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Archive-name: drugs/psychedelics/adp-faq
Maintainer: Quincy <quincy@hampstermash.com> See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the newsgroup alt.drugs.psychedelics ------------------------------ Contents 1. Introduction 2. What subjects are on-topic? 3. Are any subjects specifically off-topic? 4. What is the meaning of the word "Psychedelic?" 5. Flames 6. Cross-posting 7. Killfiles 8. alt.drugs.dxm 9. Advertisements 10. Miscellaneous Notes and last but not least... 11. Useful Psychedelic Drug Links ------------------------------ 1. Introduction Welcome to alt.drugs.psychedelics. Here you will find a diverse crowd of scientists and hedonists, artists and anarchists, poets and philosophers. Psychedelic drugs are consciousness-altering plants or chemicals which induce changes in sensory perception. They have been used throughout human history as a component of religious and spiritual practice. Psychedelics are being studied as an adjunct to traditional psychotherapy, for their ability to provide patients with intuitive insights into their own condition. The effects of psychedelics are heavily influenced by "set" and "setting," the pre-existing mindset of the user and the environment in which the substance is consumed. Psychedelic drugs should not be confused with narcotics such as heroin, CNS depressants such as barbiturates, or stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines. alt.drugs.psychedelics supports a humane approach to drug laws and education known as "Harm Reduction." Billions of dollars are spent worldwide on drug prevention and eradication programs, with the effect that... people are still using drugs. Rather than ignoring and condemning users, harm reduction advocates focus upon minimizing the negative health and social consequences of drug use. Harm reduction does not attempt to deny or understate the real dangers associated with licit and illicit drug use. ------------------------------ 2. What subjects are on-topic? Primary topics include dosage and effects, plant identification and cultivation, health and safety issues, drug laws and politics. Secondary topics relate to the culture of Psychedelia and include philosophy and spirituality, music and poetry. ------------------------------ 3. Are any subjects specifically off-topic? Illegal drug transactions or solicitations are prohibited. Drug newsgroups are regularly monitored by law enforcement. Know and be responsible for your country's laws. ------------------------------ 4. What is the meaning of the word "Psychedelic?" In 1956 the favored clinical term for drugs such as LSD was "psychotomimetic," meaning "mimics states of psychosis." Psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond felt this was a loaded definition. Osmond felt there was much we could learn from these substances and altered states of consciousness, that reducing these experiences to mere pathological delusion would inhibit our study. So he coined the less judgmental term "psychedelic," from Greek roots meaning "mind-manifesting." Neologism: 1. A new word, expression, or usage. 2. The creation or use of new words or senses. 3. Psychiatry. A meaningless word used by a psychotic. 4. Theology. A new doctrine or a new interpretation of scripture. -- American Heritage Dictionary, Third Edition Q. Which specific drugs are considered "Psychedelic?" Early psychedelic writers such as Aldous Huxley elucidated their experiences with LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline, these trip reports formed the basis of the public's perception of "psychedelic" effects. Many psychoactive drugs have been discovered since that time, their psychedelic properties are generally measured by comparison with these standards. alt.drugs.psychedelics has never reached a consensus definition based upon either chemistry or effects, however here is a generalized summary of opinion: All consider Psychedelic: LSD, Psilocybin, Mescaline, DMT. Some consider Psychedelic: DXM, Ketamine, Salvia Divinorum, Ibogaine, Datura. Marijuana and MDMA are sometimes considered mild psychedelics. In the broadest public sense "psychedelic" is interpreted to mean "wildly colorful," a reference to the kaleidoscopic visual hallucinations which such drugs sometimes provide. The word "psychedelic" is also occasionally utilized to characterize the 1960s hippie culture, or describe a musical genre. ------------------------------ 5. Flames Q. Why is there so much arguing on this newsgroup? I thought psychedelics were about Peace, Love, Understanding and Respect? Psychedelic users are an extremely diverse group, there are few topics we will ever unanimously agree upon. Through our battles we learn to make peace with each other, and thereby discover peace within ourselves. A major cause of friction stems from textual communication's lack of visual and audible cues. Usenet's relative anonymity seems to embolden many posters, who compose offensive statements they would never say directly to someone's face. Tactful posting requires that you think twice before pressing the "send" button. If your only contribution to a discussion is to submit the opinion "that is the lamest thing I have ever heard," then perhaps you are better off not sending the post. And no, slapping a smiley face at the end of your sentence does not automatically absolve you of all sin, otherwise the following statement would be a hilarious joke: You are a fucking asshole ;-) When arguing online, please employ minimum force operations to limit collateral damage. Keep the fights short, don't destroy the group in order to save it. Here is an example of how to sap your villainous opponent's mojo: get him to waste his time accomplishing absolutely nothing. If there is some idiot you absolutely must torture, send him on a fool's errand. Follow these instructions carefully: http://www-csag.ucsd.edu/individual/pakin/idiot/chapter1.html ------------------------------ 6. Cross-posting A cross-posted message is automatically mirrored to more than one newsgroup. An example would be if you wished to write one message regarding drug legislation and have it posted simultaneously to both alt.drugs.psychedelics and alt.drugs.hard. When you see a user who has cross-posted to wildly inappropriate groups, such as alt.drugs.psychedelics and alt.abortion, it is usually a sign that the poster is deliberately attempting to stir up trouble. When replying to any message, please check the "Newsgroups:" header line and manually remove any undesired cross-posted groups BEFORE pressing "Send." ------------------------------ 7. Killfiles Freedom of Speech vs. Freedom of Listening Unmoderated forums strive to provide freedom of speech and equal rights for all. However there will always be individuals who abuse this freedom, who post for the express purpose of: 1. Provoking angry responses 2. Promoting a personal agenda unrelated to psychedelic drugs The abusive poster has nothing better to do all day than attempt to disrupt Usenet. When you respond to his post, HE WINS!!! You have provided him the negative attention he seeks, he has succeeded in his goal and will continue. If you hear yourself saying "Well, someone needs to remove this poster for his abusive behavior," then YOU ARE THAT SOMEONE. You can exercise your own freedom of listening by configuring your newsreader software to ignore and discard all messages from a particular author. Once you have placed an author in your "killfile," his posts will no longer appear in your newsreader browser window. Some posters publicly announce additions to their killfile with the message "<plonk>" (this is supposed to represent the sound created by dropping someone into your killfile). Others believe that killfiling should be performed silently and privately. Outlook Express v5 or v6, Simple killfile: 1. From the message list, highlight any message written by the person you wish to killfile (single-click upon the message to highlight it, do not double-click to open it). 2. Choose "Block Sender..." from the "Message" menu. If you are using Outlook Express v4, killfilter instructions are described here: How to Filter Newsgroup Messages in Outlook Express http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q171/2/33.asp ------------------------------ 8. alt.drugs.dxm Due to the popular legal availability of dextromorphan and the controversy surrounding it, DXM related posts have occasionally reached 80% of alt.drugs.psychedelics total traffic. As a side effect this can suffocate discussion of other psychedelic drugs. If 80% of the posts on "alt.auto" were about Mercedes brand autos, it would be time to move some of the discussion to "alt.auto.mercedes". The newsgroup "alt.drugs.dxm" is available for those who wish to participate. ------------------------------ 9. Advertisements Messages promoting commercial products and services are generally unwelcome. Those who wish to register their displeasure at unsolicited advertising should vote with their wallet, and refuse to patronize the offending businesses. ------------------------------ 10. Miscellaneous Notes Usenet newsgroups are not ideally suited for fast paced, one-liner repartee such as practiced on IRC chat rooms and instant messenger systems. Important on-topic posts are quickly crowded out by a flood of one-liner chat. Usenet's strength over instant messaging systems rests in its slower pace, a more reflective and thoughtful style of writing, a smaller number of posts so as not to overload the newsreader threading interface. AVOID POSTING IN ALL UPPER CAPS! IT MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE A SCREAMING IDIOT, BUT I GUESS THAT'S YOUR PREROGATIVE. Do not correct users' grammar or spelling. This is not a Spelling Bee. Finally, invest some time getting to know the flavor of our group before posting. Lurk and learn. For further information regarding netiquette, please visit: Introduction to Usenet and Netiquette (from NewsWatcher manual) http://www.smfr.org/mtnw/docs/Usenet.html See you online! ------------------------------ 11. Useful Psychedelic Drug Links General Drug Information (Portals): Erowid's Psychoactive Vaults http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives Erowid needs your financial support. If you benefit from this site, please consider making a donation or becoming a member. The Lycaeum Entheogen Database http://leda.lycaeum.org The Schaffer Psychedelic Library http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/lsd/lsdmenu.htm Health and Medical: Psychedelic Crisis FAQ (Handling a Bad Trip) http://erowid.org/psychoactives/faqs/psychedelic_crisis_faq.shtml Interactions between Hallucinogens and Antidepressants http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/maois_info4.shtml Interactions between MAOIs, SSRIs, and Recreational Drugs http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/maois_info8.shtml Experimental Research Chemical FAQ by Murple http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/research_chems/research_chems.shtml Erowid's Guide to DXM in nonprescription drugs http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_info2.shtml Law and Politics: Basic Facts About the War on Drugs by Clifford A. Schaffer http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/basicfax.htm Newsgroup Access via Web Interface: Google.com - alt.drugs.psychedelics alt.drugs.psychedelics">http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_ugroup=alt.drugs.psychedelics User Contributions:
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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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