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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWoman 'burned down 3,500-year-old tree because she needed light to see what drugs she was taking'
A young model allegedly set a fire that caused one of the world's oldest cypress trees to burn and collapse because she needed light in the darkness to see what drugs she was doing.
Sara Barnes, 26, of Winter Park, Florida, was identified by two witnesses as the person who caused the 118ft bald cypress tree named The Senator to burn and collapse on January 16, police said.
The woman allegedly took photos of the fire on the 3,500-year-old tree with her phone but did not call 911 - and authorities found methamphetamine, scales and drug paraphernalia at her home.
One of the first photos seen on her public Facebook profile is of clumps of marijuana. Agricultural officials searched her home on Tuesday and also confiscated her mobile phone and laptop.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2108028/Sara-Barnes-burned-3-500-year-old-tree-called-The-Senator-needed-drugs-doing.html
The stupidity and waste of it all....
Richardo
(38,391 posts)mmmkay.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)LuvNewcastle
(16,820 posts)40 year-old tweaker. They should make her snort the ashes of that tree.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)do look about 40 if they're lucky. For a meth head she actually looks pretty good.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)What does it do to make people look so much older than they are?
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)physical addiction that makes a lot of chronic users abandon any form of self care methamphetamine use dries out the skin allowing sores to form and not heal properly, when that's added to the sunken eyes and easy bruising the effect is striking and shocking.
It also dries out the mouth leading to a condition known as meth mouth with rotting teeth and gums, this can in severe cases cause the jaw to kind of collapse inward at the mandibular joint, this makes the person look like one of those pictures of old people without their false teeth in.
The change in appearance can happen so fast that the addict is barely recognizable in less than a year.
Zalatix
(8,994 posts)sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)I'm a doctor not a judge
madokie
(51,076 posts)being an old used to be pot smoker I was around some people who were meth heads and what is said that you replied to is true. I suspect the poisons in the homemade meth is what ages them
bhikkhu
(10,708 posts)...the idea that home-cooking is the cause of the problem and not meth itself is a stupid myth. Its been addicting and killing people as long as its been around, even when the main supply was legitimate manufacturers. Though I wouldn't argue that screwed-up batches might not kill people in different ways.
abowsh
(45 posts)It's amazing the physical damage that meth does to a person. I don't think it's possible to hide a meth addiction.
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)I would wager sexually abused in childhood.
Not an excuse for burning down a tree but explains so much about a life.
Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)- John Belushi in "The Blues Brothers"
11 Bravo
(23,922 posts)Brickbat
(19,339 posts)Response to n2doc (Original post)
Post removed
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)And yes, I literally mean Nazi tactics.
Stop.
Iggo
(47,487 posts)Thanks for the backup.
AsahinaKimi
(20,776 posts)Nice Resume pic!
Dreamer Tatum
(10,926 posts)Oh well.
Webster Green
(13,905 posts)It isn't as though prohibition has been a huge success. We're talking about harm-reduction, not advocating use.
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)This crap is nothing but poison, and what it does to people is tragic.
It's NOT victimless, or even limited to one victim. And selling the good, pure, legal government regulated shit down at the liquor store is NOT going to make it any less victimless.
Love and treat the users. Get them treatment. And destroy anyone who makes or sells it.
LiberalFighter
(50,491 posts)Kurmudgeon
(1,751 posts)Uncle Joe
(58,111 posts)I hope she gets help, it's tragic about the tree.
Iggo
(47,487 posts)She can still get better. At 26, she's still young enough to save herself and rescue what's left of her potential. It's hard but I've seen it happen a hundred times.
Sad about the tree, yes. But I'm thankful it was only a tree, and not a house with people in it. This coulda been way worse.
Uncle Joe
(58,111 posts)One of the world's oldest Cypress Trees at 3500 years, that's a lot of irreplaceable emotional and physical history, a living time capsule of sorts.
LiberalFighter
(50,491 posts)Snake Alchemist
(3,318 posts)SalviaBlue
(2,910 posts)She's young, I hope she gets the help she needs.
Webster Green
(13,905 posts)I visited the tree when I lived in Seminole County, Florida. This is horrible!
If she wanted more illumination, it seems like walking away from the tree would have made more sense than burning it down. That's meth for you though. People using meth usually don't make too much sense.
frylock
(34,825 posts)as tweekers go, she doesn't look too far along. at least her physical attributes. it's pretty obvious that shit has effected her ability to reason.
felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)Yea absolutely...what a waste
I've smelled it unfortunately, whew! Though I am a supporter of making drug abuse a medical and not a legal problem, meth seems to be in a class by itself, because it is so poisonous.
Earth_First
(14,910 posts)Seriously. Any guesses?
csziggy
(34,120 posts)By a hurricane. Plus, there has been a very long drought in that area, so it was likely pretty dry.
One of the best things to use to start a fire is "punk" or partially rotted wood that is very dry. If that tree had a rotten middle - and they can be rotten down to the ground (or water) level, it could have had a chimney effect.
Yep - it was hollow:
Agents said Barnes took pictures of the fire and downloaded the images to her cellphone and computer. Officials said she showed people the images, and said "I can't believe I burned down a tree older then Jesus."
Flames burned the tree from the inside out.
Barnes admitted to authorities that she lit the fire.
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/woman-admits-she-burned-down-senator/nK7cc/
JVS
(61,935 posts)we can do it
(12,117 posts)greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)Legalize them NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)bluestate10
(10,942 posts)I don't like the idea of a teen that gets caught with a few ounces of pot for his or her personal use being dragged through the criminal justice system and potentially thrown in jail. But before I would support decriminalization of other drugs, I would need to see research that shows that using those drugs in controlled amounts does not lead to addiction and heavy dependency.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)And the prime delivery method of nicotine, tobacco, kills hundreds of thousands of Americans every year..