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New Scientist: "Altered States: Getting High is Only Human" -- FANTASTIC read!

VelocideX

VelocideX

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New Scientist: "Altered States: Getting High is Only Human" -- FANTASTIC read!

There is an UNREAL read in the latest issue of New Scientist (#2473, 13 November 2004). It argues that intoxication is an integral part of human experience, and that the drug problem will never be resolved whilst politics continues to deny that drug taking is fun:

p38
PLeasure, excitement, therapy, novelty: seen in this light, the pursuit of intoxication looks very different from its standard portrayal as a pathological drive that must be supressed before it leads to harm, addiction and squalor. Yet the mainstream debate on drugs, alcohol and tobacco seems unable to acknowledge that there is anything positive to say about intoxication. Instead it is locked into a sterile argument between prohibitionists and those who want to reduce the harmful effects by, for example, making heroin available on prescription. Both groups start from the belief that psychoactive substances are inherently harmful...
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There's a number of good quotes from Rick Doblin, MAPS

Perhaps even more scandalously on page 40, amongst a description of the various classes of drugs:
[in relation to Ecstasy] ...effects last for several hours and are followed by an equally lengthy period of lethargy and mild depression. MDMA is not toxic per se but can cause death due to overheating and dehydration...
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I can't believe that just got printed.

Really good article, and presents a cogent and very believable case that drugs are part of our culture, and will be here to stay

p 38
Overall its hard not to conclude that the vast majority of people are current or former users of psychoactive substances [which includes caffeine]. The clinching figure, of course, would be one for "lifetime abstinence", the percentage of people who had never, ever taken anything that alters their consciousness. But it appeas that no one has ever worked out such a figure, perhaps because, to all intents and purposes, it is zero.
Click to expand...
 
Seriously, go find it. Buy a copy, its $5.95 in Aus. Cheaper than a week's worth of Daily Telegraphs, and of immensely greater value. Same price as a drink whilst out :)

I'd retype the article, but that would take ages, and would infringe copyright more than I would like.
 
I'm not 100% sure, but I think NS re-post some of their older articles on their website once they are off the news stands.... keep an eye out on www.newscientist.com.

(or atleast, they used to do it.,....)
 
They do repost them but you need access to the new scientist archive, which means you need to be a current paying member :p
 
Would a larger univeristy be* likely to have a subscription to the NS's database/journals/articles?
 
Possibly, though if you're not too poor its only $5.9, though I guess the latest issue would be out by now

Most libraries would have a subscription i'd imagine... photocopy away
 
I've access to New Scientist (England) via Proquest, but the latest update only goes to Nov 5th. I'll try next week.
 
Damn!
Until last month, I was able to read New Scientist every week because dad had a subscription to it. Now I moved and can't read the article.
 
New Scientist is such a kick ass magazine when I can be bothered reading it.

I will actually urgently get my hands on that...looks like it might help witht he empirical side of my dissertation :D
 
My S/O told me this ages ago that its normal to get high, just as animals do in the bush.. apparently they eat some of the plants that have substances in them to get high!

Seems we all love gettin high. :p
 
Wasn't able to get it last week, picked it up yesterday at a newsagent. Looks great.
 
Makes complete sense to me. Thats one of the reasons i take drugs. To escape from reality for a while, relax, enjoy myself and not have to worry about the other committments in my life.
 
^i'm in total agreeance with that. They make me feel good, and I have a great time whilst on drugz. I can forget the stresses of this fast-paced world for a night. Drugz are definately integral to my experience as a human! =D
 
New scientist has been really good on thi issue for quite a while now. I was an avid reader and was subscribed when i used to have time to read.. I believe they are the ones that debunked the whole 'Hole in the brain' photos when they got independant scientists to review the datasets etc?

Always a top read.
 
The holes in brains thing was never credibly accepted. It was a misinterpretation of a highly technical brain scan by laypeople on "Oprah"
 
Yay, I finally got to read the whole article. I thought it was very interesting. Great how it pointed out that two drugs illegal in Australia don't have lethal doses (weed and mdma) and that drugs that are legal (alcahol, nicotine and caffeine) can be lethal.
 
Cool, just noticed another article in an earlier issue that said that a new testing kit is being designed that can diagnose the concentration of mdma in a pill in just 40 seconds.
 
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