Author Archive
The Gravity of Law: Taking Human Rights Seriously Reclaiming the Prohibition Debate, Part 2
In Part 1 of this six-part series, I discussed the importance of comparing terms and assumptions before debating drug policy. In this post, I re-examine the nature of law and our disturbingly casual attitude towards coercion and punishment. [pullquoteleft]Every law diminishes our freedom, but good laws provide new freedoms in exchange.[/pullquoteleft]The primary function of any government is to protect its constituents’ human rights. The secondary goal is to uphold the smooth functioning of society. Secondary functions include zoning laws, market regulations, welfare programs, and tax collection—these activities don’t protect individual rights per se, but they (arguably) keep society running...
Myths and Lies of Prohibition Reclaiming the Prohibition Debate, Part 1
I have already examined the psychology of Prohibition and our neurotic desire for control. In this six-part series, I focus on the skewed language and unquestioned assumptions that taint the Prohibition debate. Language always lies… We proceed from one fiction to another, every time we open our mouths to speak. —Robert Anton Wilson Language hypnotizes us. We are raised with the phrases and conventions of our culture, and no matter how insidious or wrong-headed they prove to be—no matter how independent-minded we pretend to be—these ideas carry great power over us for our entire lives. When we name things,...
Photographer captures incredible images of recreational drugs
German photographer Sarah Schönfeld captured these images by dripping drugs directly onto exposed film. According to her website: She then enlarged these negatives including the chemical reaction of the particular drug, to sizes of up to 160 x 200 cm. All of the substances behaved very differently: the shapes and colors that appeared showed unique characteristics and revealed unique internal universes. Schönfeld explores the possibilities of photography at the frontiers of what can be visually portrayed– the interface between representation and reality. For more images, including cocaine, opium, and endogenous chemicals like dopamine and melatonin, check out Sarah’s...
Video: Dogs tripping on cane toads in Australia
Apparently some dogs in Queensland, Australia have taken to getting high on cane toad secretions. Surprisingly, the dogs seem to enjoy the experience, repeatedly hunting down the animals just to get a fix. After licking the backs of the toads, the pets exhibit all the signs of doggy tripping — vacant stares, not responding to their owners, and reacting to nonexistent cues. Cane toad secretions contain bufotenin, a psychedelic tryptamine related to DMT. But they also contain highly toxic chemicals that can cause vasoconstriction and death, so licking toads is generally a bad idea. Some dogs have died...
Uruguay approves world’s first national market for cannabis
The first domino has fallen. In a momentous blow to the War on Drugs, Uruguay has passed a law that regulates rather than criminalizes the cannabis trade, from cultivation to consumption. Countries around the world will be watching to see how this social experiment turns out. When this strategy is shown to reduce crime and violence without leading to the collapse of civilization, it will fuel momentum for the end of Prohibition across the world. Kudos to Uruguay for taking this pioneering first step towards sensible drug policy! This infographic by the Transnational Institute summarizes the new law. Liked...
“Ask Me Anything” Reddit Interview with Rick Doblin & MAPS
Yesterday, Rick Doblin and ten other MAPS staff members engaged in an online “Ask Me Anything” session on Reddit. The turnout was phenomenal. Questions ran the gamut from personal (“Have you ever tried psychedelics?”) to political (“Will the legalization of psychedelics will come next after marijuana?”) and much more. Several posters asked about minimizing the risk of MDMA toxicity, while others were curious about treatments for cluster headaches, depression, autism, and other conditions. A couple people even asked if MAPS accepts Bitcoin (as of yesterday, they do). As you might expect, the answers from MAPS staff were incredibly...
Control Freaks: America and its Uncontrolled Substances
I’ve analyzed the psychology of Prohibition before, concluding that the War on Drugs is a deceit maintained by the national ego. In this article I take a deeper look at how the desire for control affects our laws and language. This is a prelude to my six-part essay on language called Reclaiming the Prohibition Debate. None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. —Goethe Humans like to feel in control. This is not always a bad thing, but it becomes problematic when we are so obsessed with the illusion of control that we forego the...
Help Heal Trauma Survivors by Supporting MDMA Research
MAPS, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, has been an instrumental force in psychedelic research and advocacy since its formation in 1986. In my opinion, this non-profit organization has done more to establish psychedelics as legitimate medicines than anyone else in the world. Their biggest project is proving the safety and effectiveness of MDMA-assisted therapy as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They have performed a number of studies around the world indicating its effectiveness — even with the one-third of PTSD patients who do not respond adequately to other treatments. As you can imagine, MAPS does...
Endtrip, a Sublime and Disturbing Take on Death
This video will take you on one freaky journey. Some parts will remind you of Enter the Void, the DMT-dusted death journey from Gaspar Noé, but other parts are completely original. From the Vimeo descripton: Endtrip is an animation short film in which we experience a breathtaking trip through the bizarre and fantastical unconsciousness of a drug overdosed girl. This visually stunning journey offers a glimpse into the extraordinary and strange workings of the mind. Check it out (full-screen mode recommended): Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
Squareeater: Entrain your brain with strobes & binaural beats
“Welcome to a new generation of brain exploration,” says the front page of Squareeater, a free service offering audio-visual experiences called “squares.” The squares are described as “meditative devices” with names like “Chakra,” “Deep Down,” “Upper,” and “Strange Night.” Each square uses binaural beats and other unusual sounds to achieve brainwave entrainment — the fairly recent and not-well-understood practice of causing one’s brainwaves to fall into step with an external stimulus. What’s a binaural beat? It’s the pulse or tone created in one’s mind when the left and right ears hear two distinct tones that are very close in pitch. Searching “binaural beat”...
One Last LSD Trip The Beautiful Death of Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley was known for his incredible books and essays, among them The Doors of Perception, a 1954 book discussing his experiences with mescaline, and Island, a novel about a utopian society. In Island, the citizens inhabit a constant state of acceptance thanks to meditation and a psychedelic agent they call “moksha medicine.” A character describes moksha as “the reality reliever, the truth-and-beauty pill,” allowing users to “catch a glimpse of the world as it looks to someone who has been liberated from his bondage to the ego.” Huxley was an elder statesman of the psychedelic movement, one who advocated the intelligent and cautious use of...
Steve & Steve, a brilliant web comic about an acid trip
Steve & Steve, an online graphic novel by Patrick Farley, follows fictionalized versions of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as they embark on an LSD trip in Silicon Valley, 1975. Together they discuss lost love, the Cold War, the history of human evolution, and much more. The second “issue” was just released, and it’s just as incredible as the first. Patrick Farley is also the creative force behind electricsheepcomix.com, perhaps best known for bringing Terence McKenna’s “Stoned Ape” theory to life in the form of an animated comic called The First Word. Check it out, it’s just as trippy as...