Dimwits nationwide are finding that their probation terms are being reset or revoked because of idiotic posts they’re placing on Facebook. Take for example, Scott W. Roby, convicted on charges of possession of methamphetamine and Ecstasy. The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky reports  he just received a two-year prison term for violating his probation, one provision of which states that he cannot drink alcohol nor be in any establishment serving alcoholic beverages. Okay, fair enough. But after friending his probation officer on Facebook, he proceeded to post pictures of himself drinking. He also blatantly asked via Facebook, “Anyone wanna go get smashed tonight one last time before the end of the Earth?” Law enforcement officials are saying this is becoming a recurring theme in Jefferson County, Kentucky. They are amazed that the convicted offenders are openly disclosing posts that violate probation terms when they are aware their probation officers can view everything. Here, you can check out some of the more illogical posts that other crazed felons have foolishly shared with everyone under the sun.

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Okay, maybe patches and lozenges and Chantix haven’t worked. You’re still smoking, and everybody hates you. So you go New Age—but acupuncture and meditation don’t cut it, either. Everybody hates you even more. Perhaps it’s time for a complete leap into the unknown with low-level laser therapy (LLLT), a popular though mainly untested treatment therapy in Europe. It is essentially a form of acupuncture with cold light lasers. Low-level laser therapy for nicotine addiction is now available in Connecticut, Florida, and other states. As a Florida clinic explains it: “By naturally elevating levels of endorphins, laser therapy allows you to eliminate nicotine from your body while avoiding the cravings, stress, and irritability most commonly associated with withdrawal.” That’s the (mostly unproven) theory, anyway.

The laser is a low-powered (cold) laser and the procedure is non-invasive. Since it has been approved for use in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome, and there have been a few scattered clinical trials, mostly in China, advocates have at least something to hang their hat on. “The low-level laser therapy operates on the principles of acupuncture to alleviate symptoms which occur when quitting smoking. During a session, the laser is applied to specific points on the ears, face, hands and wrist which are associated with addiction and appetite suppression.” And now you know exactly as much as we know about the subject.

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The USA women’s soccer team was defeated in the FIFA World Cup Final by Japan’s squad in penalty kicks yesterday. Despite the heartbreaking loss, fans in Rochester still had plenty to cheer about. USA’s heroic forward, Abby Wambach, who scored goals in all three games preceding the final, added a goal in the 104th minute yesterday to give USA what looked the game-winner.  Although her spectacular header in the first OT frame did not seal the deal, fans at her brother’s bar—the Back Nine Grill in Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester, New York— crowded the public house to celebrate Wambach’s success. Bars across the country joined in with the Back Nine Grill, holding booze-flowing viewing parties as fans loyally expressed their support. With opening time set for high noon yesterday, GM Eric Jones, general manager of the Back Nine, told WHAM that he expected the bar to be at full capacity by 1 p.m. Camera crews from ESPN were camped out front to capture the mayhem. Alcohol consumption and sporting events, two of America’s closely correlated pastimes, have come together once again.

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When people are stressed, they drink more—or that’s the conventional wisdom, at least. But researchers at the University of Chicago have demonstrated that it’s a two-way street: "Alcohol can change the way that the body deals with stress: it can decrease the hormone cortisol which the body releases to respond to stress, and it can prolong the feelings of tension produced by the stress," says study author Emma Childs. “Stress can also change how alcohol makes a person feel: it can reduce the pleasant effects of alcohol or increase craving for more alcohol." Results will be published in the October 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

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Chester Bennington, singer for Linkin Park, talked about his past alcoholism with England's Kerrang! magazine recently. According to The Pulse Of Radio, Bennington said that he used to be a "full-blown, raging alcoholic," adding, "I don't drink. I choose to be sober now. I have drunk over the last six years, but I just don't want to be that person anymore." Bennington said his addiction to alcohol went out of control after an emotional divorce from his first wife. "It was either beer, or Jack and Coke, or Jack Daniels in a pint glass with ice. And then it got to the point where my wife said to me about seven months after we got together, she goes, 'I don't think there's been a day since I've known you that you haven't drank.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about? That's crazy'—as I'm drinking a Jack and Coke. That was where my life went." Linkin Park has been touring in support of the band’s most recent release, A Thousand Suns.

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Mephedrone, the near-beer amphetamine that is one of the designer drugs often sold under the category of bath salts, has become  Britain’s  most popular club drug, reports the UK Guardian. In a report just published online by the Journal of Substance Use, investigators found that mephedrone was more popular than both ecstasy and cocaine among the club crowd, even though the drug became illegal in Britain in April of 2010. Various forms of synthetic marijuana have also been marketed as bath salts. While side effects of mephedrone have sent some users to the emergency room, others feel differently: "The legal status wasn't considered important," said a researcher. "Among the people we spoke to, I was surprised how much they liked it, how much they enjoyed it. They wanted to take more and were prepared to seek it out and buy it on the illegal market." For more technical information on bath salts containing mephedrone, see this post at DrugMonkey Blog. And for more on the adverse effects of mephedrone, see this article in the New York Times.

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