Vancouver combats heroin by giving its addicts the best smack in the world 

It might seem counterintuitive for the government to give free heroin to a heroin addict to fight the drug problem, but that is exactly what some doctors are doing in Vancouver. Sites, where addicts could safely shoot legally and safely, are nothing new, but the addition of the heroin itself is meant to aid those that aren’t able to take to alternatives usually used to get clean.

An addict can only receive the treatment by getting a prescription from a doctor, and so far only 26 city residents have gotten it. Addicts who praise the program say that it has saved them from trying to obtain the drugs illegally, and has even helped one patient hold down a job. It also prevents them from overdosing. Though some critics believe the program is only holding the addiction over the patient’s head, rather than trying to address it. Even some in the rehabilitation business don’t agree with the free heroin program. Although some of these concerns might be true, for now the city’s government is leaning towards having safe addicts, rather than dead ones. 

Your Deadbeat Facebook Friends Could Cost You a Loan 

It might seem counterintuitive to want to have fewer friends on Facebook, but doing that may help you get a better loan. In the case of corporations such as LendUp, some lenders check who a potential borrower follows and interacts with. Another international company, Lenddo, can deny applications to people who follow late loan payers on social media platforms.

As unfair as it sounds, there is not much regulation stopping it from happening. It’s not clear if the two major protection laws, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, cover the use of social media data. This issue also comes up when organizations use social media data to project the employability of a job applicant. Even worse, if one believes their social media was a factor in a failed attempt for a loan, there’s not much you can do because companies are not required to tell if social media played a part in an applicant being rejected. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claims they monitor companies with unorthodox methods of loan assumption;jo, but they have not commented on this specific issue or lenders. Although some experts don’t think this practice will go on, consumers can only hope that future regulations can protect them from being at the will of their Facebook friends. 

Want to Run a Better Agency? Kill More Good Ideas

It might seem counterintuitive to kill off a good idea before it gets the chance to live, but that skill might be exactly what makes a great leader. It’s simple to say good brainstorming involves striking down bad ideas, but even ones that are considered “good” can have underlying issues that make executing them a waste of effort and money. They can be too difficult or too expensive, and that in itself makes it a bad idea in its own way. A respected leader such as Steve Jobs was a proponent of killing off an excess of good ideas because it proves that there is a high number of ideas being produced in the first place. It might cause people to want to abandon a project, but those are only the ones not willing to work hard enough to accomplish it. This might not lead to becoming a likable boss, but it could bring more success and innovation.