cannabisnews.com: This Is Your Brain on Drugs: Checkmate? 





This Is Your Brain on Drugs: Checkmate? 
Posted by FoM on September 20, 2000 at 13:18:19 PT
By Paul Krassner
Source: Los Angeles Times
It was a hot day in Phoenix--103 degrees, to be exact--and 14-year-old Nathaniel Dight was elated over his custom-made chess set. Those carved wooden pieces had been weighted precisely for the smooth moves he liked to make. But before the game could begin, young Nathaniel was ordered to take a urine test.   "I know why you're doing this," he snarled. "It's because I've won three tournaments in a row, isn't it?"   "No, son, that's just a coincidence. This is a random drug test." 
 "I don't do any drugs. I mean like when I get a headache from playing chess too long, I won't even take an aspirin."   "Look, here's a cup. I need you to go fill it, right now."   All right, I confess, I made all that up, but consider the implications of something that I haven't made up. America's drug czar, Barry McCaffrey, wrote in an article published in the September issue of Chess Life magazine: "Research proves that mentoring youngsters and teaching them games like chess can build resilience in the face of illegal drug use and other destructive temptations. Drug testing is as appropriate for chess players as for shot-putters or any other competitors who use their heads as well as their hands."   Accompanying the television image of a couple of eggs sizzling in a frying pan, the phrase "This is your brain on drugs" has always carried negative connotations, but apparently McCaffrey has changed his mind about that. He now seems to believe that drugs can actually improve the way your brain functions.   There was once an infamous chess player named Alexander Alekhine who held the world championship longer then anybody else. His games often had superb surprise endings, known in chess circles as "brilliancies." For instance, he would checkmate with a pawn move that no sane and sober mind could ever imagine. He was a notorious alcoholic, however, and McCaffrey is only referring to illegal drugs.   "Just when I thought I'd heard it all from McCaffrey," was the reaction of Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws Foundation. "Drug testing for chess players? What's next from this over-reaching drug czar? Drug testing for tiddlywinks players? How about bingo players?"   Maybe the drug-law reformers should follow the example of gay-rights activists by having celebrities come out of the pot-smoking closet. Already, veteran stand-up comic George Carlin--in an interview by Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" following Carlin's HBO special--admitted that he smokes pot to help him "fine tune" his material. At the Shadow Convention during the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, Bill Maher said, "I'm not just a pot reformer, I'm a user"--then quickly added he was just "making a light remark there, federal authorities."   As Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the cover of Time magazine saying, "Yup, I'm gay," there might come a day when a presidential candidate will appear on the cover of Newsweek saying, "Yup, I'm stoned."   Meanwhile, McCaffrey will continue his crusade, not only against illegal substances, but perhaps also against certain food supplements, such as a popular herbal mixture with a reputation for aiding memory and concentration. Who would ever have dreamed that chess players could get in trouble for using ginkgo biloba as a performance enhancer? Paul Krassner Is the Author of "Sex, Drugs and the Twinkie Murders: 40 Years of Countercultural Journalism" (Loompanics Unlimited, 2000) and "Pot Stories for the Soul" (High Times Books, 1999)Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Paul KrassnerPublished: September 20, 2000Copyright: 2000 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comAddress: Times Mirror SquareLos Angeles, CA 90053Fax: (213) 237-4712Website: http://www.latimes.com/ Shadow Convention 2000 News Boardhttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/Shadcon.htmDrug Czar Wants to 'Check' Chess Players For Drug Use http://www.norml.org/news/index.shtml#story4
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Comment #6 posted by freedom fighter on September 22, 2000 at 08:16:02 PT
What is with Barry's brain?
http://www.kasparovchess.com/serve/templates/folders/ck_home.asp?p_folderID=2For a nice chess match with anyone in the world.I am a chess player that loves to smoke cannabis while I am playing the game!Poor Barry, he must have fried his brain with a frying pan!
http://www.kasparovchess.com/serve/templates/folders/ck_home.asp?p_folderID=2
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Comment #5 posted by Lehder on September 21, 2000 at 18:18:35 PT
strange brew
McCaffrey, if you knew anything at all about the great players ( I'm sure you don't ), or could ever hope yourself to qualify as a club player ( I'm sure you couldn't ) then you would know ( I'm sure you'll find out ) that chess players are a pretty independent minded lot. Chess is addictive. A large majority of the great players dedicated their lives 100% to the game. Many, many ordinary players are much the same. These are people who shun families, give up good jobs, drop out of school, live in poverty and sneer at social norms - all for Caissa. You're going to have trouble intimidating them.And just what is your problem with two players sitting at a board all day, saying not a word, and drinking coffee?This is not a war on drugs. It is a war on culture. It is a war on civilization. It is conducted by those who have nothing to contribute.
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Comment #4 posted by Hammer on September 21, 2000 at 13:59:48 PT
???
This is your drug. This is your drug on brains. 
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Comment #3 posted by observer on September 21, 2000 at 08:33:38 PT
The Milk of Chess Players
America's drug czar,("Czar" being another word for despot, dictator, or tyrant...)Barry McCaffrey, wrote in an article published in the September issue of Chess Life magazine: "Research proves that mentoring youngsters and teaching them games like chess can build resilience in the face of illegal drug use and other destructive temptations. Drug testing is as appropriate for chess players as for shot-putters or any other competitors who use their heads as well as their hands."I had no idea that cannabis was a "performance enhancing drug" with respect to "chess". (Thanks for that tip, Barry!)  Personally, I had heard that caffeine was the chess-players' drug of choice, so better screen for Jolt and Turkish Coffee there Barry, just to "send out the right message" to The Children." http://www.google.com/search?q=%22milk+of+chess+players%22Then again, different strokes for different folks. No doubt a few will find cannabis enhances their chess game; many others may find it hurts it. For more on the uses of cannabis in thinking, creative tasks, see:The Uses of Marijuana by Lester Grinspoonhttp://www.marijuana-uses.com Read what Carl Sagan wrote about using cannabis. (Sagan was a chess player also, I believe. He wrote of the invention of chess in his book "Billions and Billions".) 
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Comment #2 posted by Jeaneous on September 20, 2000 at 17:55:56 PT:
Wow!!
Wouldn't that be some kind of statement from the citizens. Might not be a bad idea Rainbow...lol
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Comment #1 posted by Rainbow on September 20, 2000 at 13:27:36 PT
Piss on it
Well since Macaffrey has this obsession with urine (something Freudian about that I am sure) I suggest that we all send him a couple samples.Make sure you use a strong non spill cup. Maybe he could get pissed off :-)Rainbow
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