly tested whether chronic exposure to cannabis, in the absence of acute administration, alters the effects of alcohol on psychomotor performance.

OBJECTIVES: To test whether long-term cannabis use modulates the effects of alcohol on psychomotor skills and self-reported mood and sensation.

METHODS:
Regular cannabis users (minimum: daily use for at least 3 years) and infrequent users (maximum: once-monthly use for at most 3 years) were matched for sex, age, alcohol intake and other drug use (14 participants in each group). Participants received alcohol (females 0.35 g/kg; males 0.45 g/kg) and placebo drinks. By urinalysis, only regular users tested positive for metabolites of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol; breath alcohol levels were similar between groups. Participants were tested on a computerised tracking task that has been used to screen drugs for adverse effects on driving. The task involved tracking a moving target on a computer screen while simultaneously responding to occasional presentations of stimuli in the periphery of the screen.

RESULTS:
Tracking accuracy was similar for both groups after placebo, but alcohol caused a significant deterioration in performance among infrequent cannabis users relative to regular users. These changes were mirrored by significant changes in self-reported scores for dizziness, measured by visual analogue scales. Alcohol slowed reaction times, but not differentially between groups.

CONCLUSIONS:
For psychomotor skills relevant to driving, chronic cannabis use (in the absence of acute administration) does not potentiate the effects of alcohol. In fact, the superior tracking accuracy of regular users relative to infrequent users after alcohol, and their lower scores for dizziness, suggest that chronic cannabis use may instead confer cross-tolerance to specific effects of alcohol on behaviour.

“(It is a) much more complex token. There are edge markers. It’s textured. It’s got a swirling edge,”

The Toronto Transit Commission roars into the 21st century with a bold technology upgrade: A new style of token!

These state-of-the-art tiny metal discs are equipped with the latest in... Well, nothing. The TTC lost $10 million in fares over the previous two years due to one token counterfeiting ring. I had a roommate who made his own by cutting up pennies with an "as seen on TV" pair of scissors.

The Toronto Star article goes on to add that $7 million is pissed away every year in counterfeit Metropasses, token scams, and enterprising souls who take a shortcut over top of the turnstiles - a remark the article blandly reports is "Just under 1 per cent of the system's total revenue."

How about them newfangled cards with their fancy prepaid fares you can buy in advance, fill up when you need from an ATM-style machine and not lose in the smallest corner of your jeans' front pocket?

The Moscow Metro has a more efficient, technologically advanced fare collection system than that of Canada's largest municipal transport network. It also has terrifying metal gates that automatically shoot out and crush your balls if you try to use a card that has run out of prepaid fares.

But they're not going to tell you what special metals this technological marvel is made from. So all you backyard alchemists can fuck off!

Why don't we privatize municipal transport to encourage innovation and better service, so that ridership will increase and car usage will go down?