Alex Kazam's BlogNUMBER 2

All of us have seen commercials and ads on TV. Whether they are for dove, pizza pizza, cell phone providers, or TV shows. But how about those government funded commercials? You've probably also seen those heart attack commercials, that give you the syndromes you have right before having a heart attack, while playing Beethoven’s music in the background? Or maybe the commercials that say: "On this and this date vote.” These commercials are characterized by the classic line at the end of the commercial: "This message is brought to you by the government of Canada". (If you're American and reading this, don't worry next week's blog will touch you more than now, sorry...)Ok, but for the Canadians out there, you probably know what I’m talking about. Now, I personally don't watch a lot of TV. Maybe one or two shows a week, if that. But I’ve seen these commercials, and heard them as well. Today, in the car on my way to Toronto, from St.Catharines, I hear a commercial that start out with some boy, who sounds like he's 12 and just been doped up with some date rape drug by his grandpa or something fucked like that...And he's naming various slang terms for drugs, from marijuana to lsd. Then this woman's voice comes on, and says something like, there are more and more terms, and more and more things to know. Help prevent drug use in Canada, visit www.blablabla.gc.caSo why this long intro, and why the subject line? Here in this capitalist little country we call Canada, we "stand for democracy" and "strive to protect our citizens" and the rest of the mumbo jumbo BULLSHIT! I'm sure most of the people reading this, agreed with the fact that Tim Horton's had some great, tasty ass coffee--- but you know what, I think Tim Horton’s should be re-classified as a drugstore...What is it exactly that they're doing? If not providing teens, and Canadian citizens with drugs. Why is it that we have ads all anti-drug and shit, and we don't care about the drug that's consumed the most by all the fucking addicts out there? The caffeine. We should have some kind of program for those people...You're telling me we've got issues with major drug users, like coke addicts and heroin junkies? How about the drug lovers who will idle and pollute air for fifteen to twenty minutes a day, just to get their fix? You know, 20% of kids go to school with a puffer, that's one in five children in school with asthma, that number has gone up dramatically over the past ten years! Here are some stats for you: Over half a million children have been diagnosed with asthma: it is the number one cause of school absences. For Canadian children, asthma is the most common long-term respiratory disease and accounts for more hospitalizations than any other chronic illness. Tim Horton's made $191.1 million CAD net income in 2006. As of July 1, 2007, there were 2,733 outlets in Canada, 345 outlets in the United States and one outlet just outside of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Some math now... 191.1 million divided by 3079 (2,733+345+1) = roughly 62065 $/year per Tim Horton’s. Divide that by 365 days in a year, that's roughly 170 dollars a day per Tim Horton’s... Keep in mind they're not open 24..7. Maybe 18 hours tops. Judging by the average order, and the typical wait time, that means at peak hours about 10-15 cars/SUV's idling in that drive thru for 2-3 minutes each. That’s about half an hour total (just peak times) idling and pollutants going into the air, everyday from TH addicts. So an average small car, with an engine size of 1.6 liters produces about 200 grams (0.2 kilograms) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometer. But nobody thinks about that when they're buying their coffee. No one tends to think of that poor kid with the asthma... But enough with the stats, and facts, and environmental stuff... But when will it really be enough? When will our politicians come to realize that we are funding, and completely legally selling a majorly addictive stimulant to citizens, that deserve to be better informed. Alcohol is one of the most dangerous drugs, you can't just shut off the drunkenness, our brains have THC receivers... Alcohol just fucks the body right up! It'll make people extremely happy, or extremely violent, motor senses are gravely altered, and it's the most addictive yet available drug out there... Yet somehow, they make marijuana illegal, along with LSD, cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy, etc. But, drugs are the number one underground money maker for the North American Population... Think about this for a second. What if the government sold all the drugs I just named in a drugstore: fuck it already has the appropriate name... They could log how much a person is using', and tax the SHIT out of them, plus make them pretty expensive. They'd have way more than enough money to fund programs to help people who abuse them, and programs to inform them. It would reduce cost on policing, and the police power and money could go into more productive things: Like buying more coffees at Tim Horton’s. If you're a Tim Horton's lover, please, continue being one, don't let me stop you from buying that nicotine filled-caffeine overdosed-asthma causing delicious coffee. But I hope you can know in your soul, next time you buy a coffee... You are slowly adding breathing problems, to a child's life. Also, I would like to add that I do not support drugs by a long run, but hey, if it could change the economy, and reduce the population of prisons why not make it legal and then monitor it properly? I'm expecting strong rebuttals here, I’m really disagreeing with myself here, but I'm waiting to see what you have to say... So leave me a comment, or email me at hoops1237@hotmail.com
-Alex Kazam