For those who have been twittering away their pot-stories to the delight of their ardent followers or have been leading cannabis-centric discussions on web forums, then they had better exercise a little caution. The busy little bees, on the side of the anti-weed squad are (even as you read this line) developing a new software called eDrugTrends. One of the goals of this little bugger is to locate ‘key influencers’ across media platforms.
It appears that a whole load of government funds have been invested in the attempt to prove cannabis as being an addictive substance. And if that wasn’t hilarious enough for the stoics, these guys went several steps further and developed drugs to counter the adverse affects of withdrawal symptoms…So technically, this software once its ready, will track down ganja-smokers, then label these selected individuals as ‘addicts,’ and then have a crack at trying to sell prescription drugs to these ‘addicts.’
This software raises a lot of brows, as well as queries. For instance what are the parameters that would qualify an individual as being a bowl-lighter? The ethical foundation of this software is both highly questionable and objectionable. What if a person with an active imagination, along with great search skills, googles third-person stories on weed, and then tweets these stories as first-person experiences? Then what? If you tweet about crime, does that make you a murderer?
(Beautiful artwork by Joey Baker)