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- NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 16:46:05 -0500
- Newsgroups: alt.drugs.psychedelics,alt.answers,news.answers
- Subject: alt.drugs.psychedelics FAQ
- From: quincy@hampstermash.com (Quincy)
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- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu alt.drugs.psychedelics:343906 alt.answers:68656 news.answers:255531
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- Archive-name: drugs/psychedelics/adp-faq
- Maintainer: Quincy <quincy@hampstermash.com>
-
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the newsgroup alt.drugs.psychedelics
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Contents
-
- 1. Introduction
- 2. What subjects are on-topic?
- 3. Are any subjects specifically off-topic?
- 4. What is the meaning of the word "Psychedelic?"
- 5. Flames
- 6. Cross-posting
- 7. Killfiles
- 8. alt.drugs.dxm
- 9. Advertisements
- 10. Miscellaneous Notes
-
- and last but not least...
-
- 11. Useful Psychedelic Drug Links
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 1. Introduction
-
- Welcome to alt.drugs.psychedelics. Here you will find a diverse crowd of
- scientists and hedonists, artists and anarchists, poets and philosophers.
-
- Psychedelic drugs are consciousness-altering plants or chemicals which
- induce changes in sensory perception. They have been used throughout human
- history as a component of religious and spiritual practice.
-
- Psychedelics are being studied as an adjunct to traditional psychotherapy,
- for their ability to provide patients with intuitive insights into their
- own condition.
-
- The effects of psychedelics are heavily influenced by "set" and "setting,"
- the pre-existing mindset of the user and the environment in which the
- substance is consumed.
-
- Psychedelic drugs should not be confused with narcotics such as heroin, CNS
- depressants such as barbiturates, or stimulants such as cocaine and
- amphetamines.
-
- alt.drugs.psychedelics supports a humane approach to drug laws and
- education known as "Harm Reduction." Billions of dollars are spent
- worldwide on drug prevention and eradication programs, with the effect
- that... people are still using drugs. Rather than ignoring and condemning
- users, harm reduction advocates focus upon minimizing the negative health
- and social consequences of drug use. Harm reduction does not attempt to
- deny or understate the real dangers associated with licit and illicit drug
- use.
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 2. What subjects are on-topic?
-
- Primary topics include dosage and effects, plant identification and
- cultivation, health and safety issues, drug laws and politics. Secondary
- topics relate to the culture of Psychedelia and include philosophy and
- spirituality, music and poetry.
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 3. Are any subjects specifically off-topic?
-
- Illegal drug transactions or solicitations are prohibited.
- Drug newsgroups are regularly monitored by law enforcement.
- Know and be responsible for your country's laws.
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 4. What is the meaning of the word "Psychedelic?"
-
- In 1956 the favored clinical term for drugs such as LSD was
- "psychotomimetic," meaning "mimics states of psychosis." Psychiatrist
- Humphrey Osmond felt this was a loaded definition. Osmond felt there was
- much we could learn from these substances and altered states of
- consciousness, that reducing these experiences to mere pathological
- delusion would inhibit our study. So he coined the less judgmental term
- "psychedelic," from Greek roots meaning "mind-manifesting."
-
- Neologism:
- 1. A new word, expression, or usage.
- 2. The creation or use of new words or senses.
- 3. Psychiatry. A meaningless word used by a psychotic.
- 4. Theology. A new doctrine or a new interpretation of scripture.
- -- American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition
-
- Q. Which specific drugs are considered "Psychedelic?"
-
- Early psychedelic writers such as Aldous Huxley elucidated their
- experiences with LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline, these trip reports formed
- the basis of the public's perception of "psychedelic" effects. Many
- psychoactive drugs have been discovered since that time, their psychedelic
- properties are generally measured by comparison with these standards.
-
- alt.drugs.psychedelics has never reached a consensus definition based upon
- either chemistry or effects, however here is a generalized summary of
- opinion:
-
- All consider Psychedelic: LSD, Psilocybin, Mescaline, DMT.
- Some consider Psychedelic: DXM, Ketamine, Salvia Divinorum,
- Ibogaine, Datura.
-
- Marijuana and MDMA are sometimes considered mild psychedelics.
-
- In the broadest public sense "psychedelic" is interpreted to mean "wildly
- colorful," a reference to the kaleidoscopic visual hallucinations which
- such drugs sometimes provide. The word "psychedelic" is also occasionally
- utilized to characterize the 1960s hippie culture, or describe a musical
- genre.
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 5. Flames
-
- Q. Why is there so much arguing on this newsgroup? I thought psychedelics
- were about Peace, Love, Understanding and Respect?
-
- Psychedelic users are an extremely diverse group, there are few topics we
- will ever unanimously agree upon. Through our battles we learn to make
- peace with each other, and thereby discover peace within ourselves.
-
- A major cause of friction stems from textual communication's lack of visual
- and audible cues. Usenet's relative anonymity seems to embolden many
- posters, who compose offensive statements they would never say directly to
- someone's face.
-
- Tactful posting requires that you think twice before pressing the "send"
- button. If your only contribution to a discussion is to submit the opinion
- "that is the lamest thing I have ever heard," then perhaps you are better
- off not sending the post. And no, slapping a smiley face at the end of your
- sentence does not automatically absolve you of all sin, otherwise the
- following statement would be a hilarious joke:
-
- You are a fucking asshole ;-)
-
- When arguing online, please employ minimum force operations to limit
- collateral damage. Keep the fights short, don't destroy the group in order
- to save it.
-
- Here is an example of how to sap your villainous opponent's mojo: get him
- to waste his time accomplishing absolutely nothing. If there is some idiot
- you absolutely must torture, send him on a fool's errand. Follow these
- instructions carefully:
-
- http://www-csag.ucsd.edu/individual/pakin/idiot/chapter1.html
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 6. Cross-posting
-
- A cross-posted message is automatically mirrored to more than one
- newsgroup. An example would be if you wished to write one message regarding
- drug legislation and have it posted simultaneously to both
- alt.drugs.psychedelics and alt.drugs.hard.
-
- When you see a user who has cross-posted to wildly inappropriate groups,
- such as alt.drugs.psychedelics and alt.abortion, it is usually a sign that
- the poster is deliberately attempting to stir up trouble.
-
- When replying to any message, please check the "Newsgroups:" header line
- and manually remove any undesired cross-posted groups BEFORE pressing
- "Send."
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 7. Killfiles
-
- Freedom of Speech vs. Freedom of Listening
-
- Unmoderated forums strive to provide freedom of speech and equal rights for
- all. However there will always be individuals who abuse this freedom, who
- post for the express purpose of:
-
- 1. Provoking angry responses
- 2. Promoting a personal agenda unrelated to psychedelic drugs
-
- The abusive poster has nothing better to do all day than attempt to disrupt
- Usenet. When you respond to his post, HE WINS!!! You have provided him the
- negative attention he seeks, he has succeeded in his goal and will
- continue.
-
- If you hear yourself saying "Well, someone needs to remove this poster for
- his abusive behavior," then YOU ARE THAT SOMEONE. You can exercise your own
- freedom of listening by configuring your newsreader software to ignore and
- discard all messages from a particular author.
-
- Once you have placed an author in your "killfile," his posts will no longer
- appear in your newsreader browser window.
-
- Some posters publicly announce additions to their killfile with the message
- "<plonk>" (this is supposed to represent the sound created by dropping
- someone into your killfile). Others believe that killfiling should be
- performed silently and privately.
-
-
- Outlook Express v5 or v6, Simple killfile:
-
- 1. From the message list, highlight any message written by the person you
- wish to killfile (single-click upon the message to highlight it, do not
- double-click to open it).
-
- 2. Choose "Block Sender..." from the "Message" menu.
-
- If you are using Outlook Express v4, killfilter instructions
- are described here:
-
- How to Filter Newsgroup Messages in Outlook Express
- http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q171/2/33.asp
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 8. alt.drugs.dxm
-
- Due to the popular legal availability of dextromorphan and the controversy
- surrounding it, DXM related posts have occasionally reached 80% of
- alt.drugs.psychedelics total traffic. As a side effect this can suffocate
- discussion of other psychedelic drugs. If 80% of the posts on "alt.auto"
- were about Mercedes brand autos, it would be time to move some of the
- discussion to "alt.auto.mercedes". The newsgroup "alt.drugs.dxm" is
- available for those who wish to participate.
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 9. Advertisements
-
- Messages promoting commercial products and services are generally
- unwelcome.
- Those who wish to register their displeasure at unsolicited advertising
- should vote with their wallet, and refuse to patronize the offending
- businesses.
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 10. Miscellaneous Notes
-
- Usenet newsgroups are not ideally suited for fast paced, one-liner repartee
- such as practiced on IRC chat rooms and instant messenger systems.
- Important on-topic posts are quickly crowded out by a flood of one-liner
- chat. Usenet's strength over instant messaging systems rests in its slower
- pace, a more reflective and thoughtful style of writing, a smaller number
- of posts so as not to overload the newsreader threading interface.
-
- AVOID POSTING IN ALL UPPER CAPS!
- IT MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A SCREAMING IDIOT,
- BUT I GUESS THAT'S YOUR PREROGATIVE.
-
- Do not correct users' grammar or spelling. This is not a Spelling Bee.
-
- Finally, invest some time getting to know the flavor of our group before
- posting. Lurk and learn.
-
- For further information regarding netiquette, please visit:
-
- Introduction to Usenet and Netiquette (from NewsWatcher manual)
- http://www.smfr.org/mtnw/docs/Usenet.html
-
- See you online!
-
-
- ------------------------------
-
- 11. Useful Psychedelic Drug Links
-
- General Drug Information (Portals):
-
- Erowid's Psychoactive Vaults
- http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives
-
- Erowid needs your financial support. If you benefit from this site,
- please consider making a donation or becoming a member.
-
- The Lycaeum Entheogen Database
- http://leda.lycaeum.org
-
- The Schaffer Psychedelic Library
- http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/lsdmenu.htm
-
-
- Health and Medical:
-
- Psychedelic Crisis FAQ (Handling a Bad Trip)
- http://erowid.org/psychoactives/faqs/psychedelic_crisis_faq.shtml
-
- Interactions between Hallucinogens and Antidepressants
- http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/maois_info4.shtml
-
- Interactions between MAOIs, SSRIs, and Recreational Drugs
- http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/maois_info8.shtml
-
- Experimental Research Chemical FAQ by Murple
- http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/research_chems/research_chems.shtml
-
- Erowid's Guide to DXM in nonprescription drugs
- http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_info2.shtml
-
-
- Law and Politics:
-
- Basic Facts About the War on Drugs by Clifford A. Schaffer
- http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/basicfax.htm
-
-
- Newsgroup Access via Web Interface:
-
- Google.com - alt.drugs.psychedelics
- http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=alt.drugs.psychedelics
-