A Florida man who drank at least 23 shots of vodka mixed with Red Bull energy drink in about 30 minutes quickly collapsed at the bar where he was drinking and later died, ABC News reported June 27.
Eric Morris, aged 26, 6-foot-4 and weighing 210 pounds, ordered dozens of "cherry bomb" shots at a Seffner, Fla., adult nightclub called Angels Show Bar. "Witnesses told us that the bartender kept setting up glasses of shots for [Morris] and then for whatever reason decided at shot glass 24 or 25 that she wasn't going to serve him anymore," said Hillsborough County Sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway.
Shortly after being refused any more alcohol, Morris reportedly staggered from the bar and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead a few hours later.
Morris formerly worked as a bouncer at the bar, and was recently released from prison. His sister, Jacqui, said that her brother may have been trying to prove his strength by drinking so much. "It's just because we had to be tough," she said. "We were raised to be tough."
"They should have cut him off after the first five," she added.
Fla. Man Dies After Taking 23 Shots in 30 Mins.
Ban Indoor Smoking, WHO Advises Nations
A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) says that indoor-smoking bans can prevent heart disease, encourage smokers to quit and protect children, Reuters reported June 30.
The study said there is more than enough evidence that banning smoking in bars, restaurants, and other workplaces has public-health benefits.
"Implementation of such policies can have a broader population effect of increasing smoke-free environments," according to the report from the International Agency for Cancer Research. "Not only do these policies achieve their aim of protecting the health of nonsmokers by decreasing exposure to secondhand smoke, they also have many effects on smoking behavior, which compound the health benefits."
The report was published in the journal Lancet Oncology.
Movie directors using more Marijuana
It may not signal a return to the Cheech and Chong days, but marijuana use has definitely staged a comeback on the big screen, drawing laughs and establishing cultural credibility among young moviegoers, Time magazine reported in its July 7 issue.
Movies by hot director Judd Apatow, including the 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and the forthcoming Pineapple Express -- named after a potent (but fictional) strain of pot -- have prominently featured marijuana. Movies and TV shows like Weeds, The Wackness, the Harold and Kumar films, and Humboldt County also have marijuana themes and stoner characters.
"I'm always a proponent for the comedy involved in people who are under the influence," said Apatow. "I just think it's fun watching anyone acting like an idiot."
"[Film star] Seth [Rogen] and I always argue whether or not [Pineapple Express] is an anti-pot movie," adds Apatow. "To me, it clearly is. Most of the film is people trying to murder these two guys, them trying not to get murdered, and it's all because they're smoking pot. Seth thinks that's too subtle."
In The Wackness, Sir Ben Kingsley plays a psychiatrist turned drug dealer. "For me, the pot was just a device," says Kingsley. "Through it we tell the lovely story of a fatherless child and childless father. And because I become his assistant in dealing with the stuff he's selling, I'm revealed to be the child."
In many films, marijuana users aren't portrayed as outsiders but rather as delayed adolescents. Ironically, portrayals of cigarette and tobacco use in films seems to be generating more protests these days than marijuana use.
McCain Praises Colombian Drug War
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) toured Colombia this week and praised the government of President Alvaro Uribe for its anti-drug efforts, the Associated Press reported July 2.
"Drugs is a big, big problem in America. The continued flow of drugs from Colombia through Mexico into the United States is still one of our major challenges for all Americans," said McCain, whose itinerary included a look at Colombia's drug-interdiction efforts in the port of Cartagena.
McCain also praised Plan Colombia, the multi-billion-dollar U.S. aid package to support Colombian drug interdiction and eradication efforts. McCain said that the program had helped raise the street price of cocaine in the U.S.
However, McCain also urged Uribe to work to improve Colombia's human-rights record. "I've been a supporter of human rights for my entire life and career," McCain said. "We have discussed this issue with President Uribe and will continue to urge progress in that direction. I believe progress is being made and that more progress needs to be made."
