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Stoned Wallabies Make Crop Circles 104

Posted by samzenpus from the trippity-hop dept.
It's the tripnaut! writes "The BBC reports that Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around 'as high as a kite', a government official has said. 'The one interesting bit that I found recently in one of my briefs on the poppy industry was that we have a problem with wallabies entering poppy fields, getting as high as a kite and going around in circles,' says Lara Giddings, the attorney general for the island state of Tasmania. 'Then they crash,' she added."

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Stoned Wallabies Make Crop Circles More

Stoned Wallabies Make Crop Circles

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  • Who hops around on opium? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 26, 2009 @11:36AM (#28484447)
    As someone who has smoked a lot of opium in northern Afghanistan and the High Pamirs, I just have to ask: why are these wallabies hopping around? Opium is about the most soporific drug I could think of.

    • Re:Who hops around on opium? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Jurily ( 900488 ) <jurily AT gmail DOT com> on Friday June 26, 2009 @11:37AM (#28484455)

      Obviously, the government official was high too.

      • Obviously, the government official was high too.

        Dude. I am from Tasmania (no there are no spinning devils, its out of season) and you are absolutely right. The whole Goverment is high.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Chris Burke ( 6130 )

      Who hops around on opium?

      Marsupials. Duh.

      But seriously, it could easily have a different effect on a different species. I don't know what effect a wallaby's naturally occurring endorphins have on them... maybe the sense of euphoria makes them excited and jumpy instead of lazy?

    • Re:Who hops around on opium? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gardyloo ( 512791 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @12:15PM (#28485103)

      It might be the same as the effects of catnip in humans (a mild sedative) vs. on cats (usually not a sedative).

    • Re:Who hops around on opium? (Score:5, Funny)

      by robthebloke ( 1308483 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @12:19PM (#28485181)
      Try hopping in a straight line on it....
    • There is a lot of refining between poppies and opium. Comparing the effect of eating poppies to the effect of smoking opium is similar to comparing the effect of eating marijuana to the effect of smoking hashish.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by S7urm ( 126547 )

        except that Morphine is produced from the Milk of the poppy, which can be directly ingested in the case of a Wallaby eating a poppy, it would be similar to a human eating 80mg of pure Morphine Sulphate, i.e pretty strong.

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by amicusNYCL ( 1538833 )

          except that Morphine is produced from the Milk of the poppy, which can be directly ingested in the case of a Wallaby eating a poppy, it would be similar to a human eating 80mg of pure Morphine Sulphate, i.e pretty strong.

          No, it would be similar to a human eating one or two poppies.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by DirtyCanuck ( 1529753 )

          It would not be similar, do to the manufacturing process needed to convert poppy resin into usable heroin. As outlined below:

          "If you're keen you CAN make use of them. I have references which list young plants 10-20cm high as having up to 71mg/100g dry weight of alkaloids. This can seem insignificant until you consider that opium is only about 12% alkaloids, and you can end up with a kilo of thinnings or more in your home garden. I estimate a couple of grams of smokeable opium type extract can be extracted u

      • Uh, eating marijuana has pretty much the same effect as smoking hashish, the high lasts longer and the hallucinogenic qualities of the drug tend to be more pronounced but overall it's the same effect caused by the same chemicals.

        /Mikael

        • I've done both myself (which is why I used that example) and while the effect is similar, smoking hashish is vastly more intense than eating marijuana. Which was the point of my comparison, eating poppies will be a less intense high than smoking opium.

          • Actually, if properly dosed marijuana taken orally is a lot more intense than if smoked, but if you eat as much as you would have smoked then the effects will not be as pronounced.

            /Mikael

      • "Comparing the effect of eating poppies to the effect of smoking opium is similar to comparing the effect of eating marijuana to the effect of smoking hashish."

        Cookie moster loves COOKIEEES.

    • Responsible wallabies don't let their friends drive under the influence.

  • Hrm (Score:5, Funny)

    by Niris ( 1443675 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @11:38AM (#28484477)
    This makes that show Rocko's Modern Life make a LOT more sense.

  • If there animals are getting high (Score:4, Insightful)

    by BigHungryJoe ( 737554 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @11:39AM (#28484491) Homepage

    then is the desire to alter your consciousness with drugs a naturally occurring one? Does the drug war make sense anymore?

    And why the hell didn't I give marijuana a try when I was in college? What the hell was I so scared of? Of course, now I'm old, and I don't have access to pot, so I can't try it.

    • Re:If there animals are getting high (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Chris Burke ( 6130 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @11:52AM (#28484745) Homepage

      is the desire to alter your consciousness with drugs a naturally occurring one?

      Ever seen a cat around catnip? Lemme put it this way: The question you're asking doesn't occur to them, they just know they love catnip.

      And why the hell didn't I give marijuana a try when I was in college?

      I hear ya man, especially since where I went to college it was about as close to legal as you can get in the States. When the penalty is a ticket less severe than for double parking, how much enforcement do you think there would be? But nooooo, I had to actually study and be a good student in college...

    • How is it living in the Vatican? :P

      I live in Southern California, and pot is so prevalent here I am amazed when I meet people who don't smoke weed.

    • Next on Fox: When Animals get High (Score:5, Interesting)

      by spun ( 1352 ) <loverevolutionary&yahoo,com> on Friday June 26, 2009 @12:15PM (#28485107) Journal

      I wouldn't call it a natural desire, because the animals aren't born with it. But most every animal that has experienced consciousness alteration wants more of it. Birds eat fermented fruits and berries and get so drunk they can't fly. Most dogs love beer. Many pets like the effects of marijuana. But my all time favorite drunken animal story is the one about the derailed corn train and the drunken bears. A trainload of corn derailed in the Rockies, where cleanup was next to impossible. After the corn fermented, bears would come from miles around to eat the fermented corn, and get so drunk they'd pass out on the tracks. So the railroad company buried the corn. And the bears dug it up. The company sprayed it with nasty tasting stuff. The bears didn't care. Finally, they covered it in diesel fuel and burned it. The bears ate what was left.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Krneki ( 1192201 )
      You can grow pot inside quite cheaply if you wish to do so.

      Just spend 15min on the net and you will find all the answers you need. Beside nursing a plant is very Earth friendly. :)

    • ...now I'm old, and I don't have access to pot, so I can't try it.

      If you have a California driver's license and a case of anxiety, you could head down to the 'farmacy'.

      As Ron White says: "I get bummed when I run out of weed, and marijuana cures that."

      • Re: (Score:1, Funny)

        by alexborges ( 313924 )

        PM: Dr., im very anxious.

        DR: Whats the prob, sir?

        PM: I cant get any pot! This is very stressfull

        DR: No worries, my son, this is California.

    • Re:If there animals are getting high (Score:5, Interesting)

      by vorpal22 ( 114901 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @01:11PM (#28485941) Homepage Journal

      There are huge numbers of examples of animals consuming intoxicants in nature:

      * Hummingbirds will drink the sap of daturas and brugmansias, which contain deleriant tropanes, inducing extremely potent hallucinations.

      * India has problems with elephants and alcohol. Elephants will consume fruit that has fermented, and then, in their state of intoxication, cause massive amounts of damage to towns and power lines.

      * Most amusingly (to me), my aunt has a farm, and every night the ducks are corralled in the barn. Every morning when she goes to let them out, they're quacking and pressed up against the door. An explosion of ducks happens when she finally lets them free, and apparently they race for a shady patch across the field and fight viciously over there. She could not figure out why this was the case, so after hearing that cattle were frequently in that area, I suggested she check the cow dung for mushrooms. Sure enough, those ducks were bolting out to fight over a morning dose of magic mushrooms.

    • Re: (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward

      You don't have apple trees in your yard, do you? When the apples start to get a bit past ripe they turn into alcohol and millions of insects go eat them to get hammered. Give such an apple to a horse and observe it demolish it with great pleasure... I'd say it's just as natural as everything else man does.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by vorpal22 ( 114901 )

      Incidentally, if you are still interested in forms of intoxication other than alcohol (which is fun but not particularly interesting and comes with a hefty price in the form of a hangover), there are plenty of options at your disposal. Some worth investigating:

      * The mescaline containing San Pedro cactus, which is a fantastic hallucinogen, IMO. Long (10-12 hours), but very fun even at low doses. I found it quite mood enhancing and stimulating, and would consume 10 grams and then proceed to clean my entire ho

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tepples ( 727027 )

        Amanita muscaria (the red mushrooms with white spots on the caps, also another hallucinogen)

        No, that's the kind of mushroom that makes you grow up [teesforall.com].

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by kv9 ( 697238 )

        lots of stuff about good drugs

        yours is the best post I read on Slashdot, ever. and you sound like an (older) chick... mom, is that you?

    • And why the hell didn't I give marijuana a try when I was in college? What the hell was I so scared of? Of course, now I'm old, and I don't have access to pot, so I can't try it.

      You could take a trip to a nation that has legalized/decriminalized it.

    • I'll sell you some. Email me. Am i kidding? You'll just have to find out.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      Wanting to feel good is what is being desired.

      "now I'm old, and I don't have access to pot, so I can't try it."
      haha. Yes, once your over 30 there is no way to get pot~

  • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 )
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Why do I get this scary image......... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    of Pauly Shore in a Kangaroo suit?

  • idle? (Score:2)

    by v1 ( 525388 )

    This would make a good idle story rather than the 5 that have been stuck on idle off to the right for the last month.

    That being said, that's pretty hilarious. Easy to find videos on youtube of various wild animals getting stoned or usually drunk. Fermented fruit seems to be popular that way. The drunk elephants are a riot!

  • Only it was drunk cows rolling around in fields to make circles in grass.

  • This explains why kangaroos look so weird. They're aliens!

  • I've had to explain this to my colleagues, but the Australian Rugby Union team's nickname is the "Wallabies". So the article has an delicious pun ;-)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by geekoid ( 135745 )

      "Australian Rugby Union team's nickname is the "Wallabies"."
      that explains some of the comments I read on the site that reported it.

  • You know that part in Alien when the alien emerges from the guy's stomach? Well, we all know that kangaroos keep their young in pouches near the stomach. Coincidence? I think not.

  • Reading the comments on that article I just couldn't help being reminded [xkcd.com].....

  • Where's the picture of the circles? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DigitalReverend ( 901909 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @12:13PM (#28485069)
    Screw having a picture of the animal, I want to see the crop circles.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Krneki ( 1192201 )
      How about a picture of the kangaroos while enjoining drugs? :)

      • The same question popped into my head that I usually get when I think of pron:

        What do I get out of the kangaroo enjoying it?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by MrKaos ( 858439 )

          What do I get out of the kangaroo enjoying it?

          A freezer full of kangaroo steak. I've eaten Kangaroo and it's absolutely delicious, very lean and tender. Who would have thought that Australia's national symbol would taste so good. I can only imagine that because a wallaby is a smaller animal that it's probably pretty tasty to.

  • It's the Kangaroos, kangaroos are running a major drug racket. They hooked the wallabies onto the stuff and when they couldn't find their regular dealer, the wallabies went berserk in an opium field.

    The Australian police should check kangaroo pouches for their stash. I heard they train joeys to separate and bag the opium while in their mother's pouches. The joeys can also make count money and change, there's some grainy footage on youtube of a wallaby putting a fistful of money in a kangaroo's pouch and c
  • You couldn't possibly head to the Home Depot gardening section to purchase a narcotic, could you? I have a friend that claims to get high from smoking or making tea out of poppies seeds from Home Depot. I don't believe him.
    • It's not the seeds. It's some sort of residue you get off the leaves. Also, (a) I can't imagine a small patch of live plants would be enough for a high and (b) it might only be a particular variety -- or only potent enough to matter in a particular variety. So probably the stuff you can grow from seeds packets won't do it for you either.

      Apparently, some sort of tracer chemical does appear in the seeds, thus the questions about poppyseed consumption when you take a drug test. Except of course that p
    • When I was fifteen I found my younger brother in the back yard with a friend smoking grass. Not marijuana, actual grass from the yard.

      They thought they were getting high, but I don't think so.
      • When I was in HS a freind of mine sold a younger kid a bag of "magic" mushrooms he bought at the supermarket.

    • Okay:

      1) Eat a banana, dont throw out the skin.

      2) Peel the fibers under the inner part of the skin

      3) Sun dry them

      4) You can get high as fuck smoking that

      5) Your brain is now mush, but my point is proven.

      Go to your HEB, buy some nutmeg (indian NUTS), grind 7 grams of them, eat that, youll be seeing green lizards turning into cowgirl cheerleaders for a while and then, of course, your brain will be mush, but my point will be proven.

      There are many, many ways to get high legally, although this "highs" might not

  • After seeing what that stuff does to people, I feel sad that this is happening naturally in the animal kingdom...
    I am sure it is ok to a certain extent, sort of like mother nature taking care of the eliminating the weak...
    I had a brother hooked on this stuff, it ain't pretty! I will never look at another kangaroo the same again!

    • Some kangaroos get really big, like three meters tall and as strong as a lion. I have been close to animals like that in the bush and it is safe as long as you leave them alone. But I wouldn't like to find out too late that the animal was high.

  • The War on Drugs has been lost. Time to move on.

  • Here's the facts... (Score:5, Informative)

    by WeirdJohn ( 1170585 ) on Friday June 26, 2009 @03:10PM (#28487545)
    There is a problem with wallabies eating poppy crops in Tasmania. The real story is that the plants are very immature and there is no alkaloid in them. There are circular patches being made in the crops, but this is due to the normal feeding behaviour of wallabies and not because they are bouncing around in circles stoned. No wallabies are falling to the ground stoned. The farmers are setting up patches of preferred feed plants outside the poppy fields to prevent it happening in the future, as Tasmania is one of the leading exporters of opium for medical use, and they want to diminish the impact on revenue.

  • Cannabinoid receptors in humans (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Did you know the human brain contains receptors just for cannabinoids, eg some of the major compounds in cannabis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid_receptor

    How did we get those? The only logical explanation is that human beings and our ancestors (down to the monkeys and all the animals before that) have been using marijuana for so long that it literally resulted human evolution and cannabinoids becoming part of our dna.

    This is why the prohibition of marjuana will never work, the plant existing long

    • WOA

      Half of america is NOT half the world.

      Just that.

      On the other points... hum... im on your side, but your rant is a bit misguided.

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