Cocaine found in space shuttle hangar

Seems that it isn't just the astronauts at NASA who are flying high. A baggie of blow was found on the floor of a space shuttle hangar at Kennedy Space Center last week.

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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johnlancia

NASA employee’s need to get their freak on too. You know what they say about cocaine when you are working on the shuttle. It goes great with some caulk.
Felton

Zephram Cochran: Well I sure as hell am not going up there sober.
Anonymous

Do you send messages with your harden nipples, Bowie? I bet you do, you freaky bastard.
Anonymous

I’m reasonably certain that the US airforce/navy don’t use methamphetamine on their pilots- it’s standard mixed amphetamine salts (adderall) or pure dextroamphetamine, not methamphetamine. The difference is only in one methyl group, but meth’s neurotoxic effects and greater propensity to induce paranoia preclude it from military use (even in the crazy-ass US military). More recently, they’ve been experimenting with drugs such as modafinil (provigil) which have a more favourable side-effect profile.
Anonymous

Looks like I pick a bad week to quit snortin’ coke. (see what I did there? it’s an homage to Airplane, only instead of “sniffin’ glue” I put in a reference to cocaine…for relevance…get it?)
Anonymous

at least government employees can afford it. For the rest of us there’s weed.
Anonymous

Hey, do we have any of that Plutonium Nyborg left?
MrJM

“I did it [for] health purposes. At that time I was using thinking it was going to help me. It was brought to my attention that it was going to help me heal faster, make my body feel back to normal. I was given this gift by the man upstairs.” — Mark McGwire, space cadet
slgalt

Sounds like the beginning of a bad comedy movie – powder gets dropped in the shuttle and once in space it spreads out and gets everyone ripped. Hilarity ensues.
Lobster

The man upstairs? God?

At least during a shuttle launch there’s not a whole heck of a lot to crash in to. This is better than our Air Force and Navy pilots taking methamphetamine to stay alert and aware during long sorties.
jeligula

How is that better, hmmm? The P2P-based meth compound that military pilots use is prescribed by a flight surgeon and very clean, with no paranoid side effects. Crack is crack and not a thing you want anybody in control of multi-billion dollar equipment to be using.
- Anonymous
  
  Hahahah – ground control to Major Tom!!
  
  hee hee. . .That being said, the “P2P-based meth compound” may not have the extreme margin of chemical error produced by at home meth heads, tweakers, and junkies, there are most certainly still side effects – it is a methamphetamine. Even the military admits to the “occasional” side effects of increased agitation and aggression. Just because some government doctor gives it to you doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and rainbows.
  - MrJM
    
    Are you implying that the military sometimes acts in a manner contrary to the best interests of its personnel?
    
    Shocking!
Anonymous

Soon I’ll be higgggh! I’m a rocket man!
Anonymous

Carrying The War on (some) Drugs to outer space and beyond!
Anonymous

…but the space shuttle isn’t armed
Anonymous

@jeligula

1. Crack is crack, but crack is not coke. Although the active ingredient is the same, there is a distinction to be made between coke and crack. You need to know more about drugs.

2. Amphetamines always have “paranoid” side effects whether your talking about over-counter alkaloids or straight-up biker meth. The existence of such side effects is simply a matter of degree. Again, you need to know more about drugs.
zikman

they just wanted to be the highest people to get high is all.
Riu

Don’t you guys know, they use it to combat altitude sickness. Just like they do in Peru. :P
Gus

My dad worked on construction of a couple of the Kennedy buildings in the ’60s — he used to tell the tale that there was once a bit of marajuana grown in close proximity to the site.
joshftx

Drugs? In Florida? No way.
Anonymous

No you imbeciles, it’s star dust!!