Will Harvard drop acid again? Psychedelic research returns to Crimsonland

very interesting read.. thanks sebastian!
it has to happen sooner or later that the gov't will no longer be able to turn away at the demands of the people. Nowadays, it is literally known by everyone that marijuana is harmless and most of these same people are starting to realize all psychedelics are part of a family and dont necessarily ressemble the whole past "image of drugs". People are getting smarter, shifting in consciousness, and trying new things such as psychedelics. These same people are the ones that will bring the psychedelics to light. aka all us bluelighters (except a few) and the rest of the population who consumes marijuana, drinks less alcohol, and is open to new ideas and intelligence. The intellect of our race has boosted enough we are now really "ready" to study these drugs again and not fuck everything up.
 
For the people who don't know, John Halpern was supposedly involved in the kansas missile silo bust. A web search on "halperngate" will yield the interesting article about in in the entheogen review.
 
article above ^ said:
Whatever Halpern did, he got a hundred grand a year from Pickard for three years, delivered in cigar boxes stuffed with cash. Savinelli also got a business loan for roughly the same overall amount from Pickard. Under the pressure of his debt, Savinelli says, he was later involved in the relatively pedestrian act of providing Pickard with solvents and glassware, acts which he admitted as a witness for the prosecution. (Hold your horses.) Savinelli did not supply the ergotamine tartrate.

Prior to 2000, the year the bust went down, Savinelli had already fallen out with Pickard because of what he perceived as deeply sketchy behavior, which may or may not have included Pickard dumping trash at his driveway following a mishap that involved Pickard accidentally dousing himself with liquid LSD. In the fall of 1999, Savinelli also warned Halpern to sever ties with Pickard, ties that Halpern chose to retain. "My frustration was that he was going to throw his career away for this stupid stuff. But the lure of fame and money was uncontrollable for him."


starting to think this guy may not do much for our cause afterall.... just another leary but he wont get as far
 
If anything, Halpern's past will help him get DEA approvals. He's their man after all. I've followed the recent research and it's certainly been good science (unlike a great deal of modern research, but I won't get into that lest the funding gods hear me). Because of the controversy that psychedelics bring with them, any study has to be done properly or it will end the career of every researcher involved right down to the grad students. Possibly even the high school kid who cleans up the lab. Which brings us back to Halpern, even if he worked for/with the government, what where the circumstances that led to it? Was his funding threatened? His career? The DEA can be quite persuasive I hear. The important thing is that the work is being done again. I would rather see good science say that psychedelics are the worst thing since Hitler than see the work be left undone.
 
not soon.. enough..

I always read the cheery and optimistic projections of psychedelic enthusiasts (which I am one myself) about the day, not far off the horizon, when psychedelics will be legal for spiritual use and private consumptions, etc. and I think who are we kidding?
The vast majority of people in this country don't know jack shit about psychedelics and they can care even less about enlightenment (unless you include TV-coma). To most people, drugs are drugs. Nevermind that alcohol is a very powerful yet legal drug. It just doesn't dawn on them. Couple that with apathy and you have a formula for the status quo remaining for long ass time to come.
But this article is a glimmer of hope that at least someone is making headway towards change. I just don't see it happening in the next 25-30 years if not longer. But I am secretly hoping I am totally wrong because I truly believe psychedelics can be used for personal growth, spiritual use, psychotherapy with both troubled souls and terminal-case patients... a far cry from the Schedule I classification that the asinine DEA has labeled them as.
 
Innocent until proven guilty. The people of society had their chance to integrate the LSD experience, however, rebellious behavior just feeds instability and we all know stable societies just love rebellions! ;)
 
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