Synthetic cannabis is increasingly used by the party-going/drug-using category of our species, worldwide – including Australia.

In Australia, one such product, called “Kronic”, has been turning up in a number of shops.

But hopefully not for much longer (see below . . . .)

These products have been promoted as “herbal incense” — supposedly a combination of certain exotic herbs (Nymphaea caerulia, Leonotis Leonurus etc.) which nobody has heard of, but sound rather quaint and harmless.

Some spoilsport scientists, however, did a bit of analysing and found them to be full of chemicals – designer drugs — almost, but not quite, identical to the active ingredient in cannabis, THC.

* * *

Leading expert in the science of synthetic cannabis, Professor John Huffman, warns against its use as a recreational substance.

To quote his words, “People who use it are idiots.”

The US Drug Enforcement Agency describes synthetic cannabis as a “drug of concern”, linked with “a surge in emergency-room visits and calls to poison-control centres. Adverse health effects include seizures, hallucinations and paranoid behaviour . . . .”

* * *

Yesterday synthetic cannabis was made illegal in Western Australia.

Today it became illegal in South Australia — possession or sale incurring penalties of up to a $10,000 fine, or two years in prison.

Victorian Premier, Ted Baillieu, is considering similar legislation.

* * *

The Catechism of the Catholic rules that: The use of drugs inflicts very grave damage on human health and life. Their use, except on strictly therapeutic grounds, is a grave offence. Clandestine production of and trafficking in drugs are scandalous practices. They constitute direct co-operation in evil. (CCC, 2291)

Which makes them an offence, not only against the welfare of human society – but an offence against God himself.

Last Monday, Australia’s Independent Climate Change Commission released its first report.

The “Chief Commissioner” is Professor Tim Flannery.

Professor Flannery is described in Wikipedia as a “mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist and global warming activist”.

He is famous for being in favour of shutting down coal-fired power stations for electricity generation.

He was named “Australian of the Year” in 2007.

He is a great favourite of the media.

* * *

With Prof Tim in charge, it seems odd to call the Commission “independent”.

On Monday, he announced that human-induced global warming is “indisputable”.

Well it isn’t.

People do dispute it.

If the Commission was independent, it would have mentioned the evidence that casts doubt on the “greenhouse gases/carbon footprint” orthodoxy . . . .

If independent, there would have been a “minority report” from those Commission members unconvinced that taxing carbon dioxide-producers out of business will make the weather improve.

Was there no Commission member holding such a view?

Was this not so much an independent Commission as a carefully-selected bunch of clones of Brother Flannery?

* * *

Anyway, Prime Minister Julia Gillard is pleased with the Commission for producing a report saying exactly what she wanted them to say.

The Cancer Council of Australia announced the other day that there is a closer link between alcohol drinking and cancer than previously thought.

It seems now that alcohol causes not only uncommon cancers like liver cancer and throat cancer — but is also a factor in the major killer cancers, like bowel cancer and breast cancer.

The research doesn’t suggest that there is any safe amount of alcohol that you can drink, but that all alcohol drinking increases one’s risk.

So what to do?

Logically one should drink no alcohol at all.

Starting now.

             * * *                    

All beer, whisky and wine containers should carry a health warning, such as:

CAUTION: Users of this product are not only likely to throw up, fall down, get punched out in bars, lose their jobs and lose their families — they also increase their risk of dying of cancer – painful and distressing — also distressing to those having to watch it happen.

* * *

Will the Church take the lead in advocating complete abstinence from alcohol?

We will have to wait and see.

Should it?                                                 

The answer to that question seems obvious.

The Pope’s message to the world this Easter included remarks about Creation and Evolution.

He said Easter was a good time to remember that the Catholic Faith embraces everything about the human being, from his origins to his eternal destiny.

The account of Creation being, not about the scientific process involved, but something deeper . . . .

The source of everything being not pure chance, but “creative reason, love and freedom.”

While not denying evolution itself, Pope Benedict rejected evolutionary accounts that exclude a divine purpose:

“It is not the case that in the expanding universe . . . there evolved randomly some species of living being capable of reasoning . . . .

 “If man were merely a random product of evolution . . . then life would make no sense . . . .

“Reason is there at the beginning — creative, divine Reason.”

* * *

He is right, of course.

Try telling your child that his computer evolved from fragments of iron ore and silica, with no intelligence involved in its design . . . .

He/she would laugh at the suggestion.

Yet we tell them that the whole universe constructed itself with no designer!

Amazing.

* * *

Some years ago, the US National Association of Biology Teachers adopted a policy for children to be taught that, “The diversity of life on earth results from evolution – an unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable and natural process.”

They were challenged by a Philosophy Professor, who insisted that using the words “unsupervised” and “impersonal” went outside the scope of the scientific evidence . . . .

And was, in fact, a statement of religious (anti-religious) opinion.

The Assocation dropped those two words from their policy.

* * *

The Bible says that, “Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from the things he has made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans, chapter 1)

Scientists have identified a gene (called AUTS2) that seems to affect how much alcohol people consume.

Alcohol consumption has long been considered “a moderately inheritable trait”, but its genetic basis was little understood.

Researcher, Professor Nick Martin, comments, “Although many of the influences on alcohol are non-genetic (reflecting societal, lifestyle and behavioural influences) there is an important genetic component.”

* * *

If this gene turns out to be true, what are we to do about it?

Do we check babies at birth – then in later life send those with the alcoholism-related gene to counselling?

Or will someone discover a stem cell or something that can switch the gene off? Or would the persons involved think that too much interference in their make-up?

Or if someone with the “alcohol gene” commits an alcohol-related crime, should they be let off because their genes made them do it?

* * *

What about free will?

We all have tendencies to do bad things. We all know that if we try hard enough we can do the right thing.

The notion that some people behave in certain ways “because they are born that way” is a bit too convenient.

The classic example is the debate about whether there exists such a thing as a “gay gene”.

Perhaps it ultimately doesn’t matter. People must take responsibility for what they decide, by their own free will, to do.

If homosexual acts spread disease and if the homosexually-active fraternity seeks to harm the traditional institution of marriage and if homosexually-active people are disproportionately inclined to molest children . . . .

If these things are so, might the question of whether there is a gene involved or not be hardly the point.

P.S. Some people might say, “I do not believe there is such a thing as free will . . . .”

Nonsense.

If there is no free will, then you cannot say, “I believe (or don’t believe) such and such” — because there is no such thing as “I” in any meaningful sense.

Which means that the person speaking is saying that he/she does not really exist.

This week, one take-away food chain is introducing a new burger — no bun, but two pieces of chicken with bacon and cheese in between.

Health experts disapprove, quoting statistics that over 50 percent of Australia’s adults are “overweight or obese”.

It would take one totwo hours of exercise – depending how strenuous — to burn off this burger.

If we all walked or rode bicycles more, it might help.

* * *

Many children today are driven to school because parents worry about them getting there safely.

There are bad adults about who molest unaccompanied children.

When attending primary school I walked to school — the thought of being in danger didn’t arise. Adults then mostly knew how to behave themselves.

We were all skinny.

(No, I didn’t ride a bike to school. My school days were so long ago the wheel hadn’t been invented.)

* * *

Why are adults more likely to interfere with children now than then?

Television makes every viewer more accustomed to immodesty — more inclined to think of others as objects to exploit in various ways, including this way.

This very week, a well known “artist”, who specialises in photographing naked and near-naked children and adolescents, is opening a new exhibition.

I had forgotten about him. It’s a surprise that he is not in gaol. If he was, the other inmates may well beat him up.             

* * *

Why introduce a new gluttony-provoking food during Lent? No serious Christian will enter takeaway shops whose products contain meat during Lent.

The weeks preceding Easter are the time to suffer a little and fast – going without meat and/or other luxuries — to show respect to the God who loves us enough to enter our history and suffer and die for us.

To achieve a goal, you must use the means necessary to achieve it.

An athlete must discipline himself to train.

If you hope to be the kind of human being God wants, you must fast and pray.

If you fast and pray, you will not over-eat.