Hard News by Russell Brown

I'd venture a guess that those amongst the readers of Erowid that use drugs are much less likely to have a "problem" doing so - having both the expectation as to the psychological effects and an understanding of what is likely to cause physical harm.

Fantastic interview with two incredible people! I loved reading their balanced and insightful responses. Good questions, too.

Erowid has been a go-to resource for unbiased drug information for two decades now, and there is still nothing else like it on the Internet. Kudos for that achievement. Consider donating to them: http://www.erowid.org/donations/

mmm...just having risen...to respond...from the dead...after my eeeee adventures....I';m a paid up supporter of Erowid...stop with hill billy interview questions...

...and...i have .... finger printed copies of Pihkal...and Tihkal.....that means ...I read them....fingerprint wise...well done NZP....

I’d venture a guess that those amongst the readers of Erowid that use drugs are much less likely to have a “problem” doing so – having both the expectation as to the psychological effects and an understanding of what is likely to cause physical harm.

By their own admission, some of Erowid's Experience Vault reporters are problematic drug users -- just read them. But that doesn't matter so much in this context. They've reported their own experiences with some structure and frankness, which is the important thing.

stop with hill billy interview questions…

They were questions I needed to ask for the story I was writing, no more or less.

embracing the Lay Chemist...

The name "Erowid" was chosen to reflect the organization's stated philosophy of education. Using Proto-Indo-European linguistic roots, "Erowid" roughly translates into "Earth Wisdom" (er meaning 'earth,' 'exist,' and 'be born' and wid meaning 'knowledge' / 'wisdom' or 'to see')

...and by happy coincidence an anagram of 'weirdo'
while sounding a lot like a Lord of the Rings character...

what were they on?

...and where was 'Wind' ?
the 'ear-borne' psychoactive music spokesperson...

:- )

Seriously, it looks like an interesting site!
<cup of tea and settle in...>

rank and file...
I've been thinking about this...
(with my Prebble-sized brain)

the urge to collect, collate and curate
is hard wired into our wetware

the internet being the latest, greatest
externalised tool to aid and abet a process
that begins with simple evaluations:
'Fits up nose,
doesn't fit up nose'
through to:
'Wahoo!
Do I have a receptor for that!
Or what?'
always with the questions...

...rating, grading, pigeonholing,
ordering, recording, filing...
but craving novelty.

Reductionist folly
always chasing the smallest the fastest
the oddest, taking it all apart...

tearing through the weak fields
the discrete, magnetic, gravitic
with no particle place to be...

all particles and fields it seems have an 'anti'
so is it any wonder we have so many
'defilers' and 'degraders' seeding 'disorder'?

tinkering with the emotional fields
(as Facebook has just done*)
is an inhuman experiment...
...another step along from Google's targeted ads
not much different to what ISIS(L) are doing
or any news media really...

I wonder who is running the experiment
at The Herald at the moment?

Ian Dalziel

You are a treasure Ian Dalziel, an absolute treasure.

Its a pretty good resource for legal Pharmaceuticals, psychological impacts,side effects etc . I use it in my work sometimes.
There was another "user driven" site for Psychiatric Drugs but I have lost the link.

The name "Erowid" was chosen to reflect the organization's stated philosophy of education.

I have always assumed the name was a mere corruption based on the nasal intonation of someone suffering from withdrawals as in....
"Nh bate, ibe just godda bid of a cold, by the way, got any erowid?"

Excellent interview Russell. Such a righteous project.

Would love to hear a follow up now on

We are cautiously very optimistic about the new Psychoactive Substances Law in New Zealand. It might not be the perfect solution, but at least it’s attempting something new. [NB: See note in the introduction about the date of this interview.] The current system virtually guarantees that the most available, legal substances that young people are exposed to will be the least well tested and understood. Would you rather have your kids smoke pot or smoke an unidentified waxy solid from China that has effects similar to cannabis? That is, whether you like it or not, a very real question that the public faces.

I'd say that they are right in the main about the importance of trying something new, even if the end result was a complete U-turn. It's information about what can happens when you try a path.

assay, assay, assay...

...an absolute treasure.

...buried alive in Chchch, broken jewel of the vast alluvial plain.

Thanks Richard, and thank (insert preferred deity) for disinter-net thing.

; - )

Ah. My Matters of Substance story is online now (still minus the sidebar), and includes this passage:

Chris Fowlie, co-owner of the Hemp Store and an expert witness in cannabis cases, says the value of Erowid is not only for drug users.

“It’s a very good site for spotting trends – things that are happening in other countries that we need to be aware of here, trends in drug use and consumption patterns – sometimes years before that information comes from official sources.”

Fowlie says Erowid’s moderation weeds out one major problem with forums such as Bluelight: information posted with a commercial motive – up to and including the offer of free samples of new drug products, sometimes in return for favourable “reviews” from forum users.

“Erowid does have credibility amongst professionals.”

It’s also of use to the Police, says Detective Inspector Stuart Mills of New Zealand’s National Drug Intelligence Bureau. He says his team “keep an eye” on sites like Erowid and Bluelight “so we have an understanding of what’s going on in the drug market. We read those sites and observe what people are saying. If there’s something new on the market, they’re another independent source to say something’s happening. We can see people warning each other what’s good and bad. Which pills are good and which are dangerous.”

He notes one practical example: when Hamilton schoolgirls became ill after taking so-called “red rocket” pills from a mother’s handbag, the police needed to know quickly what the medical implications were.

He does, he says, look at the local equivalent, TripMe.

“It’s not used by us as an investigative tool,” he emphasises. “It’s an intelligence tool. We see it as promoting harm prevention – and that’s a key focus of drug policy. If people are going to use these products, then hopefully it’s reducing the risk for them.”

(Shlugin, if you’re reading this, I know you have an issue with DI Mills, but you’ve aired it repeatedly in these forums and I’d ask you not to relitigate it again.)