In the realm of scientific observation, luck
is granted only to those who are prepared.
—Louis Pasteur
Time and again I hear or read that LSD was discovered by accident. This is only partly true. LSD came into being within a systematic research program, and the “accident” did not occur until much later: when LSD was already five years old, I happened to experience its unforeseeable effects in my own body—or rather, in my own mind. (more…)
There are experiences that most of us are hesitant to speak about, because they do not conform to everyday reality and defy rational explanation. These are not particular external occurrences, but rather events of our inner lives, which are generally dismissed as figments of the imagination and barred from our memory. Suddenly, the familiar view of our surroundings is transformed in a strange, delightful, or alarming way: it appears to us in a new light, takes on a special meaning. Such an experience can be as light and fleeting as a breath of air, or it can imprint itself deeply upon our minds. (more…)
Mar 5th 2009
From The Economist print edition
A HUNDRED years ago a group of foreign diplomats gathered in Shanghai for the first-ever international effort to ban trade in a narcotic drug. On February 26th 1909 they agreed to set up the International Opium Commission—just a few decades after Britain had fought a war with China to assert its right to peddle the stuff. Many other bans of mood-altering drugs have followed. In 1998 the UN General Assembly committed member countries to achieving a “drug-free world” and to “eliminating or significantly reducing” the production of opium, cocaine and cannabis by 2008.
That is the kind of promise politicians love to make. It assuages the sense of moral panic that has been the handmaiden of prohibition for a century. It is intended to reassure the parents of teenagers across the world. Yet it is a hugely irresponsible promise, because it cannot be fulfilled. (more…)
Prison is something we all want to avoid, but the time may come when you have to spend some time there (whether or not you are guilty). This is a list of the top 10 things to remember if you find yourself in the big house. If you follow these rules, you should manage to make your stay tolerable. If you found this article through a search engine, I sincerely hope you are reading it out of curiosity and not necessity!
More than a quarter of classical music fans have tried cannabis, says a study from the University of Leicester.
Researchers were trying to find out what people’s taste in music revealed about their lifestyles.
They discovered that fans of every style of music had taken drugs, with those who preferred DJ-based club music topping the list. (more…)
Generational forgetting means the media’s drug coverage just stays the same.
Coke is back—according to the New York Times. The Sunday Styles section helpfully pointed users and potential users (and presumably police as well) to online advertisements and tried to give the terminally un-hip some clues about current cocaine references in pop culture. (more…)
![JERRY GARCIA [1942-95] Image](https://i1.wp.com/farm3.static.flickr.com/2136/2457654579_1cf00ec18e_o.gif)
“Nobody stopped thinking about those psychedelic experiences. Once you’ve been to some of those places, you think, ‘How can I get back there again but make it a little easier on myself?’”
—Quoted in Rolling Stone, November 30, 1989 (more…)
Tuesday , May 23, 2006
People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.
While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users. (more…)
