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Zappa gets grilled by Pennsylvania State Trooper, 1981
01.02.2011
02:32 am
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Zappa smoking the highly addictive drug tobacco.
 
In this video from 1981, Pennsylvania State Trooper Charles Ash discusses music and drugs with Frank Zappa at Manhattan’s Mayfair Regent Hotel.

The video was part of an anti-drug campaign developed for the Pennsylvania public school system. I’m not sure that Zappa’s comments about legalizing drugs is exactly what Ash was hoping for, but the Officer seems so pleased to be in Zappa’s presence he goes along for the ride.

Watching a cop in uniform telling Zappa “the LP you have out right now, ‘One Size Fits All,’ is a personal favorite of mine” is mildly jaw-dropping. Who are the brain police?

I’ve always found it ironic that Zappa was never into drugs and yet his 1966 debut album Freak Out! was a magnet for acidheads everywhere. How many teenyboppers burned that album’s cover into their retinal tissue while tripping on Purple Owsley?  It wasn’t until “We’re Only In It For The Money” that some hippies started to figure out that Zappa was satirizing the counter culture as well as “straights.” The joke was on everybody. “What will you do when the label comes off?”
 

  

 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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01.02.2011
02:32 am
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Salvia Divinorum is not for party people: Take it serious Cyrus
12.29.2010
09:07 pm
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A young Mazatec girl grinding Salvia divinorum.
 
The viral video of Miley Cyrus smoking Salvia Divinorum has brought a lot of attention to this formerly little known psychoactive plant. I doubt that all the media hype will result in positive results on any front. It’s LSD and MDMA all over again.

Salvia has a long tradition of being used and revered by Mexico’s Mazatec shamans for its vision-inducing properties. In recent years, a new generation of researchers have been exploring this magical plant. Salvia has become increasingly available outside of Mexico to anyone who has a desire to try it. But, because Salvia is an unpredictable and powerful hallucinogenic, it hasn’t been the drug of choice for party people. With the publicity arising from Cyrus’s video, that could change. As someone who has experimented with Salvia, I would caution anyone with the intent of trying it to approach Salvia with caution and great respect. It can be an ally or an enemy, depending on the dose you take and the setting in which you take it.

The Salvia experience is short but intense. Unlike LSD, Saliva induces actual hallucinations. With acid, you see objects in a new way, but you don’t see stuff that isn’t there. With Salvia, you see things that are not present in the so-called “real” world. In that respect, it shares some of the same qualities as Peyote. My Salvia trips have been overwhelming out-of-body experiences that were as mystical as they were frightening. In one experience, I was visited by Salvia’s Mescalito: a giant talking green carrot. While the carrot didn’t speak a language I was familiar with, it did manage to communicate on a psychic level a message of harmony and love. The carrot looked scary and its voice was a low intimidating roar, but ultimately the carrot had a good vibe - a psychedelic Jolly Green Giant. The whole experience lasted only a few minutes, but during those minutes I was completely incapacitated. I cannot stress the importance of having someone nearby in case you need some assistance.

I shared some Salvia with a woman friend of mine and she experienced an astral trip that took her to her childhood home on Long Island. She was loving it. But, while she was running across green grass somewhere in the suburbs, I was busy trying to keep her from leaping off the bed and running through the apartment. This is not unusual while tripping on Salvia. People have been known to walk into walls, furniture and human beings while under the plant’s influence. As my friend told me later, she could feel the grass on the front lawn of her home, smell the chlorine in the swimming pool and hear distant children laughing. As she was joyously reliving her past, I was her body’s caretaker.

Salvia is hot right now. Websites selling Salvia are trying to exploit the Miley Cyrus connection to make a quick buck. Thousands of unsuspecting people are going to take a casual approach to Salvia and end up having “trips” that are more than they bargained for. It is a mighty plant that imparts certain knowledge and insight to those ready to receive it. Salvia has the potential to be a teaching tool and a facilitator for spiritual insight. But, based on my experience, one thing it definitely is not is a recreational drug. Granted, I took strong concentrations of Salvia, but according to everything I’ve read and heard, Salvia even in low doses can knock you for a loop. So, be careful. As I said, approach this plant with respect.

The following documentary is a glimpse into the world of Salvia Divinorum. Not very scientific, but fascinating.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.29.2010
09:07 pm
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The rise and fall of LSD: Fascinating documentary on acid
12.28.2010
04:25 pm
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The Beyond Within is a well-balanced two part documentary on LSD featuring Albert Hoffman, Ken Kesey and British politician Christopher Mayhew.

While the entire documentary is filled with absorbing insights, The Mayhew segment is particularly fascinating.

Media and public interest in LSD reached a point in the early 60’s that a politician by the name of Christopher Mayhew agreed to undergo an experiment, and for this experiment to be filmed by the BBC. This fascinating experiment involved his taking a dose of Mescalin in the company of a physician, and answering certain basic brainteasers over the course of his little trip. The footage of his experience is extraordinary, as this eloquent upper-class aristocrat describes what he is experiencing under the influence of the drug, his eyes wide as saucers. Indeed, the footage proved too controversial for the BBC at the time, and was not shown until this Everyman documentary broadcast it in the 1980’s. Interestingly, Mayhew, who in 1986 was a member of the House of Lords, watches the footage, 30 years later, and stands by his description of the experience. “I had an experience in time” he says, and his conviction is apparent.”

There has been a recent resurgence of interest in psychedelics within the psychiatric and scientific community and I personally think it’s about time. The benefits of psychoactive drugs, DMT and LSD in particular, far outweigh the hazards. It’s time to make pharmaceutical quality LSD available to adults who want an alternative path to mental well-being and spiritual insight. We need to re-approach this extraordinary chemical without hysteria and hype.

Made in 1986 for BBC television, The Beyond Within explores the rise and fall of LSD.  Here it is in its entirety.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.28.2010
04:25 pm
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Buckfast the ‘Commotion Lotion’ of Scotland’s Working Class
12.28.2010
04:12 pm
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The author Evelyn Waugh once described New Year’s Eve as ‘‘drunk men being sick on a pavement in Glasgow,” which is probably true, for part of the great Scottish tradition of Hogmanay is to get drunk, though being sick is non-obligatory. Amongst the fine selection of alcohol chosen by Scots to celebrate the arrival of 2011 (especially for Glaswegians, or Weedgees), is a tipple made by Benedictine monks at Buckfast Abbey in Devon.

Buckfast is a fortified wine first produced by the monks in 1890 from a French recipe. It was first sold in small quantities as a medicinal tonic under the advertising slogan:

“Three small glasses a day, for good health and lively blood.”

In 1927, the monks lost their license to sell this medicinal plonk, so the Abbot negotiated a deal with a wine merchant to distribute their booze the length and breadth of the United Kingdom. Its recipe was changed to make it more palatable, and Buckfast, or Buckie as it is known colloquially, became the drink of choice amongst the working class, low-rent bohemians, NEDs (non-educated delinquents) and soccer fans.

Buckie is cheap, potent and effective for inebriation. It is also sweet-tasting and is highly caffeinated - one bottle contains the equivalent to eight cups of instant coffee. Recently, various politicians have called for a ban on Buckfast in Scotland, as it was claimed the “Commotion Lotion” has been responsible for anti-social behavior, as the New York Times reported:

..a survey last year of 172 prisoners at a young offenders’ institution, 43 percent of the 117 people who drank alcohol before committing their crimes said they had drunk Buckfast. In a study of litter in a typical housing project, 35 percent of the items identified were Buckfast bottles.

A BBC TV investigation into Police figures revealed:

...the drink was mentioned in 5,638 crime reports in Strathclyde from 2006-2009, equating to three a day on average.

One in 10 of those offences were violent and the bottle was used as a weapon 114 times in that period.

Against this goes the argument from the wine merchants, who say Buckfast is but one of many alcoholic drinks available, of which Buckie represents only 0.58% of total alcohol sales - which is, to be fair, but a piss in the Ocean.

Back in the early 1990s, writer and broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove produced an excellent arts magazine series for Channel 4, called Halfway to Paradise. It was launching pad for many talents including Hollywood director, Jim Gillespie and producer, Nicola Black. In this short clip, Cosgrove examines the history of the famed drink and its culture. Since then, and with the advent of YouTube and camera ‘phones, fans of Buckfast have developed a new trend - the Buckfast Challenge, where devotees to the “Coatbridge Table Wine” down a bottle in seconds. The record, for those interested, is seven seconds. Happy Hogmanay.
 

 
Buckfast drunk in seven seconds, after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
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12.28.2010
04:12 pm
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The fundamentalist war on Santa the psychedelic shaman

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At first, Christian fundamentalist group Repent Amarillo’s recent charming video of their firing-squad execution of a Santa piñata in the name of putting the Savior back in to the holiday seems typical.

But after reading Canadian cannabis activist Dana Larsen’s 2003 article on the apparent psychotropic and shamanic origins of Santa Claus and many other Christmas traditions, it made some deeper sense to me.

Skip down to the explanatory vid…

According to Larsen, the Lapps of modern-day Finland and the Koyak tribes of the central Russian steppes had holy men in their ranks who regularly imbibed the hallucinogenic red & white amanita muscaria mushroom (also known as “fly agaric”). These ‘shrooming shamen proved to be the model of the figure we now know as Santa Claus.

Larsen also contends that the Christmas tree was originally seen as a “World Tree”, typically a fir or evergreen, species under which the amanita muscaria mushroom thrived:

The World Tree was seen as a kind of cosmic axis, onto which the planes of the universe are fixed. The roots of the World Tree stretch down into the underworld, its trunk is the “middle earth” of everyday existence, and its branches reach upwards into the heavenly realm.

So, of course, the North Star around which all stars seemed to revolve was always aligned with the top of the tree—thus the star on top of the modern Christmas tree. These ancients also saw the magic mushroom springing up as “virgin births” seeded by the morning dew, which is symbolized by the tinsel on the tree. Trippy, eh?

Also:

  • In the highly stoned eyes of these shamen, amanita muscara-eating reindeer appeared to, well, fly.
  • Santa wears the red-and-white outfit of the original mushroom gatherers, his ruddy glow is an effect of the ‘shrooms, and like most shamen, used the central smoke hole (chimney) of his animal-skin shelter as an entrance or exit.
  • Oh and those mostly red, bulbous ornaments on the tree? Those symbolize the ‘shrooms red caps, which the ancients used to dry on the trees.

Below is the least campy video I could find that draws a bunch of the connections between Santa and the ‘shroom. Enjoy!
 


 
Thanks to Lexie T. for the heads-up!

Posted by Ron Nachmann
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12.23.2010
12:09 am
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The real story about Mark Sandman’s death
12.21.2010
02:26 pm
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On his blog, “You And What Army,” Michael Azerrad lays to rest the drug rumors regarding the death of the man behind Morphine, Mark Sandman.

Morphine singer-bassist Mark Sandman died of cardiac arrest onstage in Palestrina, Italy, on July 3, 1999.  And that’s pretty much everything almost anybody knows about the circumstances of his death.  None of the accounts of the incident ever explained how such a thing could have happened to a vital 46-year-old man.  And so rumors started.

In light of the fact that there wasn’t any official word on why it happened, and the band, friends and family were too grief-stricken to talk, any explanation seemed to be fair game.  Maybe it was because Sandman was a rock musician, maybe because of his preternaturally laconic manner, maybe it was simply because his band was called Morphine, but some people jumped to the conclusion that drugs were involved.  If so, cocaine would be a good guess — too much and it stops your heart. Many musicians have died of cocaine-related heart attacks: the Pretenders’ James Honeyman-Scott, soul giant David Ruffin, Quiet Riot singer Kevin DuBrow, the Who’s bassist John Entwistle, and on and on. You could probably throw in comedians Chris Farley and Mitch Hedberg too.  It was an educated guess, but it was only that — a guess.

In the course of reviewing the upcoming documentary, Cure for Pain: The Mark Sandman Story, I noted that the otherwise fine film doesn’t answer the most basic question surrounding Sandman’s demise, namely, why did it happen?  A work of long-form journalism about a man’s life should surely be a little more illuminating about his death.  It didn’t address, much less refute, the rumors.  I’ve since been in touch with Sandman’s former girlfriend Sabine Hrechdakian, who’s a friend of mine, and his former bandmate Dana Colley.  They’re keen to set the record straight, so I offered to tell their story.”

Read the entire story by clicking here.

On a personal note, Mark and I came to know each other back in the eighties and while I shared an occasional drink with him I never saw or knew of Mark doing drugs. I’d always hoped his sudden death wasn’t drug-related. Azerrad makes a compelling case that it was not.
 
Via YAWA
 
Previously on DM: Mark Sandman’s Cure For Pain

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.21.2010
02:26 pm
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12 foreign objects removed from drug dealer’s pet hippopotamus
12.15.2010
09:32 pm
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Actual objects found inside the body of Pepe, dead drug czar Pablo Escobar’s pet hippopotamus. Through no fault of his own, Pepe was executed in 2009 by a government death squad.

Illustration by Dan Zettwoch.

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.15.2010
09:32 pm
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Marijuana Christmas Tree
12.09.2010
02:28 pm
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The person who owns this tree is most definitely having a collie, jolly Christmas this year.

Oh, and in case you didn’t know, this happened: Marijuana Christmas Tree Seized In Germany

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.09.2010
02:28 pm
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Your Kid’s On Drugs
12.07.2010
01:28 pm
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Apparently, doing drugs will turn you into Madonna and give you a runny nose.

“Just take a look at yourself in the mirror. I mean, you really wanna run around looking like this Madonna person?”

(via Publique)

Posted by Tara McGinley
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12.07.2010
01:28 pm
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‘Ganjasaurus Rex’: Pot smoking Godzilla terrorizes Humboldt hippies
12.07.2010
12:59 am
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DEA agents burn a shitload of confiscated weed and the resulting cloud of cannabis smoke gets the attention of pothead dinosaur Ganjasaurus Rex in this stoner epic from 1987.

“Potzilla, Potzilla!”

Ganjasaurus Rex is out of print, but Amazon has got a copy here for $85. I’ll wait for The Criterion release.
 

Posted by Marc Campbell
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12.07.2010
12:59 am
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