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  • AADD Moderators: swilow | Vagabond696

"Ecstasy users share data on Net" - courier mail

Its simple. To who ever wrote this article consider this:
People will take drugs, illegal or not. No matter how bad the punishment they face, they will still do it.
Now we can either:
EDUCATE them about what they are taking, how to do it as 'safely' as possible and arm them with as much information
or
Tell them its bad, hide them from the world and they go out and get ruined by some dodgy drug dealer selling PMA.
We ALL know it's never 100% safe, but why not give everyone here as much info as possible. I cannot tell you the wealth of knowledge I have gained from these people. Things I thought were OK I now know are VERY un-safe. We may be internet buddies but a lot of us are friends and have built strong friendships through this medium. MOST of us here are concerned for the saftely and well being of others, even if we have never met them.
And remember this. We're not just little ravers popping pills here. We are all around. Your boss, Your work collegue, your sister, your brother, the garbage man... We are from all levels of society.
Why shut down something that helps others make an educated shot at doing it safe when doing something that brings them together?
Just remember this article you wrote when your kid takes drugs. Just remember that finding info on drugs is not dangerous. Lack of education is.
And Assuming we promote drug use?
Assumption is the mother of all fuckups. :)
 
Exactly along the lines of what i was thinking blufluffybunny.
But its more than just safety. Advice is given on aspects of users' health; physical, mental and emotional; and general aspects of ones life and how the negative effects of drug use may impact on this.
If someone is travelling down the wrong path, has serious concerns about their own drug use etc, Bluelight is here to help. Bluelighters have been there and know the ins and outs of what we do; many of us research this subject as a scientist would but we also offer something more personal; the life experiences also.
It doesnt take long for people to figure out who to listen to what not to take as gospel.
As for manipulating younger people into using drugs i would argue that responsible Bluelighters are the first ones to intelligently ensure young drug users are educating themselves and getting a deeper understanding of what they are doing. Ignorance is attempted to be corrected asap and anyone thinking this is "cool without consequences" or who stupidly pushes the boundaries is dealt with harshly.
Anyone wanting to comment on recreational drug use and all that goes with it would be better off engaging in regular communication with some of our more enlightened members (you know who u r) than looking elsewhere.
The pillreports front page is perfect; thanks JB for your continued fantastic efforts.
 
well i'm now making a complaint to the Press Council about all of this. Spoke to Jack Herman from the Press Council today and he has said that there may well be grounds for a complaint. The issues in question are right of reply, slander and copywright. Naturally I'll keep you all informed.
 
You go girl :)
Bluelight is not a simple high.
Its a life and learning experience.
It takes users and makes them thinkers.
Chem.
[ 26 April 2002: Message edited by: ChEmIcaL_NiGhT ]
 
Good on ya JB, bet ya they didn't see that coming. I wish i was more motivated to take action when i see such bullshit and unresearched materials in papers and magazines up here. Coz there are heaps of them round... but they dont refer to BL and pill reports i guess... I hope you get a case.
 
to the editor of MX:
Dear Sir
My name is John Davidson and I am one of the administrators of the website www.pillreports.com
MX featured a story about my website on the front page of your 22/04/02 edition. My website was not mentioned by name, but all of the accompanying quotes were taken directly from the site.
For example, this section:
'User "property magnate" said he "began to feel loved up, then fingers wouldn't stop clapping against my palms" 45 minutes after taking the tablet.
He said he experienced "major eye wobbles" and clenching of his jaw, but "couldn't get the smile off my face".'
was taken from this report:
http://www.pillreports.com/viewpill.php3?sub=-1&area=3&id=23767
The story also quoted Australian Drug Foundation spokeswoman Anne Learmonth saying this:
"Unfortunately, these kinds of websites are all too common.
"They are usually run by older people who are out to manipulate young people, knowing they are big users of the Internet."
I spoke with Anne on 23/4/02, and she stated that she had never heard of pillreports.com, or our sister-site www.bluelight.ru. She said that she was asked to speak generally about sites that promoted drug use.
We have a strong objection to being portrayed in this light especially when no right of reply has been given. Bluelight/Pillreports neither condones nor condemns the use of any illegal drug, but we recognize that illicit substances will be used regardless of their illegality. We are facilitating the open exchange of information so users can make more informed decisions regarding their use.
In the Courier Mail article of 21/04/21 (on which your story was largely based) 'Drug and Alcohol Foundation spokesman Bob Aldred said the sites were in line with harm minimisation strategies.
"We should be trying to give as much information to drug users as we possibly can, not to encourage them to use more but to reduce the risk that they may suffer," Mr Aldred said.'
Somehow this quote never made it into your story. Neither, of course, did our side of the story. At no time we were asked for input. A specifically Australian contact email address has always been on the front page of our site, but this was not used. During a phone conversation with Kamahl Cogdon on 23/04/02 I was told that no contact was made as there was only 30 minutes in which to do the story, and that it was our fault since we had no phone contact.
Is 30 minutes the usual time spent on a front page story, about such a serious issue as drug use? 30 minutes would have been barely enough time to retype the Courier Mail article and make that one phone call to Anne Learmonth. No effort was made to even attempt to contact us. Kamahl Cogdon stated that she felt it wasn't necessary as we weren't being identified by name. We feel that the it is obvious to a great many people which site is being discussed, and that by putting quotes as inflammatory as Anne's in the same story is grounds for complaint.
This is not the first time your newspaper group has printed such material about our site, and denied us the right of reply.
In the 12/08/01 edition of the Sunday Herald Sun the story "Website pushes illegal drug use" by Mandi Zonneveldt discussed our site. In that story the following quote was made:
'Drug-Arm Victoria spokesman Graeme Rule likened the information on the site to paedophiles promoting their activities on the Internet. '
After the publication of this story I contacted Mandi Zonneveldt and provided her with our contact details, and asked that if any further stories were done, especially contain such emotional charge, that we please be contacted first. I expressed to her our concern at being compared in such a way with no chance to make our side of the story be known. She said that our details would be placed on file and be made available to anyone doing follow up stories. This was either not done, or MX didn't bother to consult it's sister newspaper, or (more likely considering the time frame) simply no effort was made to find these details.
Frankly we are fed up with being slandered in this way. There has been no chance of any dialogue or debate, these stories have simply been attack pieces on what, presumably, you feel are defenceless targets. In this presumption you are wrong. We are more than happy to take this out into the open, and seek dialogue and exposure.
Does MX have a letters to the editor section? I'm sorry I don't read it often enough to know for sure but I thought perhaps it didn't. Should I send a letter of response for publication to your paper, or the Herald Sun? We are not seeking publicity for the site, and would agree to have the site's name/address left off, but we do want to try and achieve some balance on this issue.
Today (26/04/02) I spoke with Jack Herman of the Press Council and outlined the events so far He felt we had cause for complaint and asked that we forward to him copies of the stories in question and all correspondence between ourselves and your paper, including this email. It is my hope that I can send him some further correspondence between us, to show that a dialogue is happening, before we get to the formal complaint stage.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours
John Davidson
Administrator - Pillreports and Bluelight
Click to expand...
 
As for manipulating younger people into using drugs i would argue that responsible Bluelighters are the first ones to intelligently ensure young drug users are educating themselves and getting a deeper understanding of what they are doing. Ignorance is attempted to be corrected asap and anyone thinking this is "cool without consequences" or who stupidly pushes the boundaries is dealt with harshly.
Exactly Biscuit.
It is obvious sites like this are saving peoples lives (and brains) when you see the questions and comments asked by some people when they are new to the site. More than just drug harm minimisation, Bluelight actually provides people with somewhere to ask questions they would never ask anyone in person. Some drug users ask questions about physical/pshychological problems they have, and assume it is a common side effect from a particular drug they are taking. Often the response from Bluelighters is "Go to the hospital/doctor/pshychologist, you need professional advice as what you are experiencing is not normal." It scares me to think of what would happen to these people if they hadn't been given good advice on Bluelight.
The police/government refuse to tell the public what logo is on a pill when they discover a batch that contains potentially dangerous chemicals. Bluelight/pillreports are resources that encourage safety and communication amongs people. It's a community service dammit :)
Bless your little heart Johnboy
(don't bash me for being plurry :( )
Click to expand...
 
Wow! :D Go Johnboy! I'm in awe, it's about time someone did something about the half-arsed articles parading around as "News"
No longer will I feel boiling-point frustration after reading articles, instead I'll smile and think about the letter u wrote to MX :D
 
Nice one , but i can nevr see the fukin papers letting us have tell our side of the story. if only we could tell newspaper readers how much the newspaper "manipulates" its stories to affect its readers a certain way, and how "mOST" ppl on this board are generally putting a big effort in ensuring the safety of others. Its only a select few who come on this board to maniupulate ppl and those ppl are normally found out within the day once some1 replies with the correct information.
 
johnboy, your a deadset legend. Theres heeps of us out here who dont have the motovation that you do, and we salute you. i am inspired by you. Keep up the good work buddy.
:)
 
Good work Johnboy. It is the tireless work that people like you perform behind the scenes that keeps Bluelight and Pill Reports alive for all of us learn from. The rest of us take it for granted.
 
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Household cleaning products? hey if i mas Mcguyver i could make an atomic bomb!!!!
If I submitted these articles as a year 10 english assignment i would get an F
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[ 26 April 2002: Message edited by: snugglepuss ]
 
jb, love your werk son!!.. I bet you that took u more the 30mins ;) was more informative then both articles combined :)
dude, seriously.. Mr. Bluelight goes tooo.....
*drum roll*
jb!!!!!!!!...
/me seconds KDM
[ 26 April 2002: Message edited by: deeCee1 ]
 
good work everyone.
special props to JOHNBOY for the relentless work.
the medias portrayal of drug-related issues is unobjective too many times. we need to stand up to it.
again, great work JB
z.
 
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