Final: Is Flower Seeds a New Party Drug?

I decided to do my fact check on flower seeds and how they are the “new party drug”. This was surprising to me, and I wanted to research it because one I am a college student and we all know drugs are on or around campus. I also went to a high school that was known for having a lot of drugs circulating around it. So, I always had knowledge about different kinds of drugs and where they come from because we were very educated on the topic in health class. Also I am becoming a teacher and I like to be aware of what is out there that students are willing to get/try.

I first found an article on The Daily Mail wrote. The article is about teens getting high off eating flowers seeds. Morning glory seeds and Hawaiian baby woodrose seed to be exact. In the report it says the high is similar to taking LSD if eaten or taken with a drink. Police are warning parents of the effects of flower seeds. Massachusetts police issued the warning after a number of teenagers were hospitalized with extreme psychotic reactions. The site also reports that Home Depot stores in the area are pulling the seeds from the shelves. 

I made a mistake here and didn’t fact check with Snopes or another fact checking website first like Caulfield said in his book. Instead I went upstream and read laterally to do my own research about the subject. So, that was my mistake but I still found a lot of information about it.

I went upstream to see what other website had to say about this. I found a link to the show The Doctors, they investigating the seeds. They report that the seeds contain the hallucinogenic substance LSA, which is similar to LSD. Users have been known to swallow or crush them and then add to a liquid. LSA can cause nausea, loss of motor control, a perception of increased weight, pupil dilation, physical euphoria and sedation. The Doctors warn parents of how dangerous this could be and to keep an eye on their teens. The doctors then went on to if garden and home improvement stores should put more of a restriction on the seeds. Or if parent should be aware of what their child does.

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I went up-stream again and found a link that summarizes what LSA actually is. LSA also known as Lysergic acid amide, is a naturally occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the lysergamide chemical class that produces psychedelic effects vaguely similar to those of LSD. It is thought to be the primary active compound within many plant products such as morning-glory seeds, Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds and some species of fungi. After

LSA has been tested and research by scientist they found that it leads to a “tired, dreamy state with an inability to maintain clear thoughts” if consumed.

The researcher said after a short period of sleep, the effects were gone and normal baseline was recovered within five hours. The report and other that followed it suggest that the notion that LSA is primary component within morning-glory and Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds is debatable as the effects of synthetic LSA are only slightly psychedelic in nature. That just mean scientist are unsure on the exact effects of LSA in the flower seeds.

I went farther and went to a medical journal of  Ethnopharmacology. In the western hemisphere, has been brought in attention as so-called “legal high”. The seeds are used as source of the psychoactive lysergic acid amide (LSA), which is considered as the main active ingredient. As the chemical structure of LSA is very similar to that of LSD, the seeds are often considered as natural substitute of LSD. In the present study LSA and LSD have been compared concerning their potential pharmacological profiles. In conclusion after the study it was found LSA is often considered as natural exchange for LSD. LSA should not be regarded as LSD-like psychedelic drug.

After reading about LSA, I decided to look into Morning glory seeds and Hawaiian baby woodrose seed. To find out what they look like, and what is in the seed. The Morning Glory is a member of the Convolvulaceae family which also includes the Hawaiian woodrose. Common morning-glory is from Mexico or Central America. It is a vine with stems of 4-10 feet long. With flowers in pink, purple blue or white. Just from the describe I know exactly what these flowers look like. The Website Azarius went into the history about the seed. It was said that the Aztec used the seed ritually and other tribes as well. Azarius also goes on and says the effect of the seeds the same as the last website and also has a warning if people do eat them. I also look up how you could get these seed. On garden websites and Amazon you can get a pack of Morning Glory seed, so 150 seeds for $5.00. Only $5.00 to get 150 seeds, which is crazy to think because that makes it very easy for students to get it.

Lastly, I went to Snopes to see if this is fully a true story. The story come up right away and claims the story is mostly false. If we remember the original claim it was that the seeds of certain common household plants can be used as alternative to LSD. Snopes says what’s true is many seeds belonging to a family of plants that includes Hawaiian woodrose and blue morning-glory contain a chemical called LSA which can produce some psychoactive effects. What is false is LSA’s mechanism of action is biologically different from LSD and it comes with myriad other dangerous or unpleasant side effects. Snopes did confirm that Home Depot did temporarily move the seeds from their store in response to a warning from local police department, but it was not a permanent move. LSA creates unpleasant side effects both chemical and physical. That it is far from n alternative for LSD.

After all this research the original claim is proven not to be true that the flower seeds similar to LSD. But, it is true that police told Home depot to take it off the shelves for a while. And that LSA is in the seeds and students thought if had the same effects as LSD, which it does not. Overall, the claim had some truth in it but claims like this need to be researched and fact checked before I can believe them.

Draft: Is Flower Seeds a Party Drug?

I decided to do my fact check on flower seeds and how they are the “new party drug”. This was surprising to me and I wanted to research it because one I am a college student and we all know drugs are on or around campus. I also went to a high school that was known for having a lot of drugs circulating around it. So, I always had knowledge about different kinds of drugs and where they come from because we were very educated on the topic in health class. Our school as did random drug testing. Also I am becoming a teacher and I like to be aware of what is out there that students are willing to get/try.

I first found an article on The Daily Mail wrote an article about teens getting high off eating flowers seeds. Morning glory seeds and Hawaiian baby woodrose seed to be exact. If the report it says the high is similar to taking LSD if eaten or taken with tea. Police are warning parents of the effects of flower seeds. Massachusetts police issued the warning after a number of teenagers were hospitalized with extreme psychotic reactions. The site also reports that Home Depot stores in the area are pulling the seeds from the shelves. The seed have been found at middle schools and high schools.

I went upstream to see what other website had to say about this. I found a link to the shows The Doctors, they investigating the seeds.

They report that the seeds contain the hallucinogenic substance LSA, which is similar to LSD. Users have been known to swallow or crush them and then add to a liquid. LSA can cause nausea, loss of motor control, a perception of increased weight, pupil dilation, physical euphoria and sedation. The Doctors warn parents of how dangerous this could be and to keep an eye on their teens. The doctors then went on to if garden and home improvement store should put more of a restriction on the seeds in stores. Or if parent should be aware of what their child does.

I went up stream again and found a link that summarizes what LSA actually is. LSA also known as Lysergic acid amide, is a naturally-occurring psychedelic alkaloid of the lysergamide chemical class that produces psychedelic effects vaguely similar to those of LSD. It is thought to be the primary active compound within many plant products such as morning glory seeds, Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds and some species of fungi.

After LSA has been tested and research by scientist they found that it leads to a “tired, dreamy state with an inability to maintain clear thoughts” if consumed.

The researcher said after a short period of sleep, the effects were gone and normal baseline was recovered within five hours. The report and other that followed it suggest that the notion that LSA is primary component within morning glory and Hawaiian baby woodrose seeds is debatable as the effects of synthetic LSA are only slightly psychedelic in nature. That just mean scientist are unsure on the exact effects of LSA in the flower seeds.

LSA s also said not to be addictive by the scientific community. But, if taken could have unpredictable reactions like uncontrollable anxiety, paranoia, delusions, and psychotic break.  These negative reactions or bad trips can be attributed to factors like the user’s inexperience or improper preparation of setting. They are known to happen among even the most experienced of users as well. End note to all this scientific talk about LSA, is don’t eat the flower seeds because they are unsure the effects it will have on a person.

After reading about LSA, I decided to look into Morning glory seeds and Hawaiian baby woodrose seed. To find out what they look like, and what is in the seed. The Morning Glory is a member of the convolvulaceae (a type of flower) family which also includes the Hawaiian woodrose. Common morning glory is from Mexico or Central America. It is a vine with stems of 4-10 feet long. With flowers in pink, purple blue or white. Just from the describe I know exactly what these flowers look like. The Website Azarius went into the history about the the seed. It was said that the Aztec used the seed ritually and other tribes as well. Azarius also goes on and says the effect of the seeds the same as the last website and also has a warning if people do eat them. I also look up how you could get these seed. On garden websites and Amazon you can get a pack of Morning Glory seed, so 150 seeds for $5.00. Only $5.00 to get 150 seeds, which is crazy to think because that makes it very easy for students to get it.

 

Lastly, I went to Snopes to see if this is fully a true story. The story come up right away and claims the story is mostly false. If we remember the original claim it was that the seeds of certain common household plants can be used as alternative to LSD. Snopes says what’s true is many seeds belonging to a family of plants that includes Hawaiian woodrose and blue morning glory contain a chemical called LSA which can produce some psychoactive effects. What is false is LSA’s mechanism of action is biologically different than LSD and it comes with myriad other dangerous or unpleasant side effects. Snopes did confirm that Home Depot did temporarily move the seeds from their store in response to a warning from local police department, but it was not a permanent move. LSA creates unpleasant side effects both chemical and physical. That it is far from n alternative for LSD.

After all this research the original claim is proven not to be true that the flower seeds similar to LSD. But, it is true that police told Home depot to take it off the shelves for a while. And that LSA is in the seeds and students thought if had the same effects as LSD, which it does not. Overall, the claim had some truth in it but claims like this need to be researched and fact checked before I can believe them.

 

Post #5: Three Claims

1. A 21-year-old college Student she was told by a Spirit Airlines agent to flush her emotional support hamster down the toilet.: The topic has a lot of leads to different sources that explain different sides of the story. The 21 year old college student claims that an employ from Spirt Airline told her that she couldn’t take the Hamster on the plane. The employ advised her to flushed her hamster down the toilet in order to get on the plane. The 21 year old woman said she felt she had no other chose at the time.  
2. Are Flower Seeds the new party drug? Police warn teenagers are being hospitalized after eating garden products for psychotic high.: This was posted on Daily News and other new sights saying that teens are getting high off eating flowers seeds. The high is said to be like LSD. There are three different seeds and different stories about the high. Blue Morning Glory seeds and Sleepy Grass seeds, drug users crush them or lick them to induce the high. It also has been prove untrue.
3. The former Navy SEAL who claims he fired the shot that killed Osama bin Laden is blasting President Donald Trump’s desire for a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue.: The Navy Seal, Robert O’Neill tweeted that a military parade is third world b—–. We prepare. We deter. We fight. Stop this conversation. Trump wants to have a parade for the military and people including a Navy Seal says it is pointless and a waste of money. Other say having a military parade shows military authoritarian regimes like Russia and North Korea. There are a lot of sources about this story. 

Resent Study Saying: Low Levels of Alcohol is Good for the Brain

I started this assignment by typing in google news “recent study”. I a lot of different stories came up but one from Medical News Today came out with article saying that drinking alcohol can clear brain waste. The article goes on and explains that if you drink one or two a day researchers have found that a “low” intake of alcohol may help to cleanse the brain. Scientists from the University of Rochester Medical Center found that drinking around 2.5 drinks per day could reduce brain inflammation. The study also states that it increases the function of the glymphatic system which removes waste products from the brain. The article goes on and says having excess alcohol intake can harm health and causes around 3.3 million deaths across the world each year. But, research say a little alcohol may do us some good. The Medical News Today have a fact checker for each article and also provides farther links to show this study.

Showing how they fact check to prove the article is real.

I then went to the direct source. I went to The University of Rochester Medical Center website. They wrote an article about their findings that a couple glasses of wine may actually help clean the mind. The new study shows low levels of alcohol consumption tamp down inflammation and helps the brain clear away toxins.

“However, in this study we have shown for the first time that low doses of alcohol are potentially beneficial to brain health, namely it improves the brain’s ability to remove waste.” said Maiken Nedergaard, M.D., D.M.S., co-director of the Center for Translational Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center and lead author of the study.

The research show that low doses of alcohol is good, but excessive amount as we know is a health risk. Nedergaard’s research focuses on the glymphatic system, which is the brain’s cleaning process is was first described by Nedergaard in 2012. They showed how cerebral spinal fluid is pumped into brain tissue and flushes away waste. This included proteins that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. After reading this I found the whole study that is published on Scientific Reports.
One of the hyperlinks brought me Scientific Reports. It showed the doctors research of this study in great detail. Showing what the study is and backing it up with research and methods, such as using mice to provide the theory. Below are pictures in a slideshow from the study to explain it better.

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Post #3: Is The Huffington Post Credible?

From the list we were given in class I decided to write about the Huffington Post. I read the Huffington Post often and I could tell that it is bias and it more liberal. I went farther and went to wikipedia to see how they define the Huffington Post or “HuffPost”. Wikipedia define the site as a liberal American news and opinion website and blog. The site offers news, blogs, original content, and cover local news, politics, business, etc. From the start Huffington Post maintain a liberal stance.

Bio from Wikipedia 

After looking at wikipedia I decide to do a google search about Huffington post and their trustworthiness as a site. Since it is an opinion website and blog that gives news to people. I just googled least trusting new sources. I found visual capitalist that had a list of website and new sites list that were highly trusted and least trusted. Below is the chart that they provided, it shows that the Huffington Post is the 9th least trusted news source.

This Chart shows the Least and Most Trusted News Sources 

I look at a lot of different websites and found them saying all the same things that Huffington Post goes towards liberal reviews. During the election that posted this on twitter.

This is post from Twitter during the election. 

Finally I went to snopes to see if any Huffington Post article have been fact checked. After looking through all the article is fact checking snopes proof the Huffington Post articles were either all false or unproven. After looking and searching about what people and other websites said about Huffington Post, I can conclude that the site caters toward left-wing people and it is not a trustworthy site to get information or news from.

Fact Check Two: Plastic Straw Bill

Again, I was scrolling on Facebook and on the trending I found something interesting regarding a California Bill that is being purposed. I followed the link to Fox news the story is this that California law maker Ian Calderon, has purposed to ban straws from restaurants and bars. If a servers gives a straw out without the customer asking for it, it  could be a penalty of jail time up to 6 months and/or $1,000fine.

This was only from fox news so I decided to look at other sources most of the other websites said the same thing but slightly different. That the bill would make it illegal for servers to offer plastic straws with drinks unless they’re asked. So, it is not a ban on all plastic straw. People will just have to ask for them. Also in this article by The Las Vegas Journal, it stated these measure would apply to sit down restaurants, not bars or fast-food places. The reason for this bill is to reduce the environmental damage from tons of plastic that wind up each year in US landfills.

I then went farther and went on Snope to see if their website had any information. Snope reported that the Bill is true for the most part. This bill was purposed this month by Calderon. But, if the bill is passed it will not have the penalties with it. Below is a tweet from the man that wants to pass the bill.

It is not a ban or a crime but a step in the direction. AB-1884 inserts new language into the Retail Food Section of the California Health and Safety Code, violations of a misdemeanors meaning $25-$1,000 in fines and up to 6 months in jail.

Calderon explained “The penalties are based on the code section the bill is currently in, which it will be amended out of if it becomes a law.”

Overall, what this law is really trying to do is reduce the amount of plastic that is being used. Cities in California like, Berkley, Davis, San Diego, already have some kind of restrictions on straws at restaurants. Snope reported that estimated that 500 million straws are used in the U.S. everyday. This number is enough to fill 127 school buses each day and is calculated to be about 1.6 straws per person in the U.S.

This story may have started out sounding insane and not true when some of the information isn’t wrong. California is just trying to reduce their plastic intake but they aren’t throwing anyone into jail for giving out straws.

Fact-Check: Super Bowl Commercial

The other day I was scrolling through Facebook feed and I saw something that about three or four people I was friends with shared.

It was a video saying that a commercial going to be played during the Super Bowl that showed pictures of pit bulls and why people shouldn’t adopt them. It starts with a cheering crowd at a football game and the score flashes 29-0. Then it goes to facts about how dangerous pit bulls are. Then flashing back to the cheering crowd again.

With words over the pictures of pit bulls saying Don’t Adopt them, They have killed 29 Americans this year, and even saying they kill the most family members. The quote below is the one that stood out to me the most.

“One breed killed 75% of the people who were mauled to death in 2017”

It was created by a site call dogbitelaw.com with there slog stating Learn your rights!

For animal lover this was and outrage. I thought this couldn’t be true because why would anyone put hate towards innocent dogs that didn’t do anything. I also thought it was made up because I feel like people wanted to see how emotional people could get over this issue. People sharing it and writing lost post below or above the video shows you just how emotional people can get over this topic.

I decide to do some search of my own after we talked about fact-checking in class. First I went to the original person who posted it. I clicked the post and it brought me to a page of Kenneth Phillips and the page is called Knowledge is Power! Bite Back! This is a real group that is anti Pit Bulls. I then went on Snopes and put in the url to see if anything came up. In 2018 media users shared a football-themes video clip and exhorted the video with quotes and picture of Pit bulls. It was supporting not to adopt Pit bulls because they were so dangerous. Reports say it is unlike that this video will be aired during the Super Bowl. One reason this wouldn’t air is because of the price it would cost for this video to air. For a 30-second Super Bowl commercial spot is now selling for $5 billion. Another reason is that it’s goes against NFL’s policies regarding acceptable commercial content. Mr. Phillips the creator of this organization confirmed to snopes that the video will not be airing during the Super Bowl.