Erowid Extracts D o c u m e n t i n g t h e C o m p l e x R elationship B e t w e e n H u m a n s a n d P sychoactives

May 2015 Number 27

On Kratom • Shulgin Archiving Dispatch • The Customs of a Coca Connoisseur If I Do My Job Well, You Can’t Tell I’m Here • Teatime: Common Sense Letters & Feedback

The wealth of knowledge, the equality, I was absolutely delighted to read The experience reports are so the openness, and the urge for public the article, “A Long Strange Trip”, incredibly useful for understand- knowledge, information, and safety in the March issue of Nylon Guys ing what is to be learned from the blows my mind every time I visit magazine (a publication I had not DMT experience. I never would your site. encountered before) and to learn have thought in my wildest dreams more about a couple of people that that what I had wondered about —S.V. have helped me tremendously. pertaining to DMT would basically all Email to Erowid As a resource, Erowid.org has be answered from one single website. been invaluable to me and several […] Erowid is easily one of the I’m 24 years old and have been of my friends. I truly believe that single greatest ways humans can visiting Erowid since I was in 6th having access to the information is collaborate for the effort of enlighten- grade (2002). I recently graduated one of the reasons that I am still ment. I didn’t quite realize that until from University with honors and a alive today. I commend you guys recently but I always knew you were biology degree. I was accepted to for having the vision, courage, and a gem of the internet. Thank you, and medical school but was hesitant to dedication to provide this reference may your moments in life be divine. go. I have always been amazingly for people. — T.A. fascinated by psychopharmacology, Instead of taking one of the many Email to Erowid and medicine just didn’t seem like sides of the War on Drugs, you guys the right path. are simply helping. Erowid and After losing a family member to the principles and ideas for which There is SO MUCH damn information suicide, it hit me that despite the MD it stands are part of the solution. on this site concerning drugs, spiri- route being a sure way to a six-figure Please continue to educate people tuality, consciousness…and I mean salary, success as measured by and one day perhaps the current that in a good way. This includes society, and adoration from peers and cultural paradigm will change. cited factual information, personal family, it simply was not for me. I experiences, anecdotes, concerned — R.S. graciously thanked the medical school warnings, and so much else. From a US Correctional Institution and withdrew my seat. It’s an incredibly well rounded, I’m now on the path to attaining helpful, informative, and interesting my PharmD, though I have no Let me congratulate you for your source of information. You can see desire to perform research within a well-deserved donation. I have used how dedicated and professional the corporation. I have every intention of the site for more than a decade collaborators of the site are. I feel like being involved in blossoming research now, and when I saw you won a big the intense passion behind nonprofit with THC and other psychoactive donation from Reddit I was elated organizations like these is the only thing compounds. Psychedelics are going to for you. Well earned. that could create such a great product. be next and, with that, an explosion — P.C.K. — JJJK49 in research into how these compounds Email to Erowid GreatNonProfits.org are more effective at treating the plethora of psychiatric diseases than the current arsenal of pharmaceuti- I love your website. It has saved One of the most eye opening, helpful, cal drugs. my life plenty of times. If there was and educational sites on the internet. I’ve always felt the need to tell y’all no EcstasyData I wouldn’t be here. The true epitome of what it means just how important your site is to me, Thank you so much for all the good to understand something, not just so why not today? There is no purpose test results you’ve given us about fear it or hate it because you don’t to my message other than a glimpse the pills we were taking. understand. into my life and a thank you to those — MIKE — GABEFF who helped create and maintain this Email to Erowid GreatNonprofits.org beautiful source of knowledge that, without a doubt, is expediting the waking up of our society :) As an educated British white male, with a formal education in the arts, — T.C. I find Erowid a valuable resource, Email to Erowid one that I have used since 2009 to Send correspondence to: learn more about plant medicine in [email protected] My “Solve et Elucido” art arrived the context of Shamanism. a couple of weeks ago—and it’s […] Erowid has proven time and Please include a name, title, and amazing. I absolutely love it and it’s time again to be a trustworthy site, city/state/country of origin to be now in a great spot on the wall. not infected by political correctness. published with your letter. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. — C.M. — JAMES KAYE Brazil GreatNonProfits.org

)ii Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 Table of Contents Erowid Extracts Number 27, May 2015 Letters & Feedback...... )

Psychoactive Zeitgeist...... 2 Founder, Editor in Chief Fire Erowid Founder, Executive Editor Earth Erowid If I Do My Job Well, You Can’t Tell I’m Here...... 4 Technical Developer JL Teatime: Common Sense...... 6 Shipping & Archiving Bläk Senior Editor Sylvia Thyssen Review: The Manual of Psychedelic Support...... 10

On Kratom: After 15 Years of International Availability...... 12 Crew Plutonic, David Bey, Psilo, VR + Kratom = Sim Sickness...... 14 GuruStu, Limonene, Reality, jhoppa In Praise of Kratom Leaf...... 17 Associate Editors Shulgin Archiving Dispatch...... 18 Rev. Meo, Zachawry The Customs of a Coca Connoiseur...... 20 Experience Collection - Reviewers Spoon, Kalle, Uil, The Distillation...... 22 Selggurkim, Kernel, Roi

Refactoring Erowid...... 22 Experience Collection - Triagers LotN, Reality, Limonene, Teilhard, Adlai, Reddit Charity Decimation...... 24 Catskills, Elmar, Greenbox, Cinnamon, Pharmakeus, magiktreez, jhoppa, Moetsukiru, Organizational Updates...... 25 scAb13, Chronular, Lizard, Spent

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Erowid Center PO Box 1116 Grass Valley CA 95945 Subscriptions: To become a member and subscribe to Erowid Extracts, visit: Erowid.org http://erowid.org/membership/ [email protected] Change of Address: To update your mailing address, use the form at: https://erowid.org/donations/donations_update_address.php ISSN 1548-8071 Cancellations: To cancel your subscription, contact: [email protected] © 2015 Erowid Center Erowid is a ® Registered Trademark Reprints: To request permission to reproduce an article or image from this All rights reserved newsletter, contact: [email protected] Advertising: Erowid Extracts does not accept advertisements, but if you would like to include a flier about a related organization or event in our mailings, contact: [email protected] Know Your Body Cover Image Credits: 1) Kratom Leaf Powder—Erowid; 2) Western Sahara —JL; 3) The Manual of Psychedelic Support—Image by Luke Gray; 4) Sanctuary Know Your Mind T-shirt—The Teafærie; 5) US Customs Patch—US Customs; 6) Sasha Shulgin Know Your Substance and his Father—The Shulgin Collection; 7) Mojo Kratom—Erowid Know Your Source

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 Psychoactive Zeitgeist by Erowid HISTORY HAPPENS IN MOMENTS

Crazy High-Dose Ecstasy Tablets Harmine for Diabetes Pressed tablets bearing the “UPS” logo and Media rides coattails of psychedelic popularity containing over 200 mg MDMA lead to several and declares ayahuasca may be used to treat hospitalizations in the UK and Europe. diabetes, based on mouse research showing (Early 2015) harmine may help produce insulin. (Early 2015) Many Drugs Legal in Ireland for 48 hrs Irish court finds procedure used to criminalize new Proposal to Reschedule Cannabis drugs unconstitutional and drugs including MDMA Bipartisan medical marijuana bill would move and ketamine are legal for 48 hours before new cannabis to Schedule II, resulting in a massive constitutional law is passed. Parties ensue. change to US public policy, which has been out of (Mar 2015) synch with medical science for over 50 years. (Mar 2015) Reminder: Oral Cannabis is Powerful! After a series of high profile oral cannabis Pope Francis Condemns Drug Legalization overdoses result in hospitalizations and a Although more liberal than previous popes, Francis New York Times editorial, states move to refers to legalization and harm reduction as reconsider labeling of edible products. “yielding” to “evil”. He could be the last pope from (2014) a pre-1960s adult generation. (Jun 2014) DEA Warns of Stoned Rabbits While arguing against medical cannabis, DEA Heroin Sold as Cocaine in Amsterdam agent testifies to Utah Senate that he’d seen Printed posters and roadside traffic signs “rabbits that had cultivated a taste for the warn tourists of dangerous “cocaine”, stating marijuana” in outdoor grow ops. prominently, “you will not be arrested for using (Mar 2015) drugs in Amsterdam.” (Dec 2014) Erowid and MAPS Win Reddit Giveaway Assisted by amazing Redditors and social Psychedelics Not Found to Cause networks, Erowid came in 4th place (ahead Mental Health Problems…Again of National Public Ratio and Wikipedia), Using data from the US’s largest drug use survey, winning $82,765.95 of support for harm reduction with hundreds of thousands of respondents, and education efforts. no association is found between trying “classic (Feb 2015) psychedelics” and worsened mental health. (Mar 2015) Ethnobotanical Stewardship Conflict The young ESC declares itself the arbiter of a Psychedelics Reduce Suicide? “consensus” process for deciding the future of The same epidemiological studies that find no global ayahuasca policies and practices, then finds association between psychedelics and mental itself on the losing side of a war of words with health problems show a reduced rate of suicide ayahuasca experts led by Bia Labate. among those who have tried these drugs. (Late 2014/Early 2015) (Early 2015)

2 Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 All Drug Possession Quietly Silk Road Founder Convicted Decriminalized in California Ross Ulbricht is convicted of narcotics and money Winning 59% of the popular vote, Prop 47 reduces laundering conspiracies and a “kingpin” charge. most drug possession offenses to low-level (Feb 2015) misdemeanors instead of felonies. (Nov 2014) New Psychoactive Periodical A new producer of psychoactive periodicals, Georgia Drug Task Force’s Okra Raid Psychedelic Press UK, completes its first Heavily armed Georgia state police team raids publication year with five ~100-page issues. retiree’s backyard okra patch, based on helicopter (2014) surveillance reporting it was cannabis. (Oct 2014) @ErowidRecruiter Markov-algorithm Twitter bot creates mashups Australia Makes Moves to Ban Kava of Erowid Experience Reports and tech-job Initial steps are taken by legislators in Australia recruiter emails. The oddly amusing feed to ban kava kava, arguing organized crime attracts 6,673 followers in two months. involvement, but Pacific Islander indigenous (Mar 2015) citizens are fighting back. • (Feb 2015) “Fueled by real-time data analytics platform which aggregates and analyzes billions of universes.” FDA Warns against “Natural” Sex Drugs • FDA issues warnings about nine brands of “all “I almost got hit by some unknown force; natural” male erection enhancers, finding they all a force whose sole purpose is to simplify contain unlabeled sildenafil (Viagra). medical offices with web-based medical billing.” (Mar 2015) Alexander Shulgin Lionized Erowid Navigator Android App Spreads Hundreds attend Sasha’s farewell gathering in After less than a year, this volunteer-developed app Berkeley, California. Professor David Presti is going strong with 4,000 current users! notes that Sasha should receive Nobel Prize. (Mar 2015) (Jun 2014)

DC Cannabis Legalization Slips In Cannabinoid Analysis Goes Wild Washington DC voters legalize cannabis, Congress Prior to CO and WA legalization, most cannabinoid fights back, but fails to adequately block the legality analysis was secret. Wider lab analysis will improve of recreational pot inside the Beltway. understanding of what’s being smoked. (Early 2015) (2014)

DC Cannabis Seed Giveaway! Erowid & EcstasyData in the Media As a “fuck off” to Congress, group holds cannabis EcstasyData is featured in a New York Magazine seed giveaway, drawing thousands who wait in look at the contents of street ecstasy and Nylon lines around the block to get free seeds. Guys publishes article about Erowid co-founders. (Mar 2015) (Mar 2015)

Evolution Marketplace Pulls Exit Scam Pathetic Cannabis Policy Continues After becoming the #1 Tor-only drug marketplace Despite progressive intentions, the Obama in 2014, Evolution closes and administrators White House continues to “steadfastly oppose steal all Bitcoins in escrow account. Black market legalization of marijuana and other drugs”. Barack musical chair exit scams are now the norm. was a documented st0ner in high school. (Mar 2015) (March 2015)

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 3 IF I DO MY JOB WELL You Can’t Tell I’m Here

A Tale of an Erowid Sysadmin by JL

Working for Erowid is a unique experience. hitchhiking cops a lift to their checkpoint in Western There is no office and there are no core hours—we Sahara; visited the “forbidden city” of Smara; and coordinate via email and chat when working hours spent countless hours learning traditional healing overlap. This means I can do what a lot of people methods from a Berber herbalist in Fez. All without dream about: make the whole world my office. I am ever leaving my office. slowly moving around the globe with just a backpack Of course, it’s not all sunshine: Erowid cannot pay full of technology and a single bag of clothes. more than one fifth of what I could make in the for-profit My original home base is in Germany. As I write this industry. Thus it’s not just “get a plane ticket and rent I am in the Dominican Republic. When these lines go a nice place”. But falling asleep every night with the to print, I will be on Curaçao, and when you receive knowledge that I’m working for a great project that the July 2015 issue of Extracts, I’ll probably be logging helps so many people is priceless. And, I am blessed in from Colombia. But for most of 2014, I lived in a to be working with two people who dedicate their life to small fishing village in the south of Morocco. Every a globally-influential project, some world-class senior few weeks I rented a car to explore the country. I’ve co-sysadmins, and a lot of awesome volunteers who had tea with Sahrawi fishermen; attended couscous put in as much time as they can afford. Shukran, parties at friends’ houses (the big family lunch that gracias, merci, danke, many thanks to all of you! is taken after prayer on Fridays in Islam); given Let’s keep on rocking!

My typical day starts with a quadruple espresso, a hello to headquarters via IRC, a quick check of the servers and multiple monitoring services to make sure there are no catastrophes, and then an evaluation of the systems’ health. Public-facing site? Check. Backend machines 1 through 3? Check. The 12 virtual machines? Check. After reading 40+ emails of detailed system status information, I’ll have likely cursed at least once, usually about some new security update that needs to be done “right now”. A constant stream of robots accesses Erowid, from the friendly Googlebot (checking for updated content), to the out-of-control scraper spiders (run by the student who wants to grab a “copy” of Erowid without realizing their bot can’t handle it), to the hostile attackers (distributed denial of service attacks, or DDoS). It’s important to keep a tab on heavy-hitting traffic to make sure it doesn’t cause Erowid.org to become slow or unresponsive. A single minute of downtime means seventy people can’t access the information they were looking for. Existing at the All photos by JL. 4 Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 same domain name for twenty years means that our servers are subject to constant attack from around the world. Few appear to be targeted at Erowid specifically, and instead are just attacks against any popular web service. By the time this daily routine is complete, somewhere between thirty minutes and three hours have passed, and then I have an actual breakfast. Next, it’s on to the more complex projects, all the while keeping an eye on the monitoring systems that dutifully inform us of problems in real time. Some of these bigger sysadmin tasks of the last twelve months have included: • Migrating all our backend installations (such as our email management and site statistics systems) into “jails”, which is FreeBSD-lingua for “virtual machines”. One can think of them as private cloud setups—private so that we don’t hand data over to third parties. • Moving all WordPress instances (the software used for the Erowid Review and columns like Teatime) into a dedicated virtual machine so that the inevitable next WordPress exploit will not endanger data on Erowid.org itself. WordPress is notorious for security breaches that allow malicious software to be run on the exploited machine. • Updating Erowid.org to the current version of Apache, the webserver we use. The webserver is the main software that delivers pages to readers. This might not sound like much of a task, but Erowid’s complex structure made it a big deal. • Establishing better monitoring for Erowid’s systems, which has served us well when dealing with performance degradations or a recent (small) DDoS attack. One longer-term Very Important Project I’ve been working on when I have time is developing a separate website to empower volunteers to work on Erowid’s code and allow visitors to prioritize improvements to the site by vote. It’s 90% done and I am positive we can launch it publicly later this year. Keeping Erowid.org accessible and secure is my number one priority, so this project, while important, has repeatedly been put on the back burner. Over the past year, we’ve had to deal with: • about 200 software security updates • two machines that were unresponsive because one of our hosting providers screwed up • one hard disk failure • lots of script kiddies trying their automated exploit tools on us (here’s a hint: stop looking for win.ini —this file does not exist on a FreeBSD server) • innumerable misconfigured scrapers that hit Erowid.org with way too many requests in way too short intervals, thereby overloading the server. It’s satisfying to be part of the Erowid project, but it’s a surprising amount of hard work that (assuming it’s done right) will never be noticed by visitors. •

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 5 COMMON

Senby the Teafæriese

It’s high time for every self-respect- necessity for such services, but which surfboard. There’s not usually a lot of ing large-scale festival to establish a are nevertheless reticent to officially extra space in the medical tent, though. dedicated psychedelic support space sponsor them. The truly excellent Full And when somebody comes in with and to offer free drug testing services Circle Teahouse is a marvelous example a broken leg, heat stroke, or other as a matter of course. These ought to be of this phenomenon. In addition to serious issue, they naturally get first basic modules that festival organizers being a bottomless source of good vibes priority and I occasionally have to take and free tea, it is typically staffed more my special friends out for a little walk. or less exclusively by people who just So why, you may well be asking, THE REALITY IS THAT so happen to have experience helping don’t these events simply set up fellow psychonauts navigate their way a clearly marked and mapped PSYCHEDELIC AND through what can sometimes turn out to psychedelic support space staffed be unexpectedly intense journeywork. with well-educated and experienced EUPHORIC STIMULANT I know this because I’ve been honored tripsitters? Wouldn’t that be better than USE IS DEEPLY ENDEMIC to serve there myself a few times. a bunch of head cases bouncing around But teahouses are not often marked causing havoc in the medical tent, or TO THE ENTIRE as psychedelic support spaces on the worse, having very public freakouts official event maps. It’s sort of a word and ending up in the tender care of [FESTIVAL] CULTURE. of mouth thing. Event staffers who’ve the somewhat less than compassionate been around the block a few times just security team? seem to know where to direct attendees The answer is an ironic one. You automatically account for in their who appear to be in need of special see, harm reduction services are budgets, just like medical services, assistance. actually illegal in the United States. security, and sanitation teams. I’ve also worked as a fairly regular Kind of. Maybe. Depending upon The omission of a sanctuary adjunct to a particularly sophisticated how one interprets the RAVE Act space should be regarded as a critical medical team. This has always been (Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability oversight, indicative of a production on a volunteer basis, though I’ve gone to Ecstasy Act), which is a piece of company that is both dangerously through the trouble of getting my first legislation that was first introduced irresponsible and embarrassingly out of aid and CPR certification (which are in the Senate in 2002 by Joe Biden, touch with the evolving gestalt. good things to know about, anyway) among others. When re-introduced The teahouse is often the de facto in order to qualify for free or reduced in 2003 (with Hillary Clinton as one psychedelic oasis in Festival Land. price tickets as a “medical assistant”. of its co-sponsors), it failed to pass It tends to stay open all night, and As far as the festival officially knows, on its own. It was retweaked just a provides a safe, soft and supportive I’m just there to hand out band-aids little bit and rebranded as the Illicit environment to simply chill out in for a and earplugs. But when somebody Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, which little while. Some of the best travelling comes in who has wiped out in deep was slipped into the certain-to-pass teahouses have been deliberately water and feels like they’re hanging PROTECT Act of 2003, the law that designed to serve as designated on for dear life, the Teafærie is there created the AMBER Alert system, psychedelic support spaces at events to try to calm them down and to help related to stopping child abductions. that quite rightfully perceive the them get back up on their psychedelic It was passed without public debate.

6 Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 The Act makes it unlawful to “make substances to attendees, as well as of which feature explicitly psychedelic available for use” any place “for the sometimes offering on-site field testing artwork and boast a long list of DJs purpose of unlawfully manufactur- services. Their handy-dandy little with names like MC DMT and Doctor ing, storing, distributing, or using a reagent kits can’t definitively determine Tripmaster. controlled substance.” The penalties what a substance is, nor can they tell But in order to cover their own associated with it are severe enough what the dose of a tablet or capsule asses they all tend to bill themselves to take down an entire production might be. But reagent tests are useful as as “drug-free” events anyway, and they company if it happens to fall afoul of teaching tools. Harm reduction groups also put on some TSA style “security it. So everybody who is already walking on site at festivals can help people make theatre” where they make attendees wait that fine line is quite naturally afraid to slightly more informed, better decisions in long lines to have their bags lightly push the boundaries, especially EDM about whether or not they really want searched. This admittedly keeps some (electronic dance music) festivals, to ingest that white powder some shifty big time dealers from bringing in whole which fall under particular scrutiny. entrepreneur in the parking lot assured backpacks full of merchandise, which The problem is with its “for the them was “pure molly”. is probably a very good thing. They’re purpose of […] using a controlled The current state of affairs more not really trying to find everybody’s substance” language, which has been or less forces many event organizers personal use stashes, though. Because broadly interpreted to target producers to engage in a hypocritical charade. if they successfully did that, then their who have demonstrated the courage There’s not a single EDM production festival would fail. So they make a big and foresight to offer any sort of harm company in the entire world that show of kicking out a few kids who reduction services whatsoever. This doesn’t know damned good and well happen to get unlucky, whilst turning leads to producers being afraid to that at least some amount of drug use an apparently blind eye to the essential make chill rooms available or provide is bound to end up taking place at their nature of the psychedelic dance culture free drinking water. Some are even events. And they wouldn’t actually afraid to sell freaking lightsticks for want to stop that from happening even dogsakes, simply because they’re if they could, which they totally can’t. WHY, YOU MAY WELL BE associated with drug use in some Because the reality is that psychedelic people’s minds. So they’re more than and euphoric stimulant use is deeply ASKING, DON’T THESE a little bit cagey about sponsoring endemic to the entire culture. It’s something as obviously drug-related a big part of its raison d’être. This EVENTS SIMPLY SET UP A as an official psychedelic support is obvious to anyone who has ever CLEARLY MARKED AND space. To say nothing of inviting the attended any of these sorts of music participation of organizations like festivals. It wouldn’t exactly take MAPPED PSYCHEDELIC DanceSafe or BunkPolice, which Sherlock Holmes to figure it out just provide information about various by glancing at one of their fliers, most SUPPORT SPACE?

phenomenon underlying the very foundation of their entire existence. (And generates billions of dollars per year worldwide…) If the goal is genuinely to try to protect people, then the best thing that concerned parents and everybody else can actually do is to make sure that potential drug users educate themselves with the kind of unbiased, vetted, and reliable information that is available through Erowid and elsewhere. We need access to drug testing, too. Especially right now, when the designer drug market is blowing up like crazy. There are brand spanking new research chemicals that are getting cranked out

The Teafærie’s “Sanctuary” T-shirt on practically a weekly basis, and a lot of them are being misrepresented

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 7 as “ecstasy” or “molly” or “acid” than people who were swayed into apparent heat stroke at a party that was or as something else that sounds taking something by a positive identi- too afraid of that backasswards law to relatively safe and familiar at the fication. Likewise, nobody takes way provide so much as a simple chill room. point of sale. This is where the real more drugs than they were already The goal of the petition is to amend danger is right now. The only practical intending to just because they’ve the ambiguous language so that event way to ameliorate that danger (other heard that there is a truly excellent organizers can implement common than legalizing psychedelic sanctuary somewhere on sense safety measures to protect their a few of the site. The notion is ridiculous. patrons without fear of prosecution by Laws like the Rave Act hurt far more the federal authorities. (If the Teafærie folks than they help, and everybody who is actually involved knows that. So what’s to be done? A few American festivals Hey…parents, grandparents, have been brave and honorable enough to just go ahead and aunts, and uncles, Teafaerie provide extensive harm is talking to you. It’s your reduction services anyway, and I salute the fuck out younger family members and of them. The last large their friends who are hurt event that I officially worked Ground Control at had quite a by this terrible policy. steady stream of clientele, several — Fire & Earth of whom were very deep in their process. If we hadn’t been there, some of these people would probably have was writing the amendment I would better-known ended up having their full-on shamanic make it so that EDM events would substances), is death-and-rebirth experiences just actually be obligated to provide basic to make it safe rolling around in the dirt down by the harm reduction services, but simply and easy for people porta-potties. But instead, they were decriminalizing them would certainly to find out more about what they’re brought to a safe loving place where be better than nothing.) I would really considering putting into their bodies. they could be properly cared for and love it if more concerned parents, in Widespread testing would also de- congratulated. This made a whole lot particular, would publicly take up incentivize both adulteration and of difference in most of their outcomes. straight-up substitution from the Each production company has to dealers’ perspective, because the last assess its particular legal situation and thing they want is a bunch of irate to weigh that against its own perceived YOU SEE, HARM customers coming back to them in responsibility to ensure the relative REDUCTION SERVICES five minutes waving evidence that they safety of attendees. It’s going to come were sold bogus goods. down to what they care about more. ARE ACTUALLY ILLEGAL Drug testing services don’t If they decide that they simply can’t encourage drug use any more than take the risk of providing basic harm IN THE UNITED STATES. reduction services yet, then they should giving out free condoms encourages KIND OF. MAYBE. sexual promiscuity. Of course, the at least have a booth that explains just more thoughtful and responsible exactly why that is, and that provides partygoers might not be willing to information about both what they take anything at all unless they really themselves are doing about it, and what thought that they knew what it was. their participants can personally do in this cause. I truly believe that it could (Hooray for common sense!) But, in order to try to improve the situation in radically alter the whole landscape of the absence of harm reduction services, the future. the debate fairly quickly. most people are simply going to do There is a petition going around to We can all also take on a little bit whatever it is that they want to do amend the RAVE Act (AmendTheRa- of personal responsibility by acquiring anyway, just a little bit less safely. I’ve veAct.org), and that’s certainly a good our own drug testing kits so that we personally seen a far greater number of place to begin. It was started last year by can help our friends and neighbors to people decide not to take a drug when Dede Goldsmith, the mother of Shelley better identify whatever they might have it tested out as something unfamiliar Goldsmith, who died in 2013 from gotten ahold of.

8 Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 And we can familiarize ourselves We don’t need a bunch of new packs See if you can help them work through with some basic techniques for helping of well-meaning hippies who think that their process a little bit if they seem people to manage unexpectedly they’re pretty good at handling bad trips to want company. Sometimes you can challenging experiences. A bunch has and who would really like to get some really help turn it around for somebody been written on this topic, for instance free festival tickets, though. What we and the worst kind of bummer can be Erowid’s “Psychedelic Crisis FAQ” or “Ground Control: A Sitter’s Primer”, the first thing that the Teafærie ever published on Erowid. A wonderful reference guide just came out called the Manual of Psychedelic Support (page 10), and the PDF is available for free online under a Creative Commons license. Because its creators are all awesome like that. It is the product of years of work and a whole heck of a lot of field research by the people who’ve put on the excellent KosmiCare installation at the BOOM Festival in Portugal for over a decade, and many other similar collectives around the world. I foresee the need for a few more professional psychedelic support teams, because there are simply a far greater number of festivals and events these days than the existing collectives can Tea Ocean at the Full Circle Tea House, Photo by John Gilmore handle. Plus the demand for these services will grow, as awareness increases about the importance of psychospiritual harm reduction. We just need is for festivals to care enough so transformed into untranslatable bliss. have to shift the conversation, and get that there’s support for more core teams Heck, sometimes people just need to that stupid law changed. of trained mental heath professionals tell somebody all about how beautiful and experienced psychonauts who and intense what is happening to them really do know what to do when it gets is. I’ve seen it over and over again. crazy out. We need people with extraor- They just need somebody to witness WE HAVE TO LEARN dinary empathy, profound patience, it. Psychedelic experiences can be life unshakeable compassion, preternatural changing. It’s an incredible honor to get HOW TO TAKE CARE insight and composure, and their own to be the person who sits through that OF EACH OTHER: fully portable installation. That last one kind of a long bright night of the soul is the most important! You don’t want with a fellow human being who is just BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT to have to count on the festival for your starting to open up. set up. For one thing, some festivals It’s vitally important work. It really COMMUNITIES DO. suck at coming through with all of the can help turn a breakdown into a resources that they promise. We want breakthrough. So if you’ve got that to make it as easy as possible for them sort of a calling, then why not educate to just plug us right in. yourself as thoroughly as possible, and There will be folks who have If you’re just somebody who is then start thinking of yourself as a roving difficult experiences at events. Far awesome at tripsitting, then I encourage psychedelic support volunteer. I’m fewer of them will end up feeling deeply you to do what I usually do at big very much looking forward to the time traumatized if they have the support of festivals, which is simply to keep your when we can count on the availability a knowledgeable and empathetic trip eye out for people who may be having of experienced and compassionate care sitter. So which kind of festival do you a little bit of trouble. Gently ask them if services, but it’s obvious that we haven’t want your kids (or your grandkids, or they’re alright, and if there’s anything at quite gotten there yet. We have to learn your nieces and nephews, or even other all that you can do for them. Assist them how to take care of each other: because people’s kids) going to? to the bathroom. Get them some water. that’s what communities do. •

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 9 The Manual of PSYCHEDELIC SUPPORT

Review by David Bey the most challenging experiences can be the most rewarding. Since the beginning of the 20th Festival culture is here to stay. century psychedelic era, the informed Massive, multi-day events are a normal psychoactive drug-using subculture part of many young adults’ lives. While has followed divergent paths. It events have become more adept at was the dream of Albert Hofmann, providing infrastructure for medical creator of LSD, that these compounds emergencies, there remains the need be regarded as sacred medicine, for dedicated spaces, staffed by trained administered in meditation centers by specialists, designed to care for those trained and knowledgeable guides for experiencing psychedelic crisis. It’s the purposes of personal and spiritual towards this goal that an extraordinary development. Once psychedelics hit team of authors and editors offers The the mainstream in the 1960s, however, Manual of Psychedelic Support, a they became the high-octane fuel for a landmark work that will change lives wave of anything-goes ecstatic revelry, around the world. leading to a social milieu of acid tests The Manual was assembled over with unmeasured punch-bowl party nearly five years, with contributions surprises, fear and loathing in the rock- from more than fifty collaborators, and-roll parking lots, and dodgy doses and draws on five decades of field at all-night raves. research. In the words of one of its Since this Dionysian explosion authors, it is a “best-practices guide for triggered many of the worst fears of conscious and intentional container for creating safe and ethical care services the establishment culture, it contributed visionary experience than it was at its for the multitudes of individual who greatly to the demonization and inception. are exploring with consciousness-ex- suppression of psychedelics and the It’s easy to dismiss the consumption panding substances outside of Western cessation of most legal scientific of psychedelics at crowded events as medical research paradigms.” Including research with psychedelics in humans. dangerous or irresponsible—the misuse contributions from writers, artists and Now, over forty years later—in a period of powerful medicines best employed photographers such as Alicia Danforth, that is regarded as a “psychedelic in a more structured and less chaotic Annie Oak, Diogo Ruivo, Earth and Fire renaissance”—legal research is making setting. The fact is that every year, Erowid, Rick Doblin, Alex and Allyson headlines. The mainstream culture is across the globe, young and old alike Grey, Fred Tomaselli, Hoffmann & increasingly receptive to the idea of experience some of the most transfor- Venosa, Vibrata, and Jen Zariat, with psychedelics as agents of healing and mative moments of their lives within Zevic Mishor serving as lead editor as a legitimate avenue for spiritual the context of psychedelics use at large of the project, the Manual is, simply exploration. At the same time, festival gatherings. And as many participants, put, a masterpiece of harm reduction. culture has continued to develop and from amateur acid-heads to seasoned As Earth and Fire Erowid write in is on its way to becoming a more psychonauts, have observed, sometimes their foreword, “This Manual shows

10 Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 A Global how much the art and engineering construction, and administration of of psychedelic support services on-site care centers. Guidelines are Rite of Passage have evolved…and sets a new high provided for guest intake screening, BY EARTH & FIRE EROWID bar for the manner in which these the use of complementary calming services should be run and what and grounding therapies, and how We were honored to write a foreword they can accomplish.” best to interface with emergency for The Manual of Psychedelic Support. The guide kicks off with a history on-site medical teams and law The topic of how to manage psycho- of the festival movement and of the enforcement personnel should active-related crises is near and dear care service strategies that evolved situations turn gnarly. to our hearts as well as a core part of naturally from its beginning. It traces In short, The Manual of Erowid’s mission. the development from forebearers Psychedelic Support includes For nearly two decades, we’ve such as the Hog Farmers, White everything one would need to start collaborated on projects to improve Bird, the CALM volunteers of the a new psychedelic care organization people’s experiences with psychoactive Rainbow Family and the medics who from the ground up or to fine-tune drugs. We believe strongly in both harm- roamed the parking lots at Grateful and improve the practices of an reduction and benefit enhancement, Dead concerts, to more recent established group. Of particular note and the Manual is a valuable tool for incarnations such as KosmiCare at is the extent to which it is an open approaching these goals. the Boom Festival, Burning Man’s source and open-ended document. Concerts, electronic dance Green Dot Rangers, DanceSafe, Appeals for reader feedback and music parties, and festivals offer rich MAPS’s Zendo Project, and the collaboration are frequent. Space aesthetic and social environments Full Circle Tea House, to list just is provided on nearly every page to that some people choose to explore a few. The Manual of Psychedelic take notes and record experiences. with psychoactive drugs. Those who The Manual is entirely a volunteer take ecstasy, LSD, cannabis, or other effort and is available to download drugs at these events are hoping for free. Its widespread dissemina- to have a fun time with a sense of […] includes everything tion is encouraged. one would need to start It is heartwarming to contemplate the effect this manual will have on a new psychedelic care those working in psychedelic care organization from the services, improving their ability to 58% both give and receive support in the of festival goers reported having ground up, or to fine-tune work they do. Even the way it was used a psychedelic at an event and improve the practices created reflects the values expressed within: collaboration, service, of an established group. non-hierarchical organization, connection, interest, and wonder. But a community-wide participation, combination of factors—inexperienced elder-centric, ancestor-conscious, users, novel substances, festival chaos, Support goes on to describe and forward-thinking…. More than contaminated or misidentified drugs, define the ethical parameters and just helping people to navigate et cetera—can create a context where principles of psychedelic care freak-outs, the Manual is about some participants have psychologi- services. It outlines an array of helping to foster a worldwide cally difficult or physically dangerous logistical guidelines, covering such culture of people committed to “a experiences. In March 2015, we surveyed visitors topics as interacting with festival loving regard for all living things” to the Erowid website, asking whether administration, legal consider- and the transmission of these values they’d ever been to a large, multi-day, ations and preliminary planning. to society as a whole. We do not outdoor festival (LMOF) with more than With its voluminous information know how festival culture will 1,000 attendees and to what extent they on the recruitment, training, and evolve in generations to come, had used psychoactives at these events. coordination of the care service but documents like this one will With 5,030 responses, 66% reported team, the Manual emphasizes not surely play a major role in helping they’d attended at least one LMOF, with only how best to support guests in direct that evolution towards a 47% having been to more than one. Of distress, but also how to ensure the culture of “openness, sanity, and festivalgoers, 85% have used cannabis, welfare of service providers and support”, where individuals can 60% have used “Ecstasy, Molly, MDMA facilitators themselves. Helpful safely unfold and explore the ex- or an empathogen”, and 58% reported suggestions and detailed supply traordinary possibilities that lie having used “LSD, Mushrooms, or another lists are presented for the design, within themselves. • psychedelic” at such an event. •

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 1111 AFTER 15 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL AVAILABILITY On Kratom…by Earth & Fire Erowid

Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) is a plant native Experience from Firsthand Reports”, outlining the types to Southeast Asia that made its way into the US of effects people experience and the reasons why ethnobotanical market around the year 2000 and they use kratom. began showing up in headshops around 2005. We’re currently working with researchers on a more Erowid launched its Kratom Vault in August 1999 and systematic analysis of Erowid’s kratom experience published an introductory article in May 2000. In reports. This project categorizes sentences in Ero- 2007, the first medical journal article about its use in wid-published kratom reports by theme. Themes the United States was published. Mainstream media are iteratively honed and a short set of “theme attention in the late 2000s triggered legislative efforts codes” developed. Independent readers then to ban kratom in a number of US states. validate the theme codes, making sure that each In recent years, we’ve been asked to write, text communicates its identified themes. Largely, co-author, and edit several related articles, including this analysis has reinforced the existing experiential a chapter for a 2014 pharmacology textbook titled literature and Erowid’s effects lists and descriptions. Kratom and Other Mytragynines: The Chemistry and Below is our best current understanding of kratom’s Pharmacology of Opioids from a Non-Opium Source. use outside of traditional settings, including its For that chapter, we did an informal analysis of more dosages and effects, as well as a short retrospec- than 700 kratom experience reports and produced tive of one person’s experiences and a report of an a thirty-page piece description of “The Kratom unusual side-effect.

sing hundreds of first-hand earliest reports in our collection describe Kratom Use Overview kratom reports, we can experiences from 2000, which marks Generally, in North America, the U document and distill out the the beginning of commercial mail-order dried leaves of M. speciosa are taken reasons why people use kratom, the availability of kratom in North America, as a bitter tea, loose-leaf powder, or routes and methods of self administra- Australia, and Europe. in capsules. Kratom users commonly tion, the range of doses used, how dose In 2000, kratom products were describe paradoxically stimulating relates to subjective effects, the range generally whole or crushed dried leaf. and sedating effects that are most of effects, and what doses or substance Based on experience reports and Erowid’s often likened to the effects of opioids combinations are most likely to lead to vendor monitoring, leaf extracts and such as codeine or oxycodone. It is health problems. extract-enhanced leaf first became used recreationally, as an analgesic, as Of the 798 experience reports about available in 2002 and were widely a self-treatment for opioid withdrawal Mitragyna speciosa and kratom products available by 2004. Interest in kratom symptoms, and less commonly as that were submitted to Erowid before information grew slowly but steadily a method for interrupting another March 20, 2015, 234 have been accepted during the subsequent decade. In 2004, addiction (e.g. cigarette or benzodi- by our review team and published. the Kratom Vault was the 50th most azepine dependence). Reports from Among submitted reports, 91% were visited substance index on Erowid.org. Southeast Asia include significantly written by men and 9% by women By early 2014, it had risen to 8th place, more descriptions of chewed (buccal) (when author gender was specified). The but has recently dropped to 15th. whole leaves used as a daytime

12 Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 work drug, taken for the purpose of leaf, to “premium”, “super premium”, Most kratom used in North America relieving boredom and the discomfort “enhanced”, and “super enhanced” is ingested orally, with a few reports of of manual labor. Kratom is considered leaf. Extracts are usually labeled as buccal, smoked, or (more rarely) rectal addictive; reports of physical and “5x”, “15x”, or similar, putatively administration. Many kratom users take psychological dependence, tolerance, indicating relative strengths. These, repeated doses in a single session/day, and physical withdrawal symptoms plus additional terms such as “Maeng often redosing between one to three are common, though not universal, in Da” (aka “Pimp Grade”), plant hours after the previous dose. A day experience reports.

Kratom Dosage The amount of kratom leaf Oral Kratom — Dried Leaf Dosages or leaf powder used per dose varies from one gram to fifty Commercial Premium Super Extract- grams. Because kratom is Grade Premium Enhanced a natural plant product and the commercial products are Threshold 3–7 g 2–4 g 1–2 g 1 g unregulated, potencies can Light 5–10 g 3–5 g 2–4 g 1–2 g vary dramatically from one capsule, Mylar package, or bag Common 10–20 g 4–10 g 3–5 g 2–3 g of leaf powder to another. Many commercial kratom products Strong 20–50 g 8–15 g 4–8 g 3–6 g in 2015 include kratom leaf extract redeposited on crushed or powdered leaf, making them more potent than untreated kratom provenance such as “Indonesian”, and or session of kratom use might involve leaves. Tinctures, resins, and straight other vendor-supplied details are used up to eight doses (see table), though extracts (not deposited on leaf) are in wine tasting–style comparisons of typical usage involves between one also sold. Dosage of these products the quality and potency of products. and three per day. The dosage estimates varies depending on the concentration Although some ethnobotanical above are for single oral administra- of M. speciosa alkaloids present in the vendors reliably differentiate weaker tions in non-habituated users. source material. from more potent kratom preparations Retail kratom products available to using these terms, other vendors use Duration the general public range from the low them as marketing jargon regardless Kratom teas and extracts, when taken potency “commercial grade” crushed of product potency. orally on an empty stomach, usually begin to take effect within 15 minutes. On the other end of the spectrum, the effects of capsules swallowed on a full stomach can be delayed 1–3 hours. The primary stimulating phase lasts 1–2 hours, with the more sedating effects lasting another 1–3 hours, for a total duration of 2–5 hours for a single oral dose. Higher doses result in longer durations. Users report lingering after-effects lasting several hours before they feel “down” from the experience. Some kratom users report alcohol-like hangovers following moderate or strong doses. Taking kratom daily can result in tolerance and eventually physical dependence. In such instances, symptoms described as similar to those of opioid withdrawal usually begin 18–24 hours after the last dose and continue for 1–14 days.

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 13 + Effects VR Kratom⇒ Sim Sickness The most commonly reported kratom by RevMeO effects range from euphoric stimulation to sleepy dream-like reverie, and from Three hours after swallowing pulling in the helicopter, are known to pedestrian caffeine- or alcohol-like six grams of encapsulated kratom trigger sim sickness in some people, intoxication to overwhelming nausea and leaf, I began a 3D virtual reality though I had never experienced it vertigo. The character of the experience (VR) combat helicopter training myself with this particular game. changes as dose increases, beginning mission using the DK1 version of the The dose and variety of kratom Oculus Rift head-mounted display. I’d consumed was well within my with a light relaxing stimulation at low Almost immediately, the shifts in my safe limits, and wouldn’t normally doses and becoming a strong, nodding visual field corresponding to sharp cause any side effects. However, sedation at high doses. Euphoria and turns precipitated slight vertigo-like the symptoms from the combination moderate intoxication are characteristic disturbances. The craft seemed of kratom and VR weren’t quite like of the mid-dose range. to rotate faster than I’d previously those produced by either one alone. experienced when playing sans As I stood speaking to my wife, 2015 and Beyond kratom. I had the sensation of spinning Kratom is one of those psychoactives While maneuvering the helicopter or twisting, though I wouldn’t that occupies a curious position as in the virtual skies, I could feel the characterize it as dizziness. It felt a traditional plant medicine with symptoms increasing. Surprisingly, like there was a semi-solid mass in real potential for pharmaceutical the unease didn’t seem to reduce my my head, yet I had no headache. development, naturopathic healing, and Looking down on the bed, I felt addiction management uses. It parallels compelled to collapse face-first cannabis or khat in the global apothecary, onto its softness. It was a novel and strange desire for me, and it along with attendant complexities of an felt good when I did it. Yet once on extended ethnobotanical history, cultural that puffy duvet, I realized my urge expectations, and social resistance to wasn’t satiated. Standing up, it allowing another natural intoxicant to again felt as though the best thing creep into widespread use. for getting past this quasi-vertigo Vendors contacted by Erowid between would be a face-plant on the bed. 2013 and 2015 described ceasing That brief moment of falling was kratom sales because of concerns about splendid; the blissful seconds federal and state law enforcement, news after landing, equally soothing. coverage, and legislative threats. Some Then the discomfort returned vendors stopped listing the products along with the need to do it again. (but continued to sell them privately) to I wasn’t stoned out of my gourd avoid attention, while most have stopped on kratom—even if I had been, such behavior would strike me as selling kratom completely. performance. I was so immersed in especially odd. The 2–3 hours I was Kratom’s opioid-like analgesia and the game that I didn’t think of ripping awake after removing the headgear the possibility that it might be less the gear off my head to get my feet were punctuated by moments of likely to lead to problematic addiction back on “solid ground”. nausea, and I continued to feel more make it a potentially important plant But 15 minutes later, I realized altered than normal, although the medication. But, as far as establish- the time had come to remove the sensation did wane. ment medicine goes, it faces the same headphones and headset and The next morning I woke with challenge as opioids: it is kind of fun get back to baseline—at least a a minor mental hangover; I didn’t for many users. Two years ago, kratom kratomed baseline. I sat, unmoving, feel physically ill, but I didn’t feel seemed headed for quick bans across for a short while before walking into in balance either, and my thoughts the United States, but it has gained the bedroom (swaying a bit along weren’t as sharp as they’d be on a some support from medical research the way) to explain the symptoms normal post-kratom morning. communities and has so far stayed out to my wife. In hindsight, it wasn’t the brightest of the federal Schedules. Kratom pokes I’d previously experienced a idea to combine an evolving mild form of “sim sickness”—think technology known to induce mo- yet another hole in the poorly-conceived motion sickness but induced by tion-sickness with a plant linked to US Controlled Substances Act and UN illusory movement—and I was similar physical responses. So, for Convention on Psychotropic Substances: familiar with the nausea and vomiting those who use kratom, be warned There must be a place for natural plant that can accompany kratom. Fast that it might exacerbate other motion products with real medicinal value movements, such as those I was sickness–inducing activities. • outside of the black market. •

14 Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 Positive/Desired Kratom Effects

Simultaneous stimulation and relaxation Amelioration of physical labor Stimulant effects occur earlier and at lower doses, with Increased physical ease and a reduction in discomfort sedative effects kicking in later and at higher doses. and boredom during manual labor are described A paradoxical feeling of being both stimulated and among Southeast Asian field workers and in online sedated at the same time is very common. reports. Euphoria Pro-sexual, aphrodisiac qualities Improvements in mood, ranging from mild to gushing Some report mildly increased sexuality, eroticism, and euphoria, are common. prolonged intercourse. Sociability and empathy Sleepiness Reduced social inhibitions, increased talkativeness, At higher doses and as time passes, kratom can induce and a sense of enjoying connecting with others are sedation, “nodding”, and sleepiness. very common. Analgesia A lasting “glow” Reduction of pain (antinociception), often compared to In contrast to hangover, some users report feeling better pharmaceutical opioids, with some saying they prefer than normal the day following lower-dose kratom use. the pain relief from kratom. Reduction of opioid withdrawal symptoms “Nodding”, vivid dreams Widely used by opioid addicts to mitigate opioid At higher doses, opioid-like “nodding” that can include withdrawal symptoms. Sometimes used to wean off, dream imagery; kratom before bed can induce an sometimes used as a replacement therapy. increase in dreaming.

Neutral Kratom Effects

Pupil pinning/miosis Change in ability to focus eyes As with most mu-opioid agonist drugs, pupils decrease People report unexpected shifts in focal ranges, speed, in size and responsiveness as a function of dose. and precision.

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 15 Negative/Unwanted Kratom Effects

Difficulty consuming as tea Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting Kratom’s bitter, grassy taste and resistance to colloidal At higher doses or when used in combination with suspension can make it unpleasant to consume for alcohol, benzodiazepines, or opioids; nausea, vertigo, novices. and vomiting are common. Itchiness / pruritus Hangover similar to alcohol Itchiness similar to that experienced from opioids is Next-day and hangover effects range from feeling better common, with a small number of reports describing than normal, to mild alcohol-type hangovers, to more pruritus continuing for days after last use. serious nausea and dysphoria. Mild depression during or after Desire to repeat use more often than intended Although uncommon, some report dysphoria or Some users report thinking about taking kratom and depressed mood either during or in the days following desiring to take kratom more often than they would use. choose to. Tolerance Addiction, difficulty controlling use, and The same dose of kratom diminishes in effectiveness withdrawal symptoms over consecutive days of use. As with other opioid-agonist drugs, kratom use leads to tolerance, desire to redose, and withdrawal effects after Perceived increase in body temperature daily use. Some report feeling hot and sweaty while effects start, at the peak, and/or while coming down. Liver health problems Inflammation of the liver (hepatitis) and symptoms of Reduced sexual desire or performance hepatotoxicity are described in a small number of cases, Some users describe decreased sexual desire, interest, though it is unknown whether these are due to kratom and performance. itself or product contaminants.

Fundamentals of Responsible Psychoactive Use

Take Less. Erowid encourages people to try lowering the dose of # 11 psychoactives they use. Not to make people have less fun, or to reduce Begin with a low dose until benefits, or to reduce pleasure, but individual reactions are because less is often just as good as known and thereafter use the more, and it’s almost always safer. Drug geeks should consider using minimum dose necessary less than they think is the minimum to achieve the desired they enjoy, and work to actively find effects: lower doses low doses as satisfying, as fun, as are safer doses. therapeutic, as engaging, and as beneficial as the higher dose they Erowid.org/fundamentals might otherwise be inclined to take.

16Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 201516 In Praise of Kratom Leaf by Fer

For the last year and a half or so, However, there are dozens I’ve gone on fairly regular kratom jags. of different varieties from When I’m enjoying kratom, I take it each country or of each 2–3 times a day in raw powder form, vein, often identified washed down with juice. I’ve learned to by purported regional be careful not to breathe in the powder! names (Bali, Borneo, If I do, it sticks in my throat for hours, etc.). Vein color is said like an awful-tasting post-nasal drip. I to be associated with more or less easy to believe the stories of people mete out my dosage pretty loosely, just stimulation, sedation, or pain killing switching from opiates to kratom for a regular household teaspoon, maybe effects, but since all of the leaf powders pain management. level or maybe rounded, if not quite are visually indistinguishable once heaping. Since you’re all good drug processed, it’s hard to tell what’s real Exaggerated Addictiveness? geeks, I actually measured for the sake and what’s marketing hype. The kratom Reports also often claim that of this article. It seems I take between available online or in your local herb kratom is addictive. This has not been 2 and 2.5 grams at a time, an amount store might not name a region or strain, my experience. In my year and a Erowid calls a light dose. but may instead have a fancy brand half of on-and-off usage, I have not My daily kratom usage generally name, like “Velvet Worm” or “Durga yet experienced either hangover or lasts a couple of weeks, maybe three. Fusion”. withdrawal. The reason I was motivated I never increase the dosage. to write about kratom is that I felt Over the course of a few weeks, a that the dependence, withdrawal, and teaspoonful ceases to be sufficient Kratom adds a pleasant, addiction sometimes attributed to it (the effects are much lighter) and are exaggerated. Some of the articles I stop using it. Then I kind of but not super pushy layer and summaries published by Erowid forget about it for another month of alternating euphoria, seem to overstate the problem, given or two—maybe more, maybe less; my experience and those of my there’s no rhythm to it—and then trippiness, and work friends. The friend who first gave I remember, “Mmmm! Kratom!”. me kratom, whose plant knowledge As for effect, kratom adds a motivation to my mood. is world class, agrees that addictive- pleasant but not super pushy layer ness is sometimes overstated. Of of alternating euphoria, trippiness, For those experimenting with kratom, course, we are both mindful users; it and work motivation to my mood. I it’s important to know that some types may well be that increasing dosage when can easily forget it’s in my system, are more stimulating and others are more effects taper off leads to different results. and then I’ll realize I’ve been working euphoric. I don’t pay much attention to It’s also possible that people react intently for a long time…or the light the exotic brands and strain names and differently enough that they experience through a leafless tree canopy will just use powdered, non-enhanced leaf. a withdrawal that neither I nor my expert undulate slightly…or the moment of Personally, I have a preference for the friend do. appreciating the light will provide me a more euphoric varieties, which have a At the dose I take, Mitragyna wave of deep aesthetic pleasure beyond stronger pain-killer/opiate-like effect speciosa will not blow off your doors normal sensation. (supposedly due to higher mitragynine of perception, but it may enhance your I’ve shared kratom with a few content). But I sometimes use a more day. Perhaps the biggest problem with friends. Some appreciate the effects as stimulating type when I have writing kratom is that its popularity has lead fully as I do. For others, it’s too subtle to get done. to increasingly over-the-top marketing to even be noticed. Besides being pleasant simply hype and ridiculous product names, Most kratom is sourced from for its own sake, kratom has a good all of which overshadow its natural Thailand, Indonesia, or Malaysia. reputation as both an antidepressant qualities. Finding a good, reliable Some vendors and information sources and mood regulator and also as a organic powdered kratom leaf can be further distinguish strains by the leaf means of mitigating opiate withdrawal. trickier than in past years. But if you vein coloration: red, green, or white. Given my experience of effects, it’s and leaf get along, say hi from Fer. •

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 17 Shulgin Archiving Project Shulgin Archiving Project The Shulgin Archiving Project is a collabora- tive project that has been in the works for more than a decade. Erowid’s involvement began with friendly needling of Sasha to allow digitization of his chemistry notebooks and files. Team Shulgin had the first of his lab books scanned in 2007. In 2008, Erowid began building an online “Shulgin Collection” and started helping with fundraising. Since Sasha’s death, the project has begun transforming from its humble beginnings into something more organized and directed. There are currently over a dozen people involved in document discovery, organization, identifica- tion, and scanning. Ann wields final say on the project, along with her daughter Wendy, who leads the Shulgin’s publishing imprint, Transform Press. Tania and Greg Manning act as ringleaders for the expanding team, who have collectively put in thousands of hours. We’re working with Team Shulgin to make more of the Shulgin Collection available and we hope you enjoy this tiny glimpse into the archives.

A Dispatch from the Shulgin Farm… by Scott Bodarky

I first started paying regular visits to the Farm in order to It feels odd to paw through the relics and residue of play Go with Sasha. A few years ago, I began helping Team people’s existence, from birth to death. The evanescence Shulgin with publishing and lending my entrepreneurial of life is apparent; decades of daily living reduce to boxes skills towards establishing the Alexander Shulgin Research of mouldering papers and ephemera, which will give way Institute (ASRI). to dust in the end. I’ve passed many hours at the Farm working on this Now we’re sifting for treasures hidden among mundane Archiving Project. Each week I spend several hours sorting artifacts such as magazine expiration notices, cancelled through materials accumulated over the last 110 years by checks, and bank statements going back to the 1930s. There is much of interest, including 16 mm films, audio EROWID IS DEDICATING $8,276.59 cassettes, Sasha’s writings, his music, his well-organized filing cabinets, his correspondence, and family photos. (10% OF OUR REDDIT CHARITY GIVE- The collection contains meaningful finds such as diaries AWAY WIN) TO SHULGIN ARCHIVING. written by Sasha’s mother during his infancy and his letter home from college, in which he proposes changing his Sasha, Ann, and their families. Sasha’s only child, Ted, major from pre-med to organic chemistry. There are also predeceased him by several years. So with Sasha’s passing, fun curiosities, like Sasha’s ham radio handbook, his notes his direct genetic line ended. to solve the Rubik’s Cube, his original poems beginning All of the accumulated papers and mementos from Sasha, when he was ten years old, and the poetry magazines that Ted, Sasha’s parents, his ancestors, and his first wife Nina published them. and her family are here. It appears that neither Sasha nor I’m not sure what will be of most interest to Erowid anyone around him ever threw anything away! readers or the future of humanity, but we continue to dig. •

18 Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 Shulgin Archiving Project Shulgin Archiving Project

Sasha and his father (above). Sasha as an infant in his parents’ arms (below). Letter home about changing his major to chemistry in 1943 (right and left).

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 19 The Customs of a Coca by Talus

CocaCONNOISSEUR leaf powder is my favorite with supply. That came to an end about struggling to contain my distaste for the stimulant; I’ve been using it for about a year ago. plodding inelegance of “the system”. five years. It’s quite easy to order With one order, there was a note While waiting in line, we observed a online from Peru. By pre-mixing the from the vendor boasting that they had young man with blonde dreadlocks who powder with baking soda and slipping a a new option to ship orders using DHL. had been just a few folks ahead of us spoonful between my cheek and gum, I Previously, the only option had been getting escorted into a separate room, have a modern version of the traditional EMS, a trusty but much slower and less only to emerge later in handcuffs with coca leaf quid used in many parts of accounted-for international shipper. a dejected look on his face. It was hard the Andes. Benefits of this method Delighted to be able to make use of not to feel contempt for these agents are its easily titrated short duration (I more modern systems, I chose to pay of control. can remove the quid an hour before an extra fee for DHL service, thinking My partner reminded me to stay bedtime and be able to sleep) and its I could expect faster shipping and track calm and respectful. When we were smooth, energizing effect. I use coca my package with fewer hassles. I should finally summoned forward, the official to reduce fatigue, boost energy while have known better. ordered us to bring our luggage to the backpacking and combat altitude The package’s tracking status long stainless steel table where he progressed from port to port until it scattered our belongings. was held up at US Customs in Miami, I didn’t expect to feel so violated. It hadn’t really occurred a fact I learned once I contacted the The search kicked off when I was to me that a package seller, who had greater access to data greeted with “Hello Mr. Lastname, you about the delay. The seller agreed to wouldn’t be bringing any more coca stopped at a shipping send a second package free of charge into the country, would you?” (My facility might be linked to using EMS. Despite being shipped to spouse was horrified when she heard the same name and address that was this.) It hadn’t really occurred to me a Customs search when on the original DHL package, the EMS that a package stopped at a shipping returning to my country. parcel arrived without issue. facility might be linked to a Customs Several months later, having search when returning to my country. forgotten about the incident, I found The officer proceeded to rummage sickness while mountaineering, as well myself in line to clear Customs in through our belongings in a deliberate, as to reduce hangovers and enhance Dallas, Texas during a return flight relaxed manner, starting with my wife’s studying. I am particularly fond of from a vacation in Mexico. The officer bag. He explained without looking up mixing gabapentin and coca, a favored reviewing my electronic receipt from that we had landed at a bad time to go combination for doing physical work the kiosk I’d lackadaisically checked in through Customs, as we were arriving and house chores. to at Immigrations flagged me to have during a shift change when fewer It has always astonished me that it is my luggage dumped and searched. My agents were available and some were so easy to order. I’ve also been puzzled partner and I were in danger of missing occupied with the young man’s arrest, that more of my friends don’t use coca our connecting flight, but we decided causing a delay in searches. powder, or that they aren’t aware of its it would be better if we stuck together. As he picked through packed availability and utility. I have primarily I was pretty freaked out—I carry souvenirs, presents, and my wife’s purchased the powdered leaf from a a small assortment of unlabeled pills underwear, he casually asked us pointed vendor that bills it as “Inca Tea”. I have and medications wherever I go, some questions requiring precise, prompt consumed about 500 grams a year and of which are controlled—and after answers. Most unsettlingly, he would have not encountered any difficulties a carefree week of relaxation I was pause to examine the quality of our eye

20 Erowid Extracts ­— Number 27 / May 2015 Acullico Adapted The wad of coca leaf for chewing is known as an acullico in the Andes, from the Quechua akhulliku. Making and using a coca quid for buccal administration is easy. My method uses powdered coca leaf and my local source of alkalizing admixture: baking soda. Put one cup of coca powder and one teaspoon of baking soda in a jar. Screw on lid and shake. When the fine dust settles, slide a small teaspoon- ful (about two grams) between cheek and gum. Compact with the fingers against the outside cheek to form a quid. Leave it there or turn with the tongue; it will moisten with saliva. The contact and facial expressions. It explained that even though we’d more baking soda I add, the stronger was clear he was well practiced in bought our bottles of tequila in the effects are, but also the more saliva focusing a suspicious eye on people duty free in Mexico, we would not that is produced, meaning the quid to assess threats and dissimulation. be allowed to keep them in our turns runny and dissolves more quickly. Moreover, he seemed to be trying to carry-ons! We hastily repacked our It is fine to swallow the liquid; I always do. If the quid is too dry, or if determine whether we were the type bags right there at the search table. I don’t notice subtle effects in the first to oppose authority or creatively (Thanks, Customs Guy!) 15 minutes, I add more baking soda relate to the law. Having my wife After deciding that we were to my source jar. It should have a salty by my side was advantageous: “good people”, and chatting taste but not be so strong that it irri- with her I passed more easily as about the housing markets of his tates the gums. A good quid can last a settled “family man”, another hometown and ours, he said we between 30 and 90 minutes before it stable, tax-paying and law-abiding, could repack my wife’s bag and disappears. The effects quickly dissi- harmless cog. move on—without even searching pate and I am fully back to baseline Soon, the official switched to my bag! We managed to make in 45 minutes. a much more personable self-pre- our flight, but we were shaken. It The effect of coca is cumulative; sentation. I thought he was trying was a reminder of how so many if I use the right ratio and properly to disarm me into saying something elements of my lifestyle that I take manage quids throughout the day incriminating, but in the end, I for granted as self-evident human the effects build and approximate think he was breaking character and rights are conceived of as being the plateau of a moderate dose of allowing us to see him as an ordinary illegal; a threat to the common insufflated cocaine, only with less guy doing his job. He delivered a good. Especially disturbing is euphoria and more focus. Because mini-lecture on not ordering coca that coca, a sacred plant central of the slow onset, there is no rush or tea online, because of, you know, its to Andean culture for thousands crash. Compared to caffeine, I ex- perience much less “body load”. I association with its naughty cousin. of years, was taken out of its don’t get jitters, irritability, or an acid We dutifully nodded and acted native context by this same western stomach (though, as with coffee, there dumb and grateful for the tip. In society, concentrated into powder can be a laxative effect). Coca is a fascinating turn, as he examined cocaine, and vilified by inextricably fine on an empty stomach (it actually my wife’s carefully labeled baggies linking it with criminality and helps me when I am hungry and on of over-the-counter and prescribed violence. the trail), and because of its shorter medication (my wife peels her Perhaps the most practical duration, I can use it in the evening prescription labels off and sticks lesson: I got pulled out of a line of and still expect a good night’s sleep. them on little bags in the interest hundreds of passengers because a I haven’t noticed tolerance, hangover, of space-saving), he helpfully product I ordered through the mail or any kind of withdrawal symptoms recommended that we always travel had been confiscated by Customs a when I go without. I’m uncertain about with actual prescription bottles in year earlier. I’m so ready for more the effects of the baking soda on my order to avoid hassles if we should intelligent, or at least less stupid, system, but I do know coca is nutri- undergo a future search. He also public policy. tious and gives me an incredible edge • over my mountaineering group when climbing, especially at altitude. Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 •21 The Distillation Organizational updates, statistics, and information about Erowid Center’s ongoing projects

EROWID CONTENT EXPERIENCE REPORTS EROWID SITE STATISTICS

UNIQUE ADDRESSES VISITING EROWID/ECSTASYDATA YEARLY DOCUMENTS PUBLISHED ON EROWID.ORG Published Reports 24,040 Fully Triaged Reports 38,732 64,493 Partially Triaged Reports 1,032 16,988,168 Un-triaged Reports 19,249 Experience Reports 24,040 Avg Viewers Per Day 97,079 Rejected Reports 22,825 Articles & Information Pages 18,628 Avg Page Hits Per Day 264,123

References 8,339 Avg File Hits Per Day 3,028,510 EXPERIENCE REPORTS COLLECTED Daily Transfer 30.94 GB Photographs & Images 7,873 Archived Site Pages 4,701 105,878 Visionary Art 2,021 RANDOM STATS! Submitted Each Day 7 “Ask Erowid” Answers 600 Published in the Last Year 100 AVERAGE AGE OF @EROWID TWITTER FOLLOWERS The Erowid Review 312 Active Triagers/Reviewers 24 25.9

TECH SPECS SOCIAL MEDIA MOST ACCESSED DOCUMENTS (LAST 3 MONTHS)

Erowid Files on Server 159,755 @Erowid Followers 26,162 Magic Mushroom Grower’s Guide Erowid Disk Footprint 80.6 GB Avg Tweets Per Day 6.1 Drug Testing Basics Average Response Time 341 ms GreatNonprofits Reviews 888 Rhodium Archive: Complete MDMA Synthesis

PLANTS AND DRUGS

NUMBER OF SUBSTANCES WITH THEIR OWN VAULT Refactoring Erowid’s Guts Over the past six months, JL, Earth, and Fire have focused a 359 lot of time on what is known by programmers as “refactoring”, a process of improving the code underlying a system without MOST ACCESSED SUBSTANCES (W/ CHANGE) changing its external behavior. Erowid.org and EcstasyData have

1) LSD (n) 11) Ayahuasca (i) undergone many changes that are invisible to visitors. We’ve been 2) MDMA (n) 12) Heroin (h) updating software, removing unused code, and bringing relevant 3) Mushrooms (n) 13) Salvia divinorum (i) code up to date. Refactoring is a step towards improving the sites’ 4) DMT (n) 14) Alprazolam (h) performance, making them more mobile device–friendly, and more 5) Cannabis (n) 15) Kratom (h) compliant with new browsers. 6) Ketamine (n) 16) Morning Glory (h) 7) Meth (h) 17) DXM (n) But, it hasn’t all been just refactoring. We’ve also been working 8) Cocaine (i) 18) Psych. Amanitas (h) on small visible improvements such as updates to fonts, text 9) 2C-B (n) 19) Mescaline (h) spacing, regularization of background colors, a consolidation of 10) Oxycodone (n) 20) Amphetamines (n) footer styles, and an updated look for the navigational interface. While these changes may seem minor from the outside, we have SUBSTANCES WITH PUBLISHED EXPERIENCES edited ten thousand files in the last few months, all to get the websites ready for even bigger changes to come. Soon, changes 593 you will notice! •

22 ErowidErowid ExtractsExtracts —— NumberNumber 2727 // MayMay 20152015 Psychoactive Photography The Distillation PHOTOS & IMAGES

Published Photos & Art 7,873 Image Vaults 309 LSD “Dancing Bears” Blotter, Photo by BalkanBoj Viewed Per Day 14,849 Published in Last 6 Months 10 Submitted Each Day 1.0 Awaiting Processing 13,773

THE EROWID REVIEW

Published Reviews 313 Viewed Each Day 4,417

LSD “Twins” Blotter, Photo by Tryptomaniac

European Blotter Collage, Photo by Farmer Dodds

LSD “Cherubs” Blotter, Photo by Anonymous

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 23 Crystalline Forms Reddit Charity Decimation Erowid selected to get $82,765.95!

s(+) isomer ? Reddit.com is a popular, quirky, discussion site that bills itself as “the front page of the Internet”. Reddit stands out from other social media platforms by being geekier, with a text-based Usenet-era aesthetic.Voting is built in to Reddit’s DNA. Discussions on any and every topic, from Christianity to drugs, can be up- or down-voted by registered users. On Feb 18th, without notice, Reddit announced they were “decimating” their 2014 advertising revenue, r (-) isomer ? giving away 10%, split between ten charities selected by Redditors during a week-long voting period. The ten winning non-profits would each receive $82,765.95. A couple of Erowid volunteers who are Reddit drug-discussion moderators alerted us to the giveaway. Initially we balked at throwing ourselves into the running because of past experience with similar social media voting. In 2009, Chase Bank held a charity challenge on Facebook in which we believe Erowid Center qualified as a winner. But Two Ketamine Crystals, Photo by Anonymous the win was canceled at the discretion of Chase based on fine print in their “terms”. Understand- ably, we were hesitant to waste our supporters’ time with another rigged vote (despite efforts by Limonene, Reality, and jhoppa—our excellent Redditor volunteers). Then, three days into the voting, we made a run for it. The voting system had an awful interface flaw, excluding charities with less than a million dollars in annual revenue from appearing in search results. Supporters had to be told in detail how to vote based on our tax ID. We spent three and a half days mobilizing members, site visitors, and friends through social media, email, and site messages. In the end, Erowid successfully placed fourth in the list of DMT Crystals from Mimosa hostilis, Photo by Sebastian Stevens ten winners! •

2015 Reddit Charity “Decimation” Winners 1. Electronic Frontier Foundation 2. Planned Parenthood Federation 3. Doctors Without Borders, USA 4. Erowid Center 5. Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia) 6. MAPS 7. NPR 8. Free Software Foundation 9. Freedom From Religion Foundation 10. Tor Project Inc. Extracted Salvinorin Crystals, Photo by Stevek1

24 Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 36-Hour Testing Turnaround ECSTASYDATA.ORG PROJECT On the final day of the Reddit charity voting challenge, while hectically gathering votes, we received PERCENTAGE OF ECSTASY/MOLLY SAMPLES CONTAINING NO MDMA an email from a senior editor at New York Magazine. He asked for short-deadline help with an article about 49% ecstasy in the wake of “molly-related” hospitalizations at Wesleyan University the previous weekend. We didn’t Avg Page Hits Per Day 13,326 have a chance to reply immediately, but he pressed the Avg File Hits Per Day 431,551 issue by calling our testing lab (DDL) directly. DDL got 2 015 Daily Viewers 5,242 in touch with us, and, though we’d slept little for the Year-To-Date Samples Tested 140 last few days, we coordinated to have the magazine’s samples shipped to them overnight. The lab technician Ecstasy/Molly Samples 250 Results Published went out of his way to help, conducting the tests that day MDMA Only (34%) 86 2010–2014 4,206 and sending us the results late Friday night. We verified MDMA + Something (16%) 40 2005–2009 434 the data and sent it to NYMag before bed. +1 Other 29 2000–2004 1,280 While our normal EcstasyData process time is about a

2 014 +2 Others 10 1996–1999 102 week, we were able to get the analyses completed in less +3 Others 1 than 36 hours, from ship to finish. Police toxicology labs almost always take weeks or months to release results. Something Else (49%) 122 As of five weeks after the event, the public still doesn’t Nothing (1%) 2 know what was in that Wesleyan “molly”. The seven samples from NYMag, while not directly from Wesleyan, showed a variety of substances being sold as “Molly” or “Ecstasy” in New York: MDMA, Ethylone, MDA, and methamphetamine. While EcstasyData can’t normally afford this speedy turnaround, we enjoyed showing off Yellow UPS Yellow Rolodex Blue Tulip Green Playboy the project’s capabilities even in the middle of one of the biggest fundraising sprints we’d ever managed. MDMA MDA TFMPP (20) Meth (6) • Lidocaine (1) Caffeine (2.5) Ethylone (1) Blotter Auction Raises $5,425 In late 2014, a generous supporter of the Shulgin Archiving Project donated between 60% and 75% of the proceeds from six valuable pieces of signed blotter MEMBERSHIP & SUPPORT art auctioned on eBay. Many thanks to Island_Healing for his support of Team Shulgin and Erowid! • NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO CONTRIBUTED $3 OR MORE IN LAST 13 MONTHS

Seeking Volunteer/Project Manager 6,567 2,500 HIGHER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR! For the past two years, the biggest hole in Erowid’s Recently Expired (0–6 months) 488 core staff has been the lack of a volunteer manager. Most Older Expired (>6 mo.) 7,068 of the content on Erowid is written, edited, or verified Members in the United States 1,096 (68%) by volunteers, many of them chemists, toxicologist, historians, etc. They have professional lives that take Members in Other Countries 504 (32%) priority over their volunteer work for an educational Countries with Erowid Members 43 charity like Erowid, and they need direction and chastise encouragement to contribute to and complete projects. Countries with the Most Members The unexpected grant from Reddit has opened the door USA (1,088); Canada (90); UK (78); Australia (73); Germany (33); to being able to afford an additional crew member for Netherlands (23); Sweden (20); France (16); Denmark (15); Switzer- this critical position. We’ll begin a targeted search for a land (14); Norway (13); New Zealand (12); Finland (11); Brazil (11); fitting addition to our team in the next few months and are Italy (8); Belgium (7); Ireland (7); Israel (7); Spain (7); Austria (6) hopeful that this search will yield world-class expertise in managing remote teams of volunteers in the global, poly- CURRENT MEMBERS timezone, online reality of the Erowid crew. • 1,612

Erowid Extracts — Number 27 / May 2015 25 VERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIM VERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIM VERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIM VERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIM VERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIMVERBATIM

“Happiness! Can any human being “To have striven, to have made the “We must always remember to thank undertake to define it for another?” effort, to have been true to certain the CIA and the Army for LSD. […] They — Dinah Craik (1826–1887) ideals—this alone is worth the invented LSD to control people and struggle.” what they did was give us freedom. “The care of human life and happiness, — William Osler (1849–1919) — John Lennon (1940–1980) and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good “You are not controlling the storm, “No government is ever really in favor government.” and you are not lost in it. You are of so-called civil rights. It always — Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) the storm.” tries to whittle them down. They are — Sam Harris (b. 1967) preserved under all governments, “Reason, Observation, and Experience insofar as they survive at all, by —the Holy Trinity of Science—have special classes of fanatics, often taught us that happiness is the only highly dubious.” good; that the time to be happy is — H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) now, and the way to be happy is to make others so.” Nadhari “Enlightenment should also be — Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–1899) enjoyable.” — Saul Bellow (1915–2005) “Happiness in the ordinary sense is not njia ya what one needs in life, though one is “If in our daily life we can smile, if we right to aim at it. The true satisfaction peponi. can be peaceful and happy, not only is to come through and see those we, but everyone will profit from it.” whom one loves come through.” Wisdom in judgment is — Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926) — E. M. Forster (1879–1970) the secret of happiness. “It matters not how long we live, “Happiness lies only in a divine but how.” ­— Swahili Proverb子 unrest; and if you are lapped in — Philip James Bailey (1816–1902) comfort you stagnate and miss it.” — John Buchan (1875–1940) “Life! Don’t talk to me about life!” — Marvin the Depressed Robot “In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the “Creative quietude combines within “Keeping that awestruck vision strength of the effort is the measure a single individual two seemingly of the world ready to hand while of the result.” incompatible conditions—supreme dealing with the demands of daily — James Allen (1864–1912) activity and supreme relaxation.” living is no easy exercise, but it is — Huston Smith (b. 1919) definitely worth the effort, for if you “Do not attempt to accomplish greater can stay centered, and engaged, you results by a greater effort of your “Acceptance of others, their looks, will find the hard choices easier, the little understanding, but by a greater their behaviors, their beliefs, brings right words will come to you when understanding of your little effort. an inner peace and tranquility you need them, and you will be a The greater your understanding of the —instead of anger and resentment.” better person.” power within yourself, the less effort — Unknown — Daniel Dennett (b. 1942) you need to make in order to achieve.” — Walter Russell (1871–1963) “[LSD] is a psychic energizer… “Better than a thousand hollow It releases the subconscious. It words; is one word that brings peace.” “Fanaticism consists in redoubling makes you see all your guilts, fears, — Buddha (ca. 6th century BCE) your efforts when you have forgotten repressions and insecurities. It makes your aim.” you free.” “Peace is liberty in tranquility.” — George Santayana (1863–1952) — Cary Grant (1904–1986) — Cicero (106 BCE–43 BCE)