The Drug fLaws.com
analysis of the drug laws by dennis mcbride
DANGEROUS ACTS
Jim Fixx, the
author of The
Complete Book of
Running, died at
the age of 52 while
on a regular daily
run.
Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" showed a
man insert 7 Madagscar cockroaches
into his mouth without eating them;
showed a man puncture his skin with
hooks attached to a hoist then hooked
up to a helicopter and took him for a
ride (flight?). Or there is the man they
call The Human Plank. He hammers 6
inch nails up his nose!
13 year-old Bethany
Hamilton lost her arm on
October 31, 2003, as she
lay on her surfboard when a
shark swam up and bit it
off. Bethany had been top
ranked in her group of
surfers. This attack was the
fourth in Hawaii in 2003.
SURFING: "I've seen so
many people come in this
year with heads full of
staples and stitches, said
Kristina Marquez, of
Paradise Surf Shop in Santa
Cruz, Calif. [San Francisco
Chronicle; Mar. 4, 2003; p. A15]
Nicolas Armington took to scuba diving
"like a fish." He had learned it eight
years earlier while vacationing in the
Caribbean. "He loved the serenity of the
ocean," said his wife Sari. On October
18, 2003, Nicolas, from San Rafael,
California, died of asphyxiation due
to drowning while scuba diving in
the waters of the Pacific near Ventura.
He was 41 years old. [San Francisco Chronicle;
Oct. 10, 2003; p. A15]
"I'm cold, soaking wet, my butt hurts
- and I'm having a great time."
-a rafter on Globe Trekker
Rodeo
announcers
throughout
North
America
introduce bull
riding as "the
most
dangerous 8
seconds in
sport." Bull
riding has the
highest injury
rate of all
major events
in
professional
rodeo.
According to a report broadcast on
KGO (810 AM) on March 18, 2003, the
most dangerous hobby that accounts
for 75% of domestic fatalities is -
gardening. (KGO is ABC's San Francisco's
newsradio affiliate)
to the cheer of thousands of fans and
well wishers on September 18, 2003.
At the stadium were news teams from
around the country. Unfortunately, the
Spartans lost to Nevada this night, but
that didn't bother the Spartans or the
crowd, it was Parry who made the day
for them and history. Neil Parry is an
amputee. In October 2000, against
Texas-El Paso, Neil broke his leg
during a kick-off. The lower part
had to be dismembered. While in his
hospital bed, Neil vowed to play
someday, again. After 25 operations,
that day came. Neil wasn't actually
scheduled to play, in fact he only came
out at the end of the game - but it was
important to Neil, his family,
friends, fans, and the team that he
was there at all, suited up, ready to
play. It was a tense moment. Would he
get hit so hard, the leg would fly off?
Neil entered the game during a fourth
quarter punt return and did not
suffer any hard hit, but the moment
was so special to everyone he was
engulfed by his teammates after the
play. His father was very proud to
see his son back in the game after
such an ordeal. His mother said,
"He kept saying he was going to
play again. I knew that someday he
would." She was very supportive
of her son returning to the game.
[Source: [San Francisco Chronicle; Sept. 19, 2003;
p. Al; A16]

        After almost three years and 25
operations, you can bet Neil's
passion for the game must have been
great to want to play again so badly. Is
that addiction? It is remarkable that
there is no mention of the danger this
kid was in before and once again after
regaining his strength and ability to
walk and run again. It was not enough
for Neil to walk and run though, he
wanted to PLAY again! And he was
encouraged to do so, by his family,
friends, and team members. What if
he had killed himself this time, or
perhaps lost the other leg? Would
any of them cheered him on to
another game after recovering
once again?
HIKING
Aron Ralston, an avid outdoorsman
and expert climber wound up pinned
by a giant boulder while hiking at the
bottom of a canyon in Green River,
Utah. Ralston tried ropes, anchors,
anything, but the boulder would not
budge. Days later, when his water ran
out, Ralston took his pocket knife and
amputated his arm, setting himself
free. [The Record; May 4, 2003; p. All]
A world record-holding knife-thrower,
Jayde Hanson, 23, was trying to show
on British television how many knives
he could hurl in sixty seconds when
one of his knives hit his assistant and
girlfriend, Yana Rodionova, 22, in the
head cutting her. Yana reportedly quit
after the incident. [USA Today; April 11, 2003;
p. 7A]

But why would any civilized television
program broadcast such a dangerous
act? And why would any rational
human being try such a dangerous
feat? The knife thrower was not
arrested and his assistant was not
arrested for engaging in a "dangerous
act."
CANDY
A jury awarded $16.7 million to the
parents of a 11 year-old child who
choked to death on a piece of
candy. The same type of candy was
blamed in another death in 2000 of
a 3 year-old. The candy is a sticky
gel about the size of a tootsie pop
(without the stick).[Marin Independent
Journal; May 13, 2003; p. C5]
"Bethany, didn't you
learned a lesson?"
"NEVER!"
FOOTBALL
Neil Parry ran
out on the
football field to
play for the
San Jose
State Spartans
Neil Parry
with leg
attached
I think he will be aiming a
bit wider now I am his wife
Yana Rodionova
[Simulation]