tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58303842011-11-09T21:10:44.919-06:00Explorations of public policy concerning alcohol, nicotine, other drugs, prostitution, gambling, pornography, ....Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-90921585033706557562011-08-10T17:48:00.003-05:002011-08-10T17:53:37.935-05:00

A new working paper, related to my TEDx talk, is now available on ssrn. It's "Toward Drug Control: Exclusion and Buyer Licensing." The abstract is below, and the paper can be downloaded here: Here's the abstract: The uncertainties associated with the precise nature of legalization regimes and with their expected outcomes sometimes are used to justify the maintenance of drug prohibition. This

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-66125691934501365812011-05-23T07:50:00.004-05:002011-05-23T07:57:50.121-05:00

On April 17, 2011, I gave a talk (yes, "Re-Legalizing Drugs") as part of the TEDxUChicago festivities. The whole 17-minute ordeal is viewable here.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-70396928619097384132010-03-01T12:34:00.009-06:002010-03-01T13:11:43.657-06:00

Of 1,577 posts, this, the poor last, we make from your pixels.The plan was to continue to blog a sort of summary of surprise bestseller Regulating Vice, and then to fade away. Alas, "Our wills and fates do so contrary run..." that events have taken a different turn, and we exited the blogostage in silence and without conscious intent. Apologies for this neglect.But while Vice Squad lasted, it was

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-68983346169754410712008-07-14T06:29:00.004-05:002008-07-16T15:25:29.725-05:00

Having self-excluded from blogging while abroad, Vice Squad is behind in all our standard obsessions, including self-exclusion. People who joined self-exclusion lists for casinos in Ontario have filed a class action suit. Their gripe is that the casino regulators were not assiduous in keeping the excluded gamblers away. If the authorities in Ontario catch a self-excluded individual trying to

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-30607560308167764582008-07-13T10:02:00.006-05:002008-07-13T11:09:55.086-05:00

Repugnance is a funny thing. Many things that were widely viewed as repugnant years ago, such as blood transfusions or charging interest for loans, are widely accepted today. And other practices that used to be common and accepted -- indentured servitude, say -- have come to be viewed with repugnance. (See economist Alvin Roth's paper for more on repugnance.) Out-of-the mainstream sexual

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-23148817314993735632008-05-24T09:08:00.003-05:002008-05-24T09:31:21.122-05:00

Apologies for bloggish neglect of late -- Tbilisi does not believe in blogging. But I have pried a moment away from my khachapuri to send along an update on those federal obscenity charges aimed at a woman who placed sexually violent stories on the internet. Among the unusual features of this prosecution is that the charges -- which concerned adult obscenity only, even though some of the

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-35844739707461441542008-05-20T02:40:00.003-05:002008-05-20T05:21:48.030-05:00

While Vice Squad is a big proponent of the principle of vice self-exclusion programs, the practice in US casinos leaves much to be desired. It seems to be relatively easy, for instance, for some self-excluded gamblers to return to a casino without much hindrance. A check of IDs for all gamblers, or a more universal use of smart cards that hook into gambling machines, might help to make

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-19453931463348570182008-05-17T07:19:00.003-05:002008-05-17T07:48:36.273-05:00

...I am a different self-exclusion guy. Recently, a man from Delaware wanted to remove himself from Atlantic City's gambling self-exclusion list, in part because he found that the privately-owned AC casinos also barred him from their establishments in other locales. There was a fair amount of media (and Vice Squad?) coverage of his case, which he lost, but the excluded gambler was identified only

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-56646514069594118702008-05-12T11:16:00.004-05:002008-05-12T12:21:36.335-05:00

Well, sort of returns. Vice Squad is now firmly settled in Tbilisi, after passing through the UK. The vice news there was that yet another head of government, this time Gordon Brown, joined a long, distinguished list of past potentates who made the mistake of convening an expert panel on marijuana policy. As usual, the experts reported back that mj should be essentially decriminalised, and as

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-88273359535823819992008-05-03T23:29:00.003-05:002008-05-03T23:42:12.352-05:00

The ban applies to public buildings, but not to bars and restaurants -- those establishments must have no-smoking sections, however. There are apparently 100,000 current government employees who will be enlisted as enforcers, according to this BBC report, which also provides an interesting factoid: "For every three cigarettes lit worldwide, one is smoked in China." (I just lighted three

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-66362216205136282642008-05-01T13:03:00.004-05:002008-05-01T13:17:20.872-05:00

Anthony Comstock, licensed vice suppressor, would brag of the people he drove to suicide by prosecuting them for their First Amendment-protected activity. (Though it took a long time and much persecution for their activity to receive First Amendment protection.) Comstock's victims included Ida Craddock, whom he pursued Javert-like.Our current Comstockery has claimed another victim, it seems,

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-73644955275789854222008-04-30T23:07:00.004-05:002008-05-01T00:44:53.558-05:00

Um, well, except the legislation is not passed as an explicit anti-gambling measure. Nevertheless, public smoking bans are reliable in decreasing gambling (as long as those bans apply to on-site gambling venues). [Smoking bans put quite a crimp into bingo, too.] The most recent evidence comes from Down Unda (a curiously north-centric term), in New South Wales: "The ban on indoor smoking is

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-47512316344107033632008-04-29T16:03:00.006-05:002008-04-29T16:23:56.309-05:00

Vice Squad has something of a fixation with self-exclusion, those programs whereby problem gamblers (or people who fear that they might become problem gamblers) can volunteer to be barred from access to casinos. I have a short article in the Winter, 2008 Milken Institute Review on self-exclusion, arguing that parallel programs should be part of the mix when the currently illegal drugs are

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-78202414419013011272008-04-28T19:53:00.003-05:002008-04-28T21:46:21.724-05:00

It's that little matter of winning the war in Afghanistan. A British outpost is surrounded by poppy fields. So of course, the soldiers are out in the fields, pulling up poppies and ensuring that the opium crop is not replanted, just like the head of the UN's Office on Drugs and Crime wants. Oh no, that's not right: the soldiers ignore the poppy fields and their diligent custodians: Sometimes

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-29687050713226226182008-04-25T21:40:00.005-05:002008-04-30T08:30:50.661-05:00

The officers responsible for killing Sean Bell following his bachelor party at a strip club have been acquitted of all charges by a New York judge. I have not followed the case or the testimony so for the sake of this post I will accept that the verdict is reasonable. Other cases of police shootings of unarmed people -- most notably the Diallo killing -- also have resulted in exoneration for the

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-67320363857282995092008-04-24T20:11:00.003-05:002008-04-30T08:11:21.606-05:00

Vice Squad has been trumpeting the smoking-ban induced decline in bingo for so long now that it is amazing there is any bingo left. But there is, and today the New York Times catches up to bingo/smoking ban complemetarity: "[Managers of charity bingo parlours] say smoking goes with bingo like peanut butter with jelly."For the vice policy aficionado, however, this week's premier bingo-related

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-62329101131889613442008-04-19T23:09:00.002-05:002008-04-19T23:25:10.141-05:00

The introduction of smokeless tobacco snus, a popular product in Sweden and Norway, into US markets is proceeding apace. Snus isn't very popular in the rest of Europe -- or at least any notional popularity is ineffectual -- because sales of it are banned in the EU (excepting Sweden). [Surely we all recall that Norway is not in the EU.] Two years ago Vice Squad noted how snus was certain to doom

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-16273836194364850762008-04-16T23:07:00.003-05:002008-04-16T23:55:57.966-05:00

Vice Squad is a longtime fan of self-exclusion programs, those voluntary lists gamblers can join to be barred from entering casinos or collecting significant winnings if they do happen to sneak by. [Self-exclusion could profitably be employed for many vices, even the currently-illegal ones, I maintain.] Nevertheless, there are many ways in which existing self-exclusion programs can be improved,

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-66538229630558528532008-04-15T21:57:00.003-05:002008-04-15T22:19:44.991-05:00

That's the title of a website that has just been launched by the company and individual recently charged with federal obscenity crimes. (The subtitle is "Protect Our Freedom.") The site has news about the case, a guest book with some interesting posts from supporters, and information about donating to the cause. Seems the Justice Department was so enamored of this case that its press release

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-29163798480566319122008-04-14T22:49:00.004-05:002008-04-15T01:01:46.764-05:00

Vice Squad was in the audience this evening when Cass Sunstein spoke about his new book with Richard Thaler, Nudge. Sunstein and Thaler are the impresarios behind Libertarian Paternalism, an approach towards public (and private) policy that is fairly congruent, in the case of vice, with the Robustness Principle. ("Nudge" is a less off-putting synonym for Libertarian Paternalism: the authors also

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-51505206955779520222008-04-13T22:41:00.005-05:002008-04-16T23:07:05.784-05:00

Beer sales were illegal during national alcohol prohibition in the US, of course. Well, except for near beer, which had a level of alcohol below the Volstead Act's .5 percent limit. (Near beer is produced by making beer, and then removing the alcohol; hence, legal near beer provided various obvious channels to evade the Prohibition rules.) But there is another sense in which beer sales were not

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-13866754113678338622008-04-12T23:13:00.005-05:002008-04-14T10:26:50.707-05:00

Since legal casinos opened in Atlantic City in the late 1970s, gambling revenues went up every year -- until 2007. The decline continued through the first three months of 2008, with a 6.4% drop relative to the same period last year. In March, all 11 Atlantic City casinos reported lower gambling earnings than in March 2007. Part of the problem is surely the recent legalization and proliferation of

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-58359919260795526802008-04-11T22:08:00.004-05:002008-04-11T22:21:14.146-05:00

During national alcohol prohibition in the US, beverages with trace amounts -- up to .5% -- of alcohol were not banned. But what about the rule in Islam, which also prohibits alcohol? How much of a trace of alcohol is necessary before the Islamic ban is triggered? According to a fatwa issued by a prominent Egyptian cleric, the answer is --- .5%! Who knew the lasting influence of the Volstead Act?

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-19079375843924251672008-04-10T22:10:00.003-05:002008-04-10T22:34:47.931-05:00

Recall that surprise bestseller Regulating Vice calls for the robustness principle to govern vice policy. Policies are robust if they work pretty well independently of the extent to which vice participants are rational. That is, the policies should be serviceable if everyone is completely rational in their vice-related choices, and they should work pretty well even if lots of folks are wacky.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-85825454146526840522008-04-09T22:43:00.003-05:002008-04-09T23:18:23.345-05:00

A new federal obscenity case has come into being, with the target a well-known figure in the pornography industry. He directs his own films (apparently inventing or at least being a progenitor of "gonzo" porn) and live shows, but also operates companies that produce and distribute porn videos directed by others. The charges against him (and his companies) arise from some of these other films.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-19184600674695765872008-04-09T00:06:00.003-05:002008-04-09T00:24:55.213-05:00

The question is, what percentage of voters in each of two "J" locales chose to pull the lever against casinos in referenda yesterday? In both Jasper County, Iowa, and Jefferson City, Missouri, the magic 62 percent of voters said no to legalising these particular dens of vice. Jasper County is hurting from the closure of a Maytag factory, but residents -- that is, 62 percent of residents -- still

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-9590816183242044002008-04-07T23:10:00.004-05:002008-04-07T23:53:04.891-05:00

Via SWOP-East Vice Squad learns of some ongoing controversy at the University of New Mexico (while generating a much more sensational blog post title than is the Vice Squad norm). Most of our information comes from a series of three articles at Sex in the Public Square (Here are articles one, two, and three.) Seems that a (tenured) faculty member in English was also engaged in some phone sex work

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-29859754705087789612008-04-05T22:38:00.002-05:002008-04-05T23:03:08.343-05:00

Enough time has elapsed since the, er, five-part summary of Chapter 2, for Vice Squad to move on to summarizing Chapter 3 in surprise bestseller Regulating Vice. Recall that we started by looking at John Stuart Mill's harm principle. Then we explored addiction, to see if there is any reason to alter the harm principle because of the addictiveness and self-control problems (or just plain

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-53497062490206093142008-04-04T22:05:00.005-05:002008-04-04T22:33:16.020-05:00

You know how light cigarettes are better for you than regular cigarettes? Oops, that's right, there is evidence that they aren't better for you. They would be, presumably, if you smoked light cigarettes the same way that you smoke regular ones. But precisely because they are light, you will tend to smoke seven light cigarettes simultaneously, and then eat the still smoldering butts. Or something

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-19258787420424681062008-04-03T21:06:00.003-05:002008-04-03T21:54:44.738-05:00

Minnesota's public smoking ban does not apply to theatrical productions, which allowed some bars to skirt the ban by declaring their festivities to be theatre. (The man struck back, of course.) Colorado avoided similar contretemps by not providing an exception for theatrical productions. But this means that certain plays or other entertainments cannot grace the boards in Colorado. Some theatres

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-7396525962308070462008-04-01T21:35:00.003-05:002008-04-01T22:14:50.288-05:00

The state of Virginia has a law that bans most alcohol advertising in college newspapers. Make that, they had a law -- a federal court has declared the law to be a violation of free speech guarantees. As a matter of law, the decision probably is sound. The state provides no evidence that the ad ban actually promotes the cause of reduced underage drinking -- and hence one of the planks of the "

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-49163204735757689262008-03-31T22:23:00.002-05:002008-03-31T22:44:27.446-05:00

Fortunately, this sort of thing could not happen in a country where juries provide the ultimate check on the power of the state to punish. The case just described, for instance, derives from some remote, tyrannous locale called "Wisconsin". The defendant was found guilty of possessing powdered cocaine -- a conviction that might have netted him three years in prison. He simultaneously was

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-23846335916945459692008-03-30T18:10:00.004-05:002008-03-30T22:57:06.000-05:00

Remember Texas's "pole tax," the $5 per customer fee applied to strip clubs in January? Turns out that a state judge has ruled the tax to be a violation of the First Amendment. The Attorney General intends to devote more public funds to appealing the ruling, while other supporters of the tax are investigating reforms to the legislation that would help it pass constitutional muster. (Incidentally,

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-34647995751940756022008-03-29T22:07:00.003-05:002008-03-29T22:44:24.823-05:00

Ever since Vice Squad raised the alarm in February 2006, European Unionphiles have not been sleeping soundly for fear that the smokeless tobacco snus could lead to the unravelling of the EU. Sure, the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon (the watered-down replacement for the twice-popularly rejected European Constitution) in December of 2007 heartened the Unionists. But what will Aaland say? The

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-41548749904706790652008-03-28T22:54:00.003-05:002008-03-28T23:19:26.934-05:00

It's not just bingo that is being hurt by the British smoking ban. The pub industry has been weathering some hard times, no doubt worsened (to an unknown degree) by the smoking ban: "According to the British Beer and Pubs Association, the smoking ban in England and Wales combined with the credit crunch and a decline in drinking are responsible for closing pubs at their fastest rate in history –

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-91490760259922863822008-03-27T22:28:00.005-05:002008-03-28T05:45:25.886-05:00

Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, alcohol was taxed at the federal level, but illegal in some states. This created a bit of friction, as alcohol dealers (operating illegally within a state, if their alcohol was for beverage purposes, not industrial or sacramental or medical use) would sometimes pay their federal taxes. The federal tax rolls, therefore, could be used (and were used) to

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-54699143935214872702008-03-26T22:41:00.005-05:002008-03-26T23:42:42.448-05:00

That's the title of an article by Michael A. Dedonno and Douglas K. Detterman in the current issue of Gaming Law Review (which appears, unusually, I believe, to be freely available on the web). The title is also the conclusion of the article -- a conclusion derived from two experiments involving computer-based Texas Hold-em. Two groups of (college student) subjects played hundreds (200 in the

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-40591898307528850492008-03-20T23:51:00.003-05:002008-03-21T00:21:18.412-05:00

In the WTO internet gambling case that seems to go on and on and on, Antigua and Barbuda is threatening to start ignoring US copyrights and patents by the end of the month if the US does not make some movement towards settling Antigua's WTO-validated complaint. US movies, music, and computer software would likely be copied and sold, at least until Antigua earns the $21 million it has coming in

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-83078218143817371402008-03-19T22:19:00.002-05:002008-03-19T22:41:40.558-05:00

US drug laws are draconian by any rational standard, but in various Asian dragons, draco stalks the land even more ruthlessly. An Australian woman was convicted in Vietnam for trying to smuggle 1.5 kilos of heroin OUT of the country. She received life in prison.That is, at first she received a life sentence, but the sentence was changed on appeal. Not an appeal by the defense -- no, an appeal

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-77793467211051134972008-03-18T23:45:00.003-05:002008-03-19T00:18:13.246-05:00

Showing contempt for government power is a sure way to bring down the forces of law and order. (Why is it that those forces seem to favor their version of order over law?) Remember those bars in Minnesota that found a way around the statewide smoking ban by declaring their activities to be theatrical productions (and hence exempt from the ban)? In Maplewood, the city attorney visited and put the

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-24915277925551929582008-03-17T23:32:00.004-05:002008-03-18T00:58:30.495-05:00

The designers of slot machines are amazingly adept at prodding gamblers to have another spin. Are there any modifications that can be mandated for slot machines that would lower the harms that arise when gambling addicts interact with these machines, without appreciably diminishing the enjoyment of recreational gamblers? (Such mandates would be consistent with vice policy robustness.) Maybe. A

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-57117079210430262422008-03-16T22:39:00.003-05:002008-03-16T23:02:22.404-05:00

The Guardian has started a two-part series excerpted from a new book about organised crime. Judging from installment number one, the book seems to be on the breathless side. The excerpt starts with a trucker having his rig searched for drugs at the US-Canada border. We eventually learn that the driver was smuggling 50 pounds of marijuana into the US -- oh the humanity! -- but the border police

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-71313260797717847032008-03-15T23:12:00.004-05:002008-03-15T23:37:30.755-05:00

Uh, I mean, blog post, this is a Saturday Night Bingo blog post.Bingo has been having such a tough go of it, of late. The smoking ban and competition from other types of gambling are taking a toll on the industry. But bingo is resilient. In Lexington, Kentucky, a judge has ruled that smoking can take place at bingo fund-raisers, on the grounds that the organizations that sponsor the bingo (such

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-24689168936337176892008-03-13T18:55:00.002-05:002008-03-13T19:55:08.241-05:00

On Tuesday I had no coffee, but survived. On Wednesday, I broke my 24-hour coffee drought -- and thanks to living in Chicago, I could easily do so with Intelligentsia coffee. It is really terrific stuff.I mention it today because of a pointer from the Alcohol and Drugs History Society to a local news story/video concerning Intelligentsia. Did you know that one bad coffee bean can spoil the brew?

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-56206167528147258172008-03-12T16:15:00.004-05:002008-03-12T18:46:32.350-05:00

Academics like me have access to a "Save More Tomorrow" plan, in which we can overcome our usual present-bias in an attractive, painless manner and move our savings rate closer to what our long-run selves think is desirable. Most people are not so fortuitously situated. Commercial sex workers, who can earn substantial sums, often have a hard time saving money, for various reasons. First, they

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-9620347031940161092008-03-12T15:48:00.004-05:002008-03-12T18:47:32.330-05:00

The loyal Vice Squad reader will recall that a mere two days ago, we posted about a memoir by a British prostitute. I had picked up a copy of the memoir at Heathrow, I think, in December. (I cannot resist those 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 or other book 'sales' at the airport -- even though with the current exchange rate, an American ends up paying $25 per paperback.) But it seems that I had picked up

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-72862208121592788022008-03-11T23:14:00.003-05:002008-03-11T23:42:15.096-05:00

I just realised that I somehow went through the day without a single cup of coffee. (Oh, there was some tea, and even half a can of Vanilla Coke, so I can't claim caffeine withdrawal.) This was unplanned. Perhaps I am subconsciously responding to higher coffee prices?:Large coffee roasters including Folgers owner Procter & Gamble Co., and Kraft Foods Inc., which sells Maxwell House, said they are

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-25670648618022309792008-03-10T22:41:00.003-05:002008-03-10T23:32:50.807-05:00

Well, prostitution was headline news today -- so there's no need to comment upon that (lest Vice Squad posts be viewed as pertinent). But to not stray too far afield, perhaps it is time to talk about prostitution in Britain. After all, it has been a few weeks since Vice Squad reported on a book by a British prostitute -- once more into the breach.This time the book in question is Confessions of a

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-20665693342384891282008-03-09T22:53:00.003-05:002008-03-09T23:42:05.912-05:00

(1) Following up on this February 22 post.... the Missouri Senate has voted to ban those alcohol vaporizers that have been shown to cause untold -- oh wait, that is right, they haven't been shown to be problematic: 'That's just death waiting to happen if we don't ban these,' said Sen. Luann Ridgeway, R-Smithville, whose bill prohibiting the devices received initial Senate approval by voice vote.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-90651373227740985772008-03-08T22:52:00.005-06:002008-03-08T23:33:36.643-06:00

Mike is off to Russia for purely moral activity -- after all, it is International Women's Day -- so today's posting has fallen to moi.The Guardian today features a collection of stories from some of their writers about their first experiences with such things as flying and high heels -- and smoking. Patrick Barkham had never smoked tobacco or marijuana, so at the age of 33 he went to Amsterdam to

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-45737329108171016182008-03-07T21:06:00.004-06:002008-03-08T23:26:30.259-06:00

I have recently come across a mention of an article in the Russian Civil Code that might not have been meant to address any vice problem, but it sure sounds like it should have been. This is Article 169 (in Russian) that says in its first sentence (in my translation) "A transaction, the goal of which is knowingly against the foundations of law or morality [emphasis added], is null and void." The

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13808973675208109926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-15967372098479513362008-03-07T20:42:00.005-06:002008-03-08T23:32:38.189-06:00

Looks like Dubai might also have the need to fill up some prison cells (see this post for March 6). "News of the Weird" for this week reports:In February, a court in Dubai ... sentenced Briton Keith Brown, 43, to the standard four-year minimum term in prison for violating the country's extreme "zero tolerance" drug laws, even though the only drug found was a "speck" (0.003 grams) of cannabis

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13808973675208109926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-65962081091415941932008-03-06T22:35:00.005-06:002008-03-09T23:43:30.986-05:00

Crack offenders who received ridiculously long sentences -- ridiculous in comparison with similar offenders of the cocaine (but non-crack) variety, and more ridiculous (for the non-violent offenders) relative to any reasonable standard of justice -- are qualifying for "early" release from prison. But nature abhors a vacuum -- who can be recruited to fill the vacated prison cells?Hmmm, how about

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-16958887567720318762008-03-04T22:52:00.003-06:002008-03-05T09:05:26.735-06:00

The Prime Minister of Thailand seems to have a soft spot for legal vice. He has recently indicated that he would like to legalise daily lotteries, and has followed that up by declaring that he will legalise casino gambling, too. Somehow, he does not show the same liberalising tendencies when it comes to the war on drugs.[Update: Pete at Drug WarRant has more on Thailand's murderous drug war.]

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-27387353890485648232008-03-03T23:24:00.004-06:002008-03-03T23:45:22.426-06:00

From Alcohol and Drugs History Society comes word of a Chicago Tribune article about a nicotine-infused alcoholic beverage -- the "nicotini" -- that one Chicago bartender has unveiled in response to the smoking ban. Vice Squad had noted a nicotini in Florida as early as November, 2004.I mention Vice Squad's ahead-of-the-curviness on the nicotini to deflect justified criticism for recent blog

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-16253572319927018072008-03-02T23:54:00.003-06:002008-03-03T00:31:51.361-06:00

Today's Sunday Style section contains two front page articles on forming bad relationships. One is about forming a bad relationship with both food and alcohol; the second is about forming a bad relationship with the wired and wireless world.The bad relationship with food and alcohol is too little of one and too much of the other: an eating disorder co-existing with large alcohol consumption.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-75270069312032989762008-03-01T23:28:00.003-06:002008-03-02T00:08:58.652-06:00

A bill is progressing in the Vermont Senate that would call for an examination of lowering the state's drinking age. Unless the feds alter their own legislation, any state that transgresses federal will by instituting a drinking age below 21 will pay -- to the tune of 10 percent of the state's share of federal highway funds. Nevertheless, there is revolt brewing in various state

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-76327029577696392022008-02-28T19:03:00.003-06:002008-02-28T19:25:39.105-06:00

Last week an EU committee, the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, released a report (available here) on snus, a smokeless tobacco product popular in Sweden but not legally available for sale in the rest of the EU. The committee noted that snus carries some health risks, and that its apparent success in Sweden at lowering the harms from smoking is not necessarily

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-4159484415723482492008-02-26T22:56:00.004-06:002008-02-26T23:17:10.158-06:00

The long-running legal battle between Vancouver's Little Sister's bookstore and Canadian Customs has centered around the tendency for Customs to seize gay and lesbian literature that is en route to Little Sister's. (The case essentially ground to an end more than a year ago, when government funding was denied for Little Sister's legal expenses; Little Sister's maintains a webpage devoted to the

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-50587551260506643952008-02-25T15:51:00.004-06:002008-02-25T16:13:44.575-06:00

When the UK allowed pubs, at local discretion, to stay open after 11PM, one of the goals was to end the practice of the simultaneous exodus of hordes of young, well, yobs from city centre bars, fighting and generally wronging the ancientry. (The yobs showed enough foresight to realise that they needed to down a few pints quickly if they hoped to get the full effect before the 11PM close.)

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-69151707493093097162008-02-24T22:39:00.007-06:002008-02-24T23:55:30.452-06:00

A couple weeks ago the World Health Organization issued a new report on the "Global Tobacco Epidemic" and what steps to implement to counter it. The toll that tobacco takes (and will continue to take in the future) on health is staggering, with more than 5 million tobacco-related deaths annually, supplemented by the threat that the tab will rise to more than 8 million by 2030. The cumulative

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-91320357579695000852008-02-23T23:10:00.002-06:002008-02-23T23:37:30.961-06:00

Via Reihan writing at Andrew Sullivan's blog we learn of this article by a college senior describing her experiences of studying under the influence of Adderall. She thinks the drug was performance enhancing for her, at least if "performance" refers to grades. Here's a brief excerpt:If the proof is in the transcript, then Adderall is hardly a self-punishing habit. Sometimes I think about how

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-11320775096637543732008-02-22T19:49:00.005-06:002008-02-22T20:23:26.725-06:00

Maybe in some benighted states legislators are slow to react to a significant new threat, but not in Missouri and South Dakota. The farseeing Solons of these midwestern edens are primed to prohibit the possession of alcohol vaporizers, which have been wreaking havoc throughout the land. The vaporizers allow someone to consume about half a shot of alcohol in twenty minutes through inhalation. This

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-88111006995196094392008-02-21T22:17:00.004-06:002008-02-21T23:08:13.595-06:00

Today we covered prostitution policy in our Regulation of Vice class. The assigned readings were articles by Weitzer and by Murphy and Venkatesh. Both make a compelling case that indoor prostitution is much safer than outdoor sex work, and also less connected with public nuisance.It is my impression that the extent of violence directed at prostitutes, and its severity, is significantly greater

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-68282342848336330402008-02-19T23:32:00.003-06:002008-02-20T00:04:12.035-06:00

It is so much easier to deter crime by punishing those you suspect of having committed a crime, rather than going to all the rigmarole of actually, you know, convicting them of a crime. This fact has finally come to the attention of Seattle, which hopes to seize the cars of folks who are suspected of soliciting prostitutes. The city attorney doesn't even hide the fact that it is a punishment

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-239901202137604612008-02-19T00:21:00.003-06:002008-02-19T00:37:46.389-06:00

OK, maybe not an era. More like a streak. Every day in 2008, Vice Squad had produced one (and precisely one) post for you, faithful reader. Until Monday, February 18, 2008. On that day, well, indolence reigned supreme. But...but..."this inconstancy is such/As you too shall adore". Maybe. Vice Squad was delayed, having met a visitor to Chicago who is here precisely to clarify the issues

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-39563779443100846912008-02-17T23:32:00.003-06:002008-02-18T00:21:08.676-06:00

A couple weeks ago I mentioned my article in the current Milken Institute Review concerning self-exclusion, those systems available in many casinos whereby you can bar yourself from the premises for some period of time. More than 11,000 people have signed up for lifetime bans from riverboat casinos in the state of Missouri. (The voluntary exclusion applies to all of the state's casino boats.) I

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-44257795316456345622008-02-16T21:37:00.005-06:002008-02-16T23:30:33.621-06:00

There are a couple features of current tobacco regulation that do not satisfy Vice Squad's approach to vice regulation, the notion that rules should work well if everyone is completely rational with respect to their vice-related decisions -- and the rules should work well, too, if lots of folks are addicted or irrational or exhibit self-control shortcomings when dealing with vice. In particular,

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-58365597683596270042008-02-15T22:28:00.003-06:002008-02-16T00:05:50.478-06:00

A new study analyzing New Mexico's experience with requiring first-time DUI offenders to have an ignition interlock device installed in their cars has been in the news the past couple of days. (Interlocks prevent the car from starting unless an alcohol breath test is passed.) The study shows, basically, that this interlock requirement, when it actually results in the devices being installed, is

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-50385831465977000832008-02-14T23:11:00.003-06:002008-02-14T23:43:18.353-06:00

Someone with more patience than I have could probably keep track of all the legislative and judicial developments worldwide with respect to public smoking bans. I'll offer a small subset instead: (1) Wyoming and Virginia have scuttled, for now, attempts to establish statewide smoking bans. In the linked Washington Post story concerning Virginia, the following facts are provided: "About two-thirds

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-84709321969898688282008-02-13T20:06:00.002-06:002008-02-13T20:44:01.355-06:00

A student mentioned in a recent paper that government-owned brothels would never be countenanced. While this might be true in the current US, history provides many examples of state-owned brothels. Ancient Athens featured some government brothels, as did many European and Chinese cities during the Middle Ages. A brave (and now ex-) Vancouver city councillor called for a city-owned brothel in

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-84909895845850598012008-02-12T20:00:00.004-06:002008-02-12T22:47:21.018-06:00

British call girl/award-winning blogger Belle de Jour published her first book (she now has a second, with more on the way) back in 2005. (The book has already inspired a mini-series.) Vice Squad finally got around to reading it, uh, well, I finished today -- maybe we are not as cutting edge as I like to think. Vice Squad is a long-time admirer of Belle's blog, but at first I was not as fond of

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-63835949665813544222008-02-11T23:06:00.000-06:002008-02-11T23:27:07.848-06:00

Last year Vice Squad stumbled across the fact that New York City establishments serving food or drink cannot also host dancing (even of the spontaneous sort by customers) unless the establishments have acquired a special "cabaret" license. The numbers of legal NYC dance houses are on the rise, we are now happy to report (or repeat, rather). Another dance parade is scheduled for May 17 to protest

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-85645821902247099062008-02-10T23:53:00.000-06:002008-02-11T00:16:26.252-06:00

The Iranian man who was reported to be sentenced to death for drinking alcohol -- well, he was a repeat offender, and the law calls for execution upon a third drinking offense -- has been released, and this time, he didn't even receive the 80 lashes. This happy turn of events came about because of a clever, Matlock-worthy legal tactic: the scoundrel refused to come clean!"Since the accused did

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-90302296760127139602008-02-09T21:36:00.000-06:002008-02-09T23:56:59.082-06:00

Top Ten Reviews hosts a webpage that is chock full of statistics relating to pornography generally and internet pornography specifically. For instance, it seems that China is the largest market (in value terms) for pornography, though in per capita value terms, South Korea is dominant: porn "revenues" in South Korea exceed $500 per-capita per year, versus less than $50 in the US of A. (Revenues

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-7561279673916107862008-02-08T15:53:00.000-06:002008-02-08T16:54:44.013-06:00

Via Andrew Sullivan, we learn that at least in Dubai, they are getting serious about the nefarious use of mild-altering substances. (Maybe not quite at the Irani level of seriousness, however -- which extends to other vices.) Crack customs officials at Dubai International Airport spotted a potential druggie; the subsequent investigation yielded all the evidence they needed to garner a rewarding

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-75059777884398977062008-02-07T20:10:00.000-06:002008-02-07T20:52:52.948-06:00

A few days ago Vice Squad brought word of three obscenity stories in the news, two from Virginia and one from Pennsylvania. Adult Video News.com provides updates for all three stories. (Links to Adult Video News.com generally are Not Safe For Work.)(1) The forthcoming trial of a woman facing the possibility of years in prison for writing obscene stories and posting them on the web, where a couple

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-50359056762274681002008-02-06T21:55:00.000-06:002008-02-08T17:13:43.444-06:00

Well, the City of Light apparently is awash (a' la Illinois) in those not quite enclosed shelters that, being outside, allow people to smoke. A recent British visitor, writing in the Guardian, notes that "some of the terraces [patios connected to bars/restaurants] seemed to be almost entirely enclosed: six smoking tables would be set within cellophane walls – a scene unfortunately reminiscent of

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-3153973855240827302008-02-05T19:33:00.000-06:002008-02-05T19:55:17.713-06:00

The punishment of drug users (as opposed to sellers) is supposed to help the users themselves: the knowledge that they might be punished provides some deterrence against use, and since the drugs (goes the claim) will themselves harm the users, total harm can go down if you threaten mild punishments for drug users. The War on Drugs, you see, is a humanitarian war. But once the punishments do more

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-73335990767317385722008-02-04T22:46:00.001-06:002008-04-29T16:19:32.407-05:00

Just a few days ago I called for the US military to set up a self-exclusion system for the slot machines that it operates on some of its foreign bases. (No word back yet -- apparently they have higher priorities.) But this whole self-exclusion thing is really catching on. Check out the fine article (available from this page after free registration) in the current Milken Institute Review. The

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-23202085789389962412008-02-03T18:01:00.000-06:002008-02-03T22:07:04.525-06:00

(1) The unusual case that does not involve dirty pictures -- only text -- continues apace in Pittsburgh. The author's statements to the FBI can be admitted into evidence -- do you think she said that her cathartic (she tells us) writing had no significant literary, artistic, political, or scientific value? All right-thinking Americans have the federal prosecutor to thank for giving us the

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-45721069955517269482008-02-02T20:23:00.000-06:002008-02-02T21:01:53.127-06:00

OK, I simply refuse to have any more posts -- after this one -- about Chapter 2 of surprise bestseller Regulating Vice. Following a look at comparative addictiveness -- itself a slightly misguided concept, given that the addictiveness of a drug or activity varies among, well, everything: people, time, place, manner, and so on -- Chapter 2 notes how addiction is not, and should not be, an excuse

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-14508852608668282252008-02-01T18:51:00.000-06:002008-02-01T23:12:52.432-06:00

In the Milken Institute Review for the Fourth Quarter of 2007 there is an article by Philip Martin concerning the market for wine. The article, which I believe is available to websurfers from this page after a free registration, contains lots of interesting vinous info. Here's a sample:"France, Italy and Spain are home to just 2.5 percent of the world’s population, yet the French, Italians and

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-61857775350664548792008-01-31T20:44:00.000-06:002008-01-31T21:01:10.390-06:00

Years ago Vice Squad offered its first take on businesses that have been helped by public smoking bans -- prominent among them are outdoor heater manufacturers, and, in countries where it is legal, snus. The Chicago Tribune this week pointed to another business that is profiting from public smoking bans: makers of little smoking huts, shacks that are similar to some bus stop shelters and that

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-3140854637172700802008-01-30T22:17:00.000-06:002008-01-30T23:20:22.542-06:00

Stars and Stripes has been investigating gambling on US military bases abroad. It turns out that in places like South Korea and Germany, there are slot machines located on-base:The U.S. Army and Air Force generated more than $83.6 million in revenue via 1,191 slot machines in South Korea in fiscal 2007, according to data provided by the Army’s Family MWR [Morale, Welfare and Recreation] Command

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-54012336682570047192008-01-29T20:28:00.000-06:002008-01-29T20:47:13.416-06:00

Deaths from acute alcohol poisoning in Russia have been described as "so high that they do not fit into the range of international experience." The good news is, however, that such deaths have fallen by more than half in the last two years (or at least the reported statistics have fallen by more than half), from 40,000 deaths in 2005 to 19,000 deaths in 2007. The Moscow Times article suggests

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-53878122665350477872008-01-28T20:38:00.000-06:002008-01-28T22:23:51.265-06:00

Staunton, Virginia, was fortunate enough not to record a single homicide in 2007. But it isn't exactly crime-free: there was nearly an assault per day, and more than one-and-a-half larcenies on a daily basis. So you would think local prosecutors would be keeping busy. Nonetheless, a video store clerk was charged last week with various obscenity counts, accused of selling legally-obscene material.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-80161384762628357422008-01-27T15:03:00.000-06:002008-01-27T22:42:45.470-06:00

The recent decision by the California Supreme Court upholding the right of employers to fire employees who use marijuana for medical purposes in compliance with California’s Compassionate Use Act has continued the troubled history of medical marijuana use in California and other states that have made such use legal. One of the arguments of the Court’s majority was that marijuana use for any

Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13808973675208109926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-42370459257396549542008-01-26T18:07:00.000-06:002008-01-26T18:30:39.742-06:00

When last we left off in our tortuous journey through the surprise bestseller Regulating Vice, we were nearing the end of Chapter 2's exploration of addiction. There's a short section entitled "Comparative Addictiveness," that explores such claims as "heroin is more addictive than alcohol." Is it? Probably depends on who the consumer is, the mode of ingestion, the social setting: Zinberg's Drug,

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-16844037410565579732008-01-25T21:47:00.000-06:002008-01-25T22:48:31.889-06:00

...by limiting the number of holes in salt shakers? That seems to be the plan in the British town of Rochdale. Turns out that next week is National Salt Awareness Week, so the Rochdale council gave out five-hole salt shakers -- the standard ones have 17 or 18 holes, we are told -- to thirteen local eateries, for a six week trial. There is evidence that small "architectural" changes like this can

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-46239662019371271982008-01-24T21:55:00.000-06:002008-01-24T23:12:45.447-06:00

Vice Squad was in the audience tonight when renown philosopher Jonathan Lear lectured (primarily to University of Chicago undergraduate students) about Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. I'll just note a sample of what he had to say, though I imagine that some mangling of the original will unintentionally slip in.Spiders have no difficulty being spiders -- they go about their spidery business

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-30519545029788390032008-01-23T14:47:00.001-06:002008-01-23T15:37:47.017-06:00

Well, those are relative terms. The inexpensive version is the small cup of coffee that Starbucks is now offering in Seattle for $1, with free refills included. This might be in response to the increased competitive pressure from McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts. The expensive coffee is made by fancy equipment that can cost $10,000 or more -- this is for brewed coffee, not for espresso. One might

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-11861319792458991782008-01-22T22:20:00.000-06:002008-01-22T23:37:35.809-06:00

The Philippine Air Force has a new commanding general -- and he has instituted an anti-vice campaign aimed at his troops. In particular, alcohol, gambling, and mistresses have been targets of his disapproval. Commanders have been ordered to offer daily hectorings to focus the mind of the soldiers upon the evils of these vices. The general intends to lead by example, and has pointed out that he

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-29173658174408552372008-01-21T22:52:00.000-06:002008-01-21T23:33:33.261-06:00

Today's trip back to cold Chicago on Southwest Airlines provided an opportunity to read up on the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in Southwest's Spirit Magazine. The fine linked article mentions that pinball machines were illegal in New York City well into the 1970s, until a live demonstration by a pinball maestro in an NYC courtroom led to the recognition of pinball as a game of skill, and

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-55152568991937533262008-01-20T12:41:00.000-06:002008-01-20T12:57:14.698-06:00

There goes one of my favorite examples of misguided prohibition -- one that I like to compare with those drug prohibitions we are so addicted to in the US. You mean that people can perform opera in front of paying customers but (non-prescription) opiate possession in private is illegal? Turkmenistan has compounded its liberal folly by unbanning the circus, too, though I hope they will reconsider.

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-63904039804323487492008-01-19T12:05:00.000-06:002008-01-19T12:47:01.422-06:00

Vice Squad is on the road, and has only a few minutes at a public library today. Probably not a good time to bring up a subject that we have studiously avoided in the past -- steroids in sports. (Radley has been posting and debating on this issue.) Our general approach to vice would suggest that if adults want to use steroids, there should be some not-too-onerous legal means of accommodating them

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-49542301866904242722008-01-18T09:34:00.000-06:002008-01-18T10:34:09.298-06:00

Alcohol-related problems are severe in Finland, and became more so when the effective price of alcohol fell around the time of Estonia's EU accession and Finland's pre-emptive alcohol tax cut. The recent Finnish campaign to reduce the social costs of alcohol consumption has included higher taxes and a ban on volume discounts -- this latter measure not working out as planned. Also slated is a

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-59138661933462973762008-01-17T22:56:00.000-06:002008-01-18T00:25:17.006-06:00

Norman Zinberg's trichotomy remains too little appreciated. Earlier this week came word of an experiment that revealed that people prefer wine that they think, mistakenly, is expensive. That is, they like wine that they think is expensive more than they like the same wine when they think it is cheap. It probably isn't very surprising that they say they like the expensive wine more; what is novel

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-73259110938975424372008-01-16T22:44:00.000-06:002008-01-16T23:21:29.985-06:00

When we last checked in with Regulating Vice, we saw how time inconsistent preferences might recommend (public and private) policies that would differ from those that would be appropriate for rational, time-consistent addicts. Chapter 2 continues by looking at further departures from the "standard" rationality story, i.e., where addictive choices are made outside of the usual cognitive framework,

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5830384.post-3448383745760409662008-01-15T23:37:00.000-06:002008-01-16T00:08:54.213-06:00

A few months ago, a fine fellow received a ticket for a parking violation in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. (Actually, that scenario probably arises daily.) He did what any proud, free American would do -- he sent in a check to pay his fine. Oh yeah, he also wrote on the check: 'Go (Bleep) Yourself.' The aftermath?Well this little display of pique or defiance or whatever you want to call it resulted

Jim Leitzelnoreply@blogger.com