HW: Reefer Madness (was Re: OFF: smoking etc.)

[Chris Warburton]

At 17:51 23.02.2000 -0500, Eric Siegerman wrote:
>> [From _Reefer Madness_]:
>>
>> "[...] Its first effect is sudden violent, uncontrollable laughter; then
>> comes dangerous hallucinations - space expands - time slows down, almost
>> stands still ... fixed ideas come next, conjuring monstrous extravagances -
>> followed by emotional disturbances, the total inability to direct thoughts,
>> the loss of all power to resist physical emotions, leading finally to acts
>> of shocking violence ... ending often in incurable insanity.
>> In picturing its soul-destroying effects no attempt was made to equivocate.
>> The scenes and incidents, while fictionized for the purposes of this story,
>> are based upon actual research into the results of Marihuana addiction
[...]"
>>
>
>Heh.  I knew the "civil defence" part of Sonic Attack was a parody, but I
>hadn't realized the "symptoms" bit was too.  Cool!
>
>--
More sinisterly, Check out a poem called "Your Attention Please" (IIRC) by
Peter Porter which had a big effect on me some years before I ever heard
"Sonic Attack" - It was in an anthology we used at school(!) called "Impact
2".
On the bizarre side, I also recall "The Crab-Apple" crisis by George
Macbeth (I think) which draws a hysterical parallel between the levels of
nuclear escalation and a dispute between neighbours over a tree.  I found
that in a book (which I'd love to own a copy of) called "Holding Your Eight
Hand: An anthology of science fiction poetry" edited by Edward Lucie-Smith
(IIRC again) - almost certainly a book of interest to HW fans, although I
don't think there was any Calvert or Moorcock in it....

Literarily Yours,
ChrisW
NP: Live At The Padget Rooms Penarth - Man

P.S. Beware MS Dialup Networking 1.3 upgrade - it's had me offline for 24
hrs!!!!
(I know, Iknow, I should be using Linux/Mac/ZX Spectrum....)

"a cynic is a man who when he smells flowers looks around for a coffin" -
Bierce