Hypnic_JerK
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2006
- Messages
- 674
All the regulars on this board have surely noticed a rift starting to form between “responsible” psychonauts and “irresponsible” thrill seeking IDIOTS. It is my fondest desire to help heal the rift with this drug_induced_rant of a post.
The Straight Dope on Research Chemicals
Research chemicals, in this context, refer to the multitudes of compounds synthesized by Shulgin and his co-conspirators. Some feel that you can’t lump them all into a group, but please, bear with me.
Research Chemicals all have a few things in common:
I think all but the gayest_of_hitlers will be able to agree on the above facts. It’s the ramifications of those facts which fruit disagreement.
The fact that these drugs come in a miniscule powder means there is plenty of room for error in the dosing process. Everyone who takes these drugs without weighing them, themselves, on a high quality analytical balance really has no room to talk about safety, as they are throwing the dice every time they dose. Some people with a harm reduction mindset believe they are OK because when the baggie of powder came in the mail they carefully dissolved it in a known quantity of liquid and can dose like that because, fool, ions distribute themselves equally! This is a false belief, because it is a well documented fact that suppliers often send a different amount of powder than was ordered. The don’t want to spend hours shifting grains of dust, instead they’ll just make your bag “fat” and oops, you’re dosing yourself with an unknown amount of chemical.
I believe that the above should make many users reflect that maybe they don’t have room to preach safety, because their own safety is an illusion.
A sizeable group of people exist which own their own scales and measure their chemicals accurately. Unfortunately, this is the real world and they aren’t actually dealing with a known chemical! Actually, there have been times when suppliers have messed up synthesizes, misshipped chemicals, and believe it or not some fuckers are just in it for the cheese (paper) and will purposefully fuck with your life to get rich! This means that everyone who doesn’t have access to a gas chromatography machine really has no room to talk about safety, unless they or their best friend is the chemist, and they feel like placing their life in the hands of fate. There are testing kits available which will give you a ballpark guess at which family of chemical you’re getting, but really that’s just playing the odds like anything else. B-dragonfly and 2cb have slightly different dosages…
Now there are some good souls who’ve read this and think, “well damnit, he has a point, but I do know my chemist and I don’t even think about how he may have messed up.” Alternatively, these folks have a reliable drug test to know what they’re getting. That brings me to the point that these drugs are highly unpredictable and Fuck With Your Head. Even “safe” drugs like Mushrooms have ruined people mentally. Research Chemicals are completely Unknown. So even if you have accurate access to a molecule, THERE IS NO WAY TO TAKE IT SAFELY. From MorningGlorySeed (cautious?) to Myself, no one is really being safe when they take these drugs.
Of course. This is a Harm Reduction forum. But realize, that harm reduction is really just a gambling system, and while it may make your money last, those systems don’t work. YOU aren’t taking psychedelics safely.
With that in mind, lets get along? I believe that we’re all the same blind human animals trying to maybe peek under the corner of the cosmic rug, and goddamnit life is really fucking hard so lets stick together, ok? Please? Rather than condemn those among us who make decisions we don’t personally find appealing, lets send them a prayer, cosmic hug, or fraternal slap on the back. Or a handjob if you’re down
Point out erowid, and the “safe” RC user’s guide. You buy the ticket, you take the ride, Mahalo.
Love,
your perpetually tripping brother
The Straight Dope on Research Chemicals
Research chemicals, in this context, refer to the multitudes of compounds synthesized by Shulgin and his co-conspirators. Some feel that you can’t lump them all into a group, but please, bear with me.
Research Chemicals all have a few things in common:
- They are novel, Unresearched drugs with novel effects.
- When created, they come in powdered form, and are universally active at dosages impossible to ‘eyeball’ safely.
- They all elicit strong psychological reactions (colloquially: They fuck with your Head).
- Finally, for all practical purposes they are illegal to ingest, which makes them subject to the realities of illegal drugs.
I think all but the gayest_of_hitlers will be able to agree on the above facts. It’s the ramifications of those facts which fruit disagreement.
The fact that these drugs come in a miniscule powder means there is plenty of room for error in the dosing process. Everyone who takes these drugs without weighing them, themselves, on a high quality analytical balance really has no room to talk about safety, as they are throwing the dice every time they dose. Some people with a harm reduction mindset believe they are OK because when the baggie of powder came in the mail they carefully dissolved it in a known quantity of liquid and can dose like that because, fool, ions distribute themselves equally! This is a false belief, because it is a well documented fact that suppliers often send a different amount of powder than was ordered. The don’t want to spend hours shifting grains of dust, instead they’ll just make your bag “fat” and oops, you’re dosing yourself with an unknown amount of chemical.
I believe that the above should make many users reflect that maybe they don’t have room to preach safety, because their own safety is an illusion.
A sizeable group of people exist which own their own scales and measure their chemicals accurately. Unfortunately, this is the real world and they aren’t actually dealing with a known chemical! Actually, there have been times when suppliers have messed up synthesizes, misshipped chemicals, and believe it or not some fuckers are just in it for the cheese (paper) and will purposefully fuck with your life to get rich! This means that everyone who doesn’t have access to a gas chromatography machine really has no room to talk about safety, unless they or their best friend is the chemist, and they feel like placing their life in the hands of fate. There are testing kits available which will give you a ballpark guess at which family of chemical you’re getting, but really that’s just playing the odds like anything else. B-dragonfly and 2cb have slightly different dosages…
Now there are some good souls who’ve read this and think, “well damnit, he has a point, but I do know my chemist and I don’t even think about how he may have messed up.” Alternatively, these folks have a reliable drug test to know what they’re getting. That brings me to the point that these drugs are highly unpredictable and Fuck With Your Head. Even “safe” drugs like Mushrooms have ruined people mentally. Research Chemicals are completely Unknown. So even if you have accurate access to a molecule, THERE IS NO WAY TO TAKE IT SAFELY. From MorningGlorySeed (cautious?) to Myself, no one is really being safe when they take these drugs.
Of course. This is a Harm Reduction forum. But realize, that harm reduction is really just a gambling system, and while it may make your money last, those systems don’t work. YOU aren’t taking psychedelics safely.
With that in mind, lets get along? I believe that we’re all the same blind human animals trying to maybe peek under the corner of the cosmic rug, and goddamnit life is really fucking hard so lets stick together, ok? Please? Rather than condemn those among us who make decisions we don’t personally find appealing, lets send them a prayer, cosmic hug, or fraternal slap on the back. Or a handjob if you’re down
Point out erowid, and the “safe” RC user’s guide. You buy the ticket, you take the ride, Mahalo. Love,
your perpetually tripping brother
