New law aims to keep contraband out of state mental hospitals - latimes.com

New law aims to keep contraband out of state mental hospitals - latimes.com:

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed into law a bill that makes it a misdemeanor to deliver contraband such as tobacco products or wireless devices to state mental hospital patients.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) and coauthored by Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa), is among several introduced this year to address high levels of violence in the psychiatric facilities.

Oh sure take away the tobacco,that should lower the level of violence since so many patients self medicate with tobacco anyway.
Silly fucking me thinking that maybe the people with the problems that tobacco helps should be allowed to obtain and use it.

I never thought this would be a worldwide issue and yet it is.
As illustrated here and here .

The real bloggers tell a better story then I ever could so just click the links and read.

Assessing Cigarettes' Right to Free Speech - Miller-McCune

Assessing Cigarettes' Right to Free Speech - Miller-McCune:

The government will also undoubtedly argue that it has a substantial interest in protecting public health (and paying for the health care costs of people who wind up with lung cancer). But the last two questions are trickier. Will these images actually discourage smoking and enhance public health, as the government hopes they will? Research on this question is mixed. And even if the images were effective, couldn’t the government warn people about cigarettes with a less drastic tool — like, say, the messages already in use?

Intelligent article,interesting reading.
No snark or sarcasm,I just stuck it here because I thought it deserved a read.

Cigarette Wars

Cigarette Wars:

The replay from MSNBC's show about tobacco.

Interesting to watch.

Show has a major anti bias,no shock there.

Beer Burkas: Utah Legislators Require Restaurants To Install “Zion Curtains” To Prevent Customers From Seeing Beers Being Opened or Poured

Beer Burkas: Utah Legislators Require Restaurants To Install “Zion Curtains” To Prevent Customers From Seeing Beers Being Opened or Poured « JONATHAN TURLEY:

There is no rational basis for this limitation as a matter of public health. These reports indicate that some businesses are considering leaving the state or at least not expanding in the state, which appears the objective of some who support the arbitrary limitations. This law is ripe for a constitutional challenge.

Never having been to a bar in Utah I have nothing really to say about the issue.
But it seems odd to know there is a place where you can't even see your own bartender.