TUCSON - No one has suggested that his use of a hallucinogenic herb or any other drugs contributed to Jared L. Loughner's apparent mental unraveling that culminated with his being charged in a devastating outburst of violence here. Yet it is striking how closely the typical effects of smoking the herb, Salvia divinorum - which federal drug officials warn can closely mimic psychosis - matched Mr. Loughner's own comments about how he saw the world, like his often-repeated assertion that he spent most of his waking hours in a dream world that he had learned to control. [continues 784 words]
Online video of Miley Cyrus smoking the plant in a bong has peaked interest in the legal psychoactive, which is sold locally Health Canada is warning people to avoid using the Mexican herb Salvia divinorum until its effects are better understood. Native to Oaxaca, Mexico, the plant known as Magic Mint or Seer's Sage has been used for centuries by Mazatec Indian shamans for medicinal purposes and to induce visions, but also has gained a foothold in Canada and United States as a recreational drug. [continues 771 words]
By Vincent Walsh and Signe Hoover The essay below derives from recent discussions in my English 1 class, otherwise known as "The Fam Jam," about the unfortunate incident on campus several weeks ago when a male student, tripping on LSD, burst into a dorm room and allegedly engaged in extremely offensive, highly aggressive behavior, which resulted in his being arrested and confined in a local jail on half a million dollars bond. I went through college during the psychedelic frenzy of the '60s. I witnessed the deterioration of several truly great minds among my peers, brilliant young people who fell unwitting victim to contaminated versions of this brain-bending substance; the fact is, one never really knows the actual ingredients or size of dose with any street drug. Such ignorance can lead to tragedy, as I believe it has with this recent event in our community: a young man's promising future in ruins, several young women badly traumatized, all of us left deeply troubled - and, yes, profoundly embarrassed by having a story like this splashed all over local news outlets. This is not the image of Lehigh any of us wants to convey. [continues 1191 words]
Ron Price needs his milkshake. It's 10 o'clock on a Monday morning and the baldheaded, barrel-chested former bodybuilder is shuffling around the kitchen of a posh rehab clinic in Tijuana, wearing slippers and a blue Gold's Gym T-shirt. Price had been employed as a stockbroker in New Mexico, but his training regimen left him with debilitating injuries that forced him to undergo 33 surgeries in less than a decade. His doctor prescribed Oxycontin, and Price quickly became dependent on the potent painkiller. More recently, he started snorting cocaine and chugging booze to numb the pain. Now, 53 years old and three weeks into rehab, all he wants is a milkshake and to crawl back into bed. [continues 5641 words]
An Archive, of Sorts, of the 1960s Psychedelic Experience Made Visual Preserves an Era Seated around an ash-stained coffee table below a glowing chandelier in Mark McCloud's dusky parlor on a rainy Saturday morning in October, four friends passed around a joint, trying to define in simple terms the three-story Victorian on 20th Street. "It's an archival museum of psychedelic art. Our friend here is the curator," proffered Arthur Round, an older man cross-legged in a wicker chair. The parlor is plastered with approximately 350 pieces of framed blotter art and guarded from prying eyes by heavy black curtains, making the space feel like a vault or secret subterranean headquarters. [continues 929 words]
Researchers see hope for PTSD, other ills in LSD, other drugs On Sunday, Nov. 7, an eclectic group of students, therapists, artists and health care practitioners gathered at the Draft House in downtown Boulder for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) fall gala. The crowd of roughly 100 people listened as Rick Doblin, founder of MAPS, discussed the potential of psychedelic drugs to treat conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), drug dependence, and anxiety and depression associated with chronic disease and end-of-life issues. [continues 469 words]
It's the grimmest example of a "bad trip" imaginable. According to a B.C. Coroner's report, Daniel Cho, a popular 17-year-old American music student who loved to make hip hop beats, jumped a protective railing and fell down a cliff at Capilano Suspension Bridge in June while in the throws of an LSD-induced delirium. Coroner Mark Coleman concluded there was no evidence that Cho intended to harm himself on June 6 when he stepped over a 1.2-metre-high protective railing at a viewing platform and plunged 30 metres to his death. [continues 132 words]
A 17-year-old American student who fell to his death from a viewing platform at the Capilano Suspension Bridge last June was high on LSD and had previously been caught by a school chaperone in an out-of-bounds area, says a BC Coroners Service report. Coroner Mark Coleman concluded that LSD was a contributing factor in the death of Daniel Cho, a student at Aragon high school in San Mateo, Calif. Cho was on a trip with his music class from the San Francisco area. It was part of an exchange program with a group of students from Killarney secondary school. [continues 429 words]
Gummi bears laced with LSD were found in a police drugs raid. Police found the bag of 44 candies when they raided a home in Cranbrook last March. This week the results of lab tests showed the gummi bears were laced with the drug, which causes hallucinations. 50-year-old Christianne Bateman and her 18-year-old son Benjamin have been charged with possessing illegal drugs with intent to traffic following the raid, which also turned up 1 lb of marijuana, and one third of a pound of hashish. [continues 225 words]
The discovery of LSD in a bag of gummi bears has prompted Cranbrook RCMP to warn parents in the Kootenay city. Police found the bag in a drug raid a few months ago, but recently got the test results back from the lab. "LSD is a psychedelic drug, that affects the brain, often causing psychological problems that alter the thinking process," Cpl. Chris Faulkner said in a release. "While it is not necessarily addictive, a person who is under the influence of LSD may become irrational and their behaviour can be bizarre. Obviously, if a young child were to consume such a gummi bear, the effects could be very dangerous." [end]
The RCMP in Cranbrook is alerting people about what they believe is a new method of disguising and trafficking drugs. While searching a local residence earlier this year, police located a bag of candy that seemed out of the ordinary and suspicious. They decided to investigate further and sent the gummi bears to the drug lab for analysis. When they received the results, if confirmed their suspicion. The lab results showed the gummi bears were laced with the drug LSD, also known as Acid. [continues 293 words]
The Active Ingredient in 'Magic Mushrooms' Eased Depression and Anxiety, a Study Says. The psychedelic drug psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic mushrooms," can improve mood and reduce anxiety and depression in terminal cancer patients, Los Angeles researchers reported Monday. A single modest dose of the hallucinogen, whose reputation was severely tarnished by widespread nonmedical use in the psychedelic '60s and ethical lapses by researchers such as Timothy Leary, can improve patients' functioning for as long as six months, allowing them to spend their last days with more peace, researchers said. [continues 569 words]
SANTA CRUZ -- A new synthetic marijuana and the resurgence in popularity of a hallucinogenic drug have police and community leaders worried because both substances are legal and for sale in the Santa Cruz area. "I don't know enough about this stuff," Watsonville Police Chief Manny Solano said. "That's what concerns me." "Spice" is a relatively new herbal and chemical product that produces similar effects as marijuana. It does not show up on drug tests and is not regulated. Area smoking shops started carrying the substance about six months ago and Spice started gaining in popularity this summer. [continues 661 words]
Dear Straight Talk: Can you tell me if DMT is safe? Articles I've read in Spirituality & Health magazine seem to indicate it is probably OK to use for a mind-expanding, healing experience. But I'm wary. I've heard there are different types of DMT and that some are hard to recover from. I took sacred mushrooms in Mexico and it was an extremely healing and helpful experience, but the dose was small. I'm an elder. I know wisdom can be obtained from sacred plants with a qualified guide, but it's not worth having a bad reaction or messing up my mind. [continues 765 words]
It's Not a Hippie Fantasy; Drugs Like LSD Could Have Real Medical Benefits Patients and potheads alike rejoiced a few weeks ago when the District of Columbia Council voted to legalize medical marijuana use. The unanimous decision adds D.C. to the 13 states that have already circumvented national legislation in order to allow doctors to write prescriptions for the infamous herb. (Maryland does not sanction medical marijuana but allows drug defendants to cite medicinal need as a potential mitigating factor.) [continues 575 words]
Research on Psychedelic Drug Prescriptions Not Solution to Mental, Physical Problems Thank God for the '60s and all it brought to American history books: bell-bottoms, tie-dye, troll dolls, Chinese fire drills, Woodstock, Twister, lava lamps, free love and LSD; God Bless America. Though many of these fads have faded out - some that are not missed, i.e., the bouffant hairdo and platform shoes - hallucinogens are coming back for another trip ... no pun intended. Once taboo, hallucinogens are now being tested for medicinal purposes, as they are thought to cure the negative side effects of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, life-threatening anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction to illegal substances. Just a thought, but how are people suffering from cocaine addiction going to get better by replacing their kilos with shrooms or LSD? Kind of an oxymoron, don't you think? [continues 401 words]
As a retired clinical psychologist, Clark Martin was well acquainted with traditional treatments for depression, but his own case seemed untreatable as he struggled through chemotherapy and other grueling regimens for kidney cancer. Counseling seemed futile to him. So did the antidepressant pills he tried. Nothing had any lasting effect until, at the age of 65, he had his first psychedelic experience. He left his home in Vancouver, Wash., to take part in an experiment at Johns Hopkins medical school involving psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient found in certain mushrooms. [continues 1124 words]
LSD Is Fast Emerging As the Latest Drug of Choice in Geelong's Party Scene. Its re-emergence over the past two months has surprised police, with detectives fearing the region was spearheading a statewide trend towards the hallucinogenic drug. Police are also preparing to tackle the drug's popularity by targeting it during raids for other illicit substances. Regional crime adviser Acting Superintendent Gary Bruce said police had noticed that people selling LSD also had cannabis, cocaine and amphetamines but the acid was much cheaper. [continues 293 words]
The Government's leading drugs expert is listed as an adviser to a charitable foundation, headed by an aristocrat, which promotes medicinal use of LSD. Professor Les Iversen, the head of the official Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), is named on the website of the Beckley Foundation, run by drug liberalisation campaigner Lady Neidpath, who has admitted taking mind-altering substances and accepts hers sons my smoke cannabis. The ACMD is at the centre of a row over the regulation of 'legal high' drug mephedrone - known as Meow Meow - which the Government recently announced it would ban. [continues 439 words]
Among the movies released on video this week is The Men Who Stare at Goats, a dark satire on paranormal research by the U.S. military. The idea was that a soldier with psychic training could kill an enemy by fiercely staring at him and willing his heart to stop. To that end, a secret army research unit experimented by staring at goats that had been de-bleated "for security reasons." SPOILER ALERT: Except for the debleating, the goats came away unharmed. [continues 584 words]
