Consciousness Cafe - Entheogens and Psychedelic Cultural Transmissions

The following can be found in the DEA Microcode Bulletin August 2004:

DEA OFFICE OF DIVERSION REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

TRYPTAMINES AND PHENETHYLAMINES


Recently there has been an increase in law enforcement encounters with a variety of unusual tryptamines and phenethylamines. These substances are not specifically scheduled within the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

The tryptamines include:


N,N-Dipropyltryptamine (DPT)
N,N-Diisopropyltryptamine (DIPT)
5-Methoxy-N,N-diethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DET)
5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT)
5-Methoxy-alpha-methyltyrptamine (5-MeO-AMT)
4-Methoxy-N-methyl-N-isopropyltryptamine (4-MeO-MIPT)
5-Methoxy-N-methyl-N-isopropyltryptamine (5-MeO-MIPT)
N-Methyl-N-isopropyltryptamine (MIPT)
4-Hydroxy-N,N-diisopropyltryptamine (4-OH-DIPT)


The phenethylamines include:


2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylthiophenethylamine (2C-T-2)
4-Iodo-2,5-dimethoxy-phenethylamine (2C-I)
2,5-Dimethoxy-4(2-fluoroethylthio)phenethylamine (2C-T-21)
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-ethylphenethylamine (2C-E)
2,5-Dimethoxy-4-cholorophenethylamine (2C-C)
5-(2-Aminopropyl)indane (API)
5-Chloro-3,4-dimethoxyphenethylamine


The Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section (ODE) within the DEA’s Office of Diversion Control is interested in documenting the abuse, diversion, trafficking, and public health risks of the above listed tryptamines and phenethylamines, as well as any other related substances. This information is being collected to document the need for possible placement (scheduling) of these substances under the CSA. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories often provide valuable information for this purpose. ODE would appreciate receiving any information related to the law enforcement encounters, drug identification and abuse of the above mentioned tryptamines and phenethylamines, as well as any related substances. Please contact Dr. Srihari R. Tella, Pharmacologist in ODE, at (202) 307-7183 with any information pertaining to these substances. Information may also be provided to Dr. Tella by fax at (202) 353-1263, or by email to Srihari.R.Tella -at- usdoj.gov or by mail addressed to the Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, Office of Diversion Control, Drug Enforcement Administration, Washington, DC 20537.

NOTE: THIS SHOW WAS CANCELLED DUE TO BLIZZARD. Check the artist's website for updates on rescheduled shows.

Very beautiful consciousness art from a local artist.

Show information:

January 22, 2005
6:00–9:00 p.m.
Grow In Motion Dance & Wellness Center
7518 Madison 2nd Floor
Forest Park, IL
Info: 708.484.7987
www.growinmotion.com

> January 29 at 7pm - 2am
>
> Calling creative pyros! There's gonna be a good old fashioned
Christmas
> Tree Burn on Saturday, January 29 at the Wildlife Refuge in
> Kansasville,
> WI (just inches across the IL border). Pulling together the creative
&
> destructive energies from Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison and beyond,
this
> will be the 4rd annual Yule Tree Burn.
>
> So gather up all of the ex-Xmas trees you can carry and join us for a
> great night of fun, music, fire, beer, fire, fun, fire, and over 100
> flaming trees!
>
> Don't be a spectator--Bring trees!!!!!
>
> Please be safe and think ahead when you drink. Onsite camping will
not
> be permitted for this event.
>
> The Official 4th Annual Yule Tree Burn is sponsored in part by
> SynchorniCity... This Burn marks the 4th anniversary of Synchro!!!!!
>
> Wildlife Refuge: take the Highway 11 Racine/Burlington Exit off I-94
> (Exit 335). Go 10 miles (thru Union Grove, at the 6-mile reading on
> your odometer) and turn right on Highway 75 at Kansasville (there's a
> stop sign). Go just 1/8 mile north, see the PBR sign on your left,
> turn
> in and park.

Contact brian (AT) somahq (DOT) com

The MAPS benefit at Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, which I
believe Sandria attended, is now available on video -
about two hours worth was filmed I think.

The cover story in this week's Village Voice is about the new progress
in Psychedelic research.

Paul Stamets, one of the best known mushroom enthusiasts in the world, is serious when he talks about the intelligence of mycelial networks. In his view the fungal world consists of zillions of mycelial mats which are in instant contact with each other and exchange information much like the internet works. In this way each mycelial cell of every network 'knows' where the it is needed to convert dead biomass (or petrochemical pollution!) into compost.

The idea about fungal intelligence sounds pretty off the wall at first, also to me, but I have to say that the RealAudio program of ABC Australia "The Science Show" (which this post links to) explains a lot. There is a mechanism which can explain it: the small world phenomenon. No matter how large and interconnected a network is, necessary information never needs to be more than a few nodes/fungal cells away. Mycelial mats literally can 'know' about all the places on this planet where they can convert waste into compost!

The program does not mention mycelia even once but listen to it. Or read the transcript. It explains a lot!

Rene

I have done some research on an excellent mind machine site, mindmachines.com, and done comparisons of the latest products at the two leading manufacturers of light & sound machines: photosonix.com and mindplace.com. I have come to the conclusion that as of late 2004, the latest version of the InnerPulse with Tru-White glasses is the best buy with good glasses under $300.

However, the companies keep leapfrogging each other with the quality of their product, so maybe next year I will like the Proteus ( mindplace.com ) better. If
you are buying a light & sound for that special someone *right now*, and you are on a budget, I strongly recommend the Innerpulse. If you are not on a budget, boss hawg is still the photosonix.com Nova Pro 100 with Tru-white glasses.

I have also been told the Sirius Mind Machine is an excellent buy. The interesting feature of the Sirius is that it is driven by music. You can buy either special CDs encoded to drive the Sirius, or use your own music. I have been told that the Sirius works well with psychedelic trance.

Since the Sirius mind machine and the Audi-Oh vibrator are both driven by music, there is interesting synergy for women in buying both and using them at the same time.

Categories: psychedelic, mind machine, neurofeedback

North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski, Chicago.
Sunday, January 9, 10am - 3:30 pm -- Cosmic Closeness
Celebration

Pulsing adds more spice to the celebratory soup, when melding
sustainability issues with The Great Story.

See how it works at our Chicagoland Urban Permaculture (CUP)
celebration, this Sunday (details below).

Also mark your calendar for Sunday, February 13, 2-4 pm  -
The Blessings of Biofuels (see bottom).

...Rael

>>

Sunday, January 9, 10am - 3:30 pm -- Cosmic Closeness
Celebration

 -- our exploration into the spiritual ecology component of
creating sustainable cultures.


Celebrate the perihelion (earth closest to sun) by coming closer
to nature's deeper aspects. Experience some of the universe's underlying
patterns and principles, and how they are expressed locally. This year we
focus on the pervasiveness of pulsing, and how different evolutionary
strategies are more appropriate at certain times. Dress for a meditative
walk outside (weather permitting). Potluck lunch. Free. Morning and
afternoon sessions can be attended separately.
http://helioncelebrating.blogspot.com/
North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski, Chicago.

Info: 773-907-1465


<><><> Tentative Program ><><><

<< Perihelion Possibilities Celebration >>

January 9, 2005


< Process > Probing the possibilities for "permanent" progress -- of moving toward a more "permanent"/sustainable/resilient way of life -- through periodic spiritual ecology pulses.

For the story of these celebrations and more information about pulsing see http://helioncelebrating.blogspot.com/


MORNING

Celebrating life and the deeper patterns of the universe.

10:10 Systems relationship game and pulse dance

10:20 Introduction to helion celebration and pulsing

10:30 Early universe story to Earth's beginnings - Susan Kayser*

11:00 Earth Evolution - Pulsing/breathing meditation

11:10 Earth/life patterns and sustainability - Gordon Brumwell*

11:40 Seed Sorting

11:55 Universe song


NOON - Potluck lunch. -- Vegie preferred. Mountain Mint chaff tea tasting.

Meal blessing/contemplation/preparation... digesting... anabolism/catabolism


AFTERNOON - Shaping the stories of here

1:00 Introduction to helion celebration and pulsing

1:10 Interactive North America Story - http://www.thegreatstory.org/NA-ritual-choices.html

2:40 Nature Center's story and future vision - Sean (NPVNC naturalist)*

2:50 Shaping and seeding our emerging stories and relationships to nature - Meditative walk and seed distribution

3:10 Evaluation and contemplation around the hearth fire

3:30 pm FINE


* denotes guest presenters


<< COMING NEXT MONTH >>

And for more sustainability related events, see the Greening Chicago Calendar at http://bgb.org/calendar/


Sunday, February 13, 2-4 pm  --- The Blessings of Biofuels

Fossil fuels will soon be more difficult to obtain, and increasingly expensive. Are there advantages in switching to ethanol blends now? Nancy Wise, a major proponent, will present her views and experiences driving with E-85, an alcohol/gasoline blend available locally and usable with the many flexible fuel vehicles produced by the major manufacturers. Nearly 2 million people may not be aware that they can immediately switch. We will also review other options. Free. North Park Village Nature Center, 5801 N. Pulaski, Chicago.

We *love* this HBO special, now with the 1st season
released on DVD.

Carnivale is a world of visionary healers and
journeys, Christ figures, telepaths, the Fool and the
Magician; synchronicity; and personal transformation,
set in the American Great Depression. It is a
breathtakingly beautiful spectacle and one of the best
things I have ever encountered on television. Strongly recommended.

I thought I would pass on a personal discovery about nootropics that may be of benefit to other.

Following the advice of many other nootropic (cognitive-enhancing) users, in March 2003 I started a regimen of daily doses of 4.5 mg hydergine (brandname Novartin) and 800 mg piracetam (Nootropil). I did find that the synergistic combo increased my alertness. The piracetam alone makes me much more sensitive to all psychoactives, by increasing the permiability of the blood-brain barrier. The hydergine seems to supply a stimulating action.

Ever since I have been using it I have intermittently felt what appears to be occasional heart arhythmia, feelings of light-headedness and dizziness, and a general lightness all around. Sudden physical activity would result in feelings of my heart "lurching" and other unpleasant sensations. I have especially noticed this in the last six months.

In December I had an unexpected interruption in my supply of hydergine so I have been off it for about two weeks now. (I am still taking piracetam.) Ever since the hydergine ended, all of my chest discomfort, feelings of lightness and dizziness, have ended. I also feel more calm than I have in months. I have come to the conclusion that the hydergine, perhaps in combination with the caffeine in the coffee I routinely drink, had me excessively stimulated. I think the hydergine is probably a performance enhancer for the same reason any stimulant like Ritalin is. I probably get enough of that effect just from the coffee I drink.

So a warning to others who already partake in some kind of stimulant. Monitor yourself when initiating a hydergine regimen. Watch for heart palpitations, apparent arhythmia, and other kinds of discomfort when you take it.

I do not feel any difficulty with piracetam alone, and will try to continue to take piracetam.

Shai responds . . .

well guys......as a medical doc i have to say that you should be weary of both because ultimately they become a dependent factor for the physiological fnxn of the bod.....although nootopril is used in men for increased oxygen utilization....once your body is used to metabolizing piracetam...it will fall down a curve of productive action once you stop and the body, espceically the brain will feel the effects of decreased o2 ouput......  So what's the catch? One problem, to which not all authorities on nootropics give enough emphasis, is the complex interplay between cognition and mood. Great care should be taken before tampering with the noradrenaline/acetylcholine axis. Thought-frenzied hypercholinergic states, for instance, are characteristic of one "noradrenergic"
sub-type of depression. A predominance of forebrain cholinergic activity, frequently triggered by chronic uncontrolled stress, can lead to a reduced sensitivity to reward, an inability to sustain effort, and behavioural suppression.

         This mood-modulating effect does make some sort of cruel genetic sense. Extreme intensity of reflective thought may function as an evolutionarily adaptive response when things go wrong. When they're going right, we don't need to bother. Hence boosting cholinergic function, alone and in the absence of further pharmacologic intervention, can subdue mood. It can even induce depression in susceptible subjects. Likewise beta-adrenergic antagonists (e.g. propranolol (Inderal)) can induce depression and fatigue. Conversely, "dumb-drug" anticholinergics may sometimes have mood-brightening - progressing to deliriant - effects. Indeed antimuscarinic agents acting in the nucleus accumbens may even induce a 'mindless'
euphoria.

 






P.S. READ THIS ...ITS REALLY INTERESTING: http://www.biopsychiatry.com/index.htm  Italks about all drugs in a snap shot....but dont beleive everything you read.......!!!!!!!

This is the best overview I have read of the various North American psychedelic and entheogenic churches that have arisen in the 20th century. I highly recommend you take the time to at least skim this paper.

Here are several broad strokes about Stuart's paper. These are all strictly my point of view.

Observations about the Law

It is impossible to get, from this paper, any kind of concrete idea of where U.S. law is headed with respect to entheogenic religions. This paper covers churches from the turn of the 20th century onward. Only a few of the legal issues detailed are more recent than 1994. In the past century we have seen a vast change in the social character of the United States. The law tends to reflect the views of the prevailing society. This overview covers too broad a span of time to get an idea of which way we are headed; whether in the direction of more freedom, or more control.

There are several legal defeats and imprisonments and impoundments documented here. It is easy to see the cause of the psychedelic church as hopeless. But again, we are told nothing about whether the church hired a competent attorney to defend herself, and whether the defendants behaved themselves in court. It is obvious from the many colorful stories recounted in "Entheogenic Sects" that many psychedelic church leaders and their followers were eccentric, wild, amazing people. This is not necessarily how you should act in court if you want a good outcome. It is obvious that some psychedelic leaders of the past could not keep their buffoonish behavior out of the courts, and the public eye. It is therefore clear from this overview that in many cases an effective defense was not mounted, and could not be, given the kind of people leading the church.

Further, many of the stories of persecution occurred in what we Americans now call "red states." Many entheo churches were located in rural and conservative states, with predictably conservative and unsavvy judges and juries. A good piece of advice for psychedelic churches for the near future in the U.S.: try to operate primarily in liberal, metropolitan states with judges savvy about cultural and religious diversity. Establish a basehead in cosmopolitan, liberal America before venturing out into the savage Christian heartland.

Another point against some psychedelic churches of the past is that they, rather openly, incorporated as a dodge to avoid imprisonment for use of what are otherwise prohibited materials. The U.S. courts want to see, in a religion, that the followers are practicing a legitimate faith. If they are not sincere practitioners, this will be obvious to any savvy judge or jury. Your church, if you have one, must be based upon sincere faith and religious practice.

Some of the groups operating openly with an entheogenic sacrament were also clearly poor in cash. It seems wise for any group operating openly to have a war chest to pay competent attorneys to defend you if you are busted. Perhaps it would be best for these churches to operate secretly until they are able to hire an attorney.

Finally, among the legal challenges we face, is that setting a precedent in the U.S. will do very little to advance psychedelic religious rights in other countries. The First Amendment free exercise clause applies only within the United States. And not only are precedents of limited geographic scope; they also can be reversed as new judges ascend, and as the society's prevailing attitudes change. Legal decisions are limited in scope over both space and time.

The only truly irreversible thing that entheo activists can do is to educate the society as a whole. Judges, juries and lawyers emerge from a mainstream context. Changing the mainstream attitudes about prohibited psychoactives and entheogenic sacraments can make lasting changes in the legal decisions which emerge from the courts.


None of this should be read as saying the case for the psychedelic church is hopeless. It is certain that if we do not fight for our rights, we will not secure them. Unless you practice your freedoms, you will lose them. Just be aware that unless you want to spend the rest of your life in the courts, open practice of our religion might not be an option for most of us. At least not this early in the 21st century.

Religious Aspects

Mr Stuart makes the point that the courts are not currently inclined to support multiple eucharist psychedelic churches. This is an important point. The U.S. courts tend to say that, if you support, say, both psilocybin mushrooms and the use of Salvia Divinorum, then neither of this is an essential sacrament. Neither sacrament will then be supported by the courts as a legal sacrament. The U.S. courts say we must choose one sacrament and stick with it, despite the overwhelming evidence within our community that an entheogen, such as the mushroom, that is found healing and transformative by one shamanic practitioner, is found to be poison and anathema to a second practitioner. Mr. Stuart makes the additional point that this flies contrary to South American native practices, where very few curanderos work with only one psychoactive plant. Very few healers even in the United States work with only one kind of medicine. Why then would an entheogenic spiritual healer run a church with only one sacrament?

So already those who intend to operate a psychedelic church, openly and with multiple sacraments, face a serious obstacle. This will be a new fight completely unlike those already engaged by the Native American Church peyoteists and the UDV ayahuasceros. Not an unwinnable fight but also not a clear or easy win. Is it even wise to fight such a battle at this time?


It should also be obvious to the reader that psychedelic churches can be as dogmatic, excessively structured, and full of mindless followers and manipulative cult leaders as any cult. There is nothing about entheogens that makes a church that works with them free of power plays and ossification. There has to be a vision for a psychedelic church other than the use of psychedelics. The vision should emerge out of a shared community purpose, not from the head of a single charismatic leader.

Stuart notes that psychedelic churches suffer from the same utopian tendency to disintegrate upon the loss of a few material assets, or a couple of core leaders. A successful entheo sect should have a business plan (a way of staying materially viable), a plan for leadership succession (and a way of ousting ineffective leadership), and a long term shared mission statement that is known and endorsed by all church membership.


Since few groups of psychedelic practitioners are going to want to put most of their time and money into legal battles, we may do best by working discretely and in secrecy as so many have for years under different forms of persecution. It is clear that some form of shamanism continued in secrecy in Europe for centuries as Christianity rose as a political power and religious orthodoxy. Against the power of the Christian monolith, it is possible that secret societies such as the Rosicrucians, Freemasons, Gnostics, and ceremonial magicians operated for centuries in secret networks. The Sufis have operated discretely and often secretly in many Islamic and Christian countries where their open presence would not be welcome, and Jews throughout the world have often had to hide, or at least discretely practice, their religion.

The secret society may be the best model for psychedelic religion in the 21st century. We should continue to fight select battles as resources become available. At the same time, we should continue to develop, and share, our group experience in the use of psychedelics. We should discretely and slowly introduce this knowledge into mainstream society. As psychedelic insight becomes conventional wisdom, it will become easier to win more expansive victories in the court system. None of this will happen quickly.

Continuing to expand psychedelic spiritual organizations as loose networks may minimize the risk of personality cults and unflexible dogmatic central churches developing. Psychedelic networks have existed for years. Loose networks made up of many small cells makes it possible for successful patterns of practice to perpetuate across the network, while allowing people to escape cells which have become stagnant or which have developed internal pathologies. The network is a more adaptive organism than the centrally organized hierarchy which churches most often resemble.

-- Ustaath

>To all of you whose lives have been profoundly affected by their
>experience with psychedelics, comes this news item. Whether it was LSD,
>psilocybin, peyote or another compound that opened the "doors of
>perception" in your mind, let us not forget the contribution of Dr.
>Albert Hofmann.
>
>Dr. Albert Hofmann will celebrate his 99th birthday on January 11, 2005!
>Dr. Hofmann first synthesized LSD-25 in 1938 while working at Sandoz
>Laboratories in Basle Switzerland. He became the first person to
>discover its psychedelic effects on April 16, 1943.
>
>MAPS is working hard to start FDA-approved research with LSD and
>psilocybin in subjects with cluster headaches so that Dr. Hofmann can
>witness the resumption of LSD research and the beginnings of the
>transformation of his 'problem child' into a 'wonder child'.
>
>Many of us acknowledge the profound contribution his discovery has made
>to our own lives, our sense of self, our values, our relationships with
>others and the larger world, and our hopes for the future of mankind
>itself.
>
>MAPS members wishing to write letters to him expressing their
>appreciation for his contributions should send them to Dr. Hofmann, c/o
>MAPS, 2105 Robinson Avenue, Sarasota, Florida, 34232, and we will
>forward them unopened to Dr. Hofmann. You can see some photos taken at
>Albert's 98th birthday celebration here and listen to Rolf Verres' piano
>performance at the party here.
>
>Good health and godspeed Albert! May your problem child yet fullfill its
>promise as the prodigy we know it to be.