Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Culture

Beware Pending Facebook Wall Share Titled 'OMG! Video Games Literally Make Kids High!'

Mario gives up mushrooms for Molly

Scott Shackford | 1.24.2014 4:50 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Large image on homepages | Andrea La Rosa / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND
(Andrea La Rosa / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND)
I don't get it.
Credit: Andrea La Rosa / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

Top video game blog site Kotaku has taken note of an ecstasy/MDMA-based street drug making the rounds in Europe called "Nintendo," with pills even stamped with the company logo. It's been seen in Belgium.

For gamers, the news has resulted and lots and lots and lots of jokes about Mario and mushrooms and the old Nintendo Tetris-knockoff called Dr. Mario. Some Kotaku posters also joked about how selling the drug could be an actual revenue strategy by Nintendo, given that the company is not doing very well right now on the market with its most recent console.

Given the recent Smarties "scandal" it's worth nothing the existence of the drug variation in the event coverage spreads through the media and, as inevitably as the telephone game, morphs into somebody half-reading something and trying to claim that Nintendo itself is trying to turn little kids onto drugs. After all, that's what some people say about Walt Disney. (Warning: previous link is like a TV Tropes site for conspiracies and you may never, ever escape, especially when you get to the one about Beyonce being possessed by a demon named Sasha Fierce during her 2013 Super Bowl halftime show.)

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: TSA: We Screened 1.7 Million Passengers a Day in 2013

Scott Shackford is a policy research editor at Reason Foundation.

CultureWar on DrugsWorldSynthetic DrugsVideo GamesEuropeDrugs
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (12)

Latest

Brickbat: Reading Problem

Charles Oliver | 5.13.2025 4:00 AM

Trump's Tariffs and Immigration Policies Destroy Thousands of Acres of Tomato Crops in Florida

Autumn Billings | 5.12.2025 5:14 PM

Defenders of Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Offer an Implausible Take on a 127-Year-Old Precedent

Jacob Sullum | 5.12.2025 4:52 PM

Why DOGE Failed

Eric Boehm | 5.12.2025 3:20 PM

The Indian-Pakistani Ceasefire Is What U.S. Diplomacy Should Look Like

Matthew Petti | 5.12.2025 12:11 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!