the entheogen law reporter, winter 1997/1998 - no. 17 - erowid

The Entheogen Law ReporterIssue No. 17 ISSN 1074-8040 Winter 1997/1998

Author Chastises Entertainment Industry andDEA for Pro-Drug "Blacklisting" —

Then Raided by DEA!On December 1. 1997, author PeterMcWilliams purchased a two-page"advertisement" in Daily Variety magazine, calling to task those in the entertainment and advertising industry for blackingout the truth about illegal drugs. In hispiece (as you'll read) Mr. McWilliamsbrazenly attacked DEA head ThomasConstantine for his cruel stance on medical marijuana and for his bizarre reactionto the Murphy Brown medical marijuanaepisode.

On December 18, 1997. McWilliamswas working at home when a "hardpounding on the door accompanied byshouts of 'Police! Open Up!' broke thesilence, broke my reverie, and nearlybroke down the door. I opened the door,in my bathrobe, and was immediatelyhandcuffed. I was taken outside my housewhile the Drug Enforcement Administration agents ran through my house, gunsdrawn, commando-style "

At the time ofthe raid, McWilliamswas at work on a new book A Question ofCompassion—An AIDS Cancer PatientExplores Medical Marijuana, agentsseized his computer and all backup files ofhis manuscript. (Mr. McWilliams has suffered from AIDS and cancer since theSpring of 1996, and makes no bones aboutthe fact that he uses medical marijuana asis his right under California's Compassionate Use Act.)

McWilliams was not arrested, "just"harassed. In a press release issued afterIhe raid McWilliams vowed to continuespeaking and writing his mind despite theDEA's suppressive tactics. Three cheersfor McWilliams!

To stay abreast of this matter, visitPeter McWiliams' website at http://www.mcwilliams.com/indexl.htm.

This is the full text of his courageousad in Daily Variety that prompted theDEA's intimidating reaction.

Would You Fight a Hollywood BlacklistIfThere Were OneToday?

(Becareful. This is atrick question.)— by Peter McWilliams

Tust about everyone in Hollywood whoI hears about the Hollywood Blacklist of old

declares, "If I had been there, I wouldhave..." and then proclaims one bold anddaring act of creative freedom-fighting afteranother. Some, especially those who were notthere, have contempt for anyone who cooperated with the Blacklist in any way. But I'll betthat even those who recently blackballed EliaKazan from industry recognition because ofhis participation in the old Blacklist haveknuckled under to the current Blacklist timeand time again.

Yes, there is a Blacklist—a code of censorship imposed by Washington—that nearlyeveryone in Hollywood religiously adheresto. It is more insidious than the anticommu-nist Blacklist of half a century ago because noone discusses it. No one has to—everyoneself-censors. The Blacklist is so ubiquitousthat most people are not even aware of it anymore. It just is.

It is Hollywood's most revered sacredcow. What is on this Blacklist? The D-word.Drugs. Specifically, any mention of illicitdrugs as enjoyable, productive, illuminating,or healing. These are precisely the experiences most people who take drugs have—that's why people continue to take them. And

yet, for more than a decade, Hollywood haswillingly, almost enthusiastically, censoredthis simple fact of life, just as it censoredother facts of life in generations past, generations we now laugh at for their foolishknuckling under to Puritanism.

Favorable drug experiences, whileabounding in real life, have been painfullyabsent in American cinema and televisionfor the past ten years. A swath of reality hasbeen removed from today's entertainmentthat will seem to future generations as absurd as David O. Selznick's being fined$5,000 for not removing "damn" from GoneWith The Wind or Lucy not being allowed tosay "pregnant" as she explains Little Rickyto Ricky.

The Anti-Drug Blacklist has struck mostcruelly at comedy. If a nation can't laughabout something, it can't think clearly aboutit. Oh, the millions of fabulous jokescrushed by comedy writers' "No Drug Humor" filter. If a "drug joke" makes it past thecomedy writer's filter, the production company has lots of filters happy to do theirpatriotic bit. "This is very funny, but youknow we can't use it."

(Continued on page 172)

IN THIS ISSUE

A u t h o r R a i d e d B y D E A w iT r a p s & T r a j e c t o r i e s o f E n t h e o g e n L a w 1 7 2T h e S e c r e t C h i e f b o o k r e v i e w 1 7 6I l l i n o i s G H B B u s t 1 7 7Pharmacophiijaor The Natural Paxadisesbookreview 178I n f o r m a t i o n S u p p r e s s i o n 1 7 9

The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/California • 95617-3481* e-mail: [email protected] 71

there would have been a howl of outrage. We.as writers and publishers, would have firmlyasserted yet again our right—yes, right—topublish anything wc saw fit.

Why didn't Hollywood's leaders speakout against this obvious act of creative oppression by the most powerful human beingon earth?

"Mr. President, we follow our creativeinstincts in Hollywood, and we will portray

just censoring out the positive

Blacklist Raid(Continued from page 171)

Discussion closed.On October 13, 1997, the President (of

the United States) complained that Hollywood promoted "warped images of a dreamworld where drugs are cool." The president(ofthe Motion Picture Association of America) responded, "1 cannot answerthe President, because I reallydon't know what he's referring

jo. i can't mink of any picture in truth about drugs is no longer enough.t h e l a s t s e v e r a l y e a r s t h a t g l o n - ° © ofi e d d r u g s . - Yo u m u s t n o w t a k e

Thank you. Mr. Valcnti, foracknowledging the effectiveness an actively dlskoneSt StOnCe.o f t h e B l a c k l i s t . *

President Clinton's accusation was a shot fired over the bow of Hollywood's collective creative freedom. I comefrom thirty years in book publishing. Despiteour many faults, such as the arrogance towrite didactic pontifications such as this one,we in publishing are hypervigilant about censorship. You'll note there was no anticommu-nist Publishers Blacklist in the 1950s. Bookscritical ofthe Cold War and even books praising communism were printed.

Today, books such as Smoke and Mirrorsby Dan Baum. Marijuana: The ForbiddenMedicine by Lester Grinspoon, M.D., andMarijuana Myths, Marijuana Facts by LynnZimmer, Ph.D., and John Morgan, M.D., tellthe truth, factually and scientifically, aboutdrugs and the Drug War. Name one movie orTV show that does the same.

If President Clinton had made preciselythe same criticism of these books or of thepublishing industry he made of Hollywood,

drugs as we find them, not as you tell us tofind them." Why didn't one person say,"Hollywood, sir, is a censorship-free zone."

Instead, Mr. Valenti almost contritely explained that the Anti-Drug Blacklist is firmlyin place, Mr. President, and we've been goodlittle children here in Hollywood.

Television producers hurriedly lined up todeclare that they, too, were being good littleboys and girls. They pointed to ABC's pathetic month-long "March Against Drugs" asproof. It was sad to see a major network andalmost every creative person and newsgath-erer in it collapse under the weight of DrugWar political pressure.

"March Against Truth" was more like it.This dark deal was made between James

Burke, who runs the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and his brother, Daniel Burke,while the latter's Capital Cities still ownedABC. Disney, when it took over ABC, gave

in to the Burke brothers' threat that if the"March Against Drugs" didn't take place,Disney would be branded "soft on drugs."Disney, which took such a courageous standon Ellen, failed to do so this past March.

That's how powerful the Blacklist is.But President Clinton's words did not

stop at keeping the current Anti-DrugBlacklist in place. He went on to say in his

October 13, 1997, radio address to the nation that Hollywood must do more. It should,of course, not "glorify' drugs,but more importantly tell ourchildren the truth. Show themthat drug use is really a deathsentence," and the only acceptable message is: "drugs arewrong; drugs are illegal; drugscan kill you." (Please note the

word "use" and not "abuse.")In other words, just censoring out the

positive truth about drugs is no longerenough. You must now take an activelydishonest stance. Dishonest? Does any intelligent person in Hollywood believe the"truth" about marijuana, for example, is thatusing it "is really a death sentence"?

And yet Hollywood remained silent thispast October—even more silent than it wasin October 1947. Anyone who has beentracking the War on Drugs knows that thiscapitulation by Hollywood was an invitationto even more and harsher censorship.

Of course, it came.After a drug-free decade in Hollywood,

cancer patient Murphy Brown smokes medical marijuana and, horror of horrors, it actually relieves her chemotherapy-induced nausea.


Traps & Trajectories of Entheogen Law:RICHARD GLEN BOIRE INTERROGATED

'n November 23, 1997, I was interviewed by Mason Dixon, an artist,

writer, robot designer, and user of outlawedentheogens. The "interrogation," as he preferred to call it, was for use in a mixed-media piece of Dixon's "exploring the contours of mental freedom in the matrix ofthelaw as consensus enforcer."

MD: Recently you stated in TELR that thedemise of RFRA no longer made it possibleto do TELR the same way, and, I think it wasin (he very next issue of Jim DcKome'sEntheogen Review that he stated that theEntheogen Review would be ending, and

then the Psychedelic Resource List folded.Some people are saying that you, DeKome,and Jon Hanna [editor of the PRL] werepaid a visit by some government agents andintimidated into ending your newsletters.

RGB: Yeah, I read a letter to that effect inthe last issue of ER. DeKorne replied thathis own inner work has moved in a differentdirection than entheogens and he'd like toexplore that new orientation. He's also mentioned that the financial burden of producing ER was a big consideration. I can understand both of his motivations. TELR is a lotof work for no money—it just breakseven— and I routinely get completely fed

up with "legal thinking," both reading it anddoing it. Writing about something you'renot excited about is worse than working asan accountant or insurance agent.

MD: I know. At best, doing something youdon't believe in is pimping your life to thehighest bidder.

RGB: Yeah, it shows a certain lack of self-respect, I think. Anyway, I understandDeKome's reasons for moving on. I alsothink that his gift or contribution to thisfield is underestimated. In addition to theinformation shared in each issue of ER, his


The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/California • 95617-3481 • e-mail: [email protected] Page 172

Blacklist Raid(Continuedfrom page 172)

With this minuscule breach ofthe Blacklist, Thomas Constantine. head of the DrugEnforcement Administration, is checking tosee "if any laws were broken." Mr. Constantine, who has no medical training whatsoever,proclaimed: "Marijuana is not medicine!"

Didn't the voters of California decide tolet doctors determine whethermarijuana is or is not medicine?And, as a recent cancer,chemotherapy, and radiation survivor who uses medicinal marijuana to keep down the anti-AIDS drugs that are keeping mealive, I can personally attest tomedical marijuana's anti-nauseaeffect. Anecdotal evidence, yes,but it's all the evidence 1 need.

Please keep in mind, Murphy Brown didn't even come out as a potsmoker the way, say, Ellen came out as alesbian. Murphy is smoking marijuana to saveher life, not because she's an adult in a freecountry making an informed choice (heavenforbid).

For the transgression of saving her lifewith a little pot, the DEA is poking aroundMurphy's creators' lives looking for revenge.

Should you be concerned by the quib-blings of Mr. Constantine, a former policechief who now heads a mostly covert billion-dollar-a-year federal agency with 200"Special Agents" already in Los Angeles and3,576 other "Special Agents" around theglobe who would just love a special undercover assignment in the entertainment industry? (And, my friends, DEA Special Agents

can be even more troublesome than CAASpecial Agents.)

The DEA has launched a criminal investigation into a prime-time sitcom and a majortelevision network over the creative contentof that series.

Criminal investigation! (That's what"we're going lo see if any laws were broken"means in DEA-speak.) If you don't know theWar on Drugs has declared total war on yourindividual and collective creative expression.

If you don't know the War on Drugs hasdeclared total war on your individual

and collective creative expression, I amhere to tell you: The War on Drugs hasdeclared total war on your individual

and collective creative expression.I am here to tell you: The War on Drugs hasdeclared total war on your individual andcollective creative expression. (Remember thelast self-righteous, heavily armed Constantinewho declared war on the unbelievers?)

The DEA's guns have been pointed atHollywood for years and Hollywood hastremblingly succumbed. "Appeasement, yes,that will keep them at bay." It didn't work, ofcourse. It never does. The criminal investigations have begun. The DEA's guns are nowfiring—at your colleagues.

Fire back with your creativity. Proveagain that art conquers intolerance; thatbeauty can tame the beast. This Drug War is abeast that's out of control. The governmentspends $50 billion a year waging a cruel waron its own citizens, mostly minorities. Every

48 seconds in the United States a life isruined by a marijuana arrest—2.9 millionsince Clinton, a pot smoker, took office.

Even Washington acknowledges thatHollywood controls the mind of the world.Hollywood has for too long let the government's dark, distorted, destructive, andpainfully inaccurate view of drugs permeatethat mind. The world puts its faith in Hollywood's dreams because—in theory, at

least—the entertainment industry is controlled by creative people, not policemen, not religiousright moralists, not politicians.

If you think the entertainment industry will be exemptfrom a DEA witch-hunt thatcould make McCarthy's HouseUn-American Activities Committee seem like an ACLU picnic, think again. I'm not going toname any names, but I'm sureyou could list more than a few in

the industry who would be more than happyto go to Washington and turn in "drug-sympathizers." If you don't want SenatorHelms asking you under oath on Court TV,"Are you now or have you ever been soft ondrugs?" get busy.

Note the relentless arrogance of theDEA. Here Mr. Constantine testifies beforeCongress in early December 1996, just afterthe passage of Propositions 215 and 200:

"The California and Arizona initiativesdo nothing to change federal drug enforcement policy. The DEA will continue to target major drug traffickers, including majormarijuana growers and distributors. We alsocan take both administrative and criminalactions against doctors who violate the


Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continued from page 172)newsletter was a tangible expression of several hundred nodes in what Ott estimates tobe about one million entheogen users worldwide. Entheogen use is today's living mystery "religion." It's easy for some people tofeel very isolated in their entheogen studies,practice, experiments, or whatever you wantto call them. Each issue of ER providedtangible proof that the religion is alive andquite vibrant.

But, I certainly wasn't visited by anyoneI recognized as a government agent. And ofcourse, TELR is not ending [Note: After thisinterview I learned that ER will be continuing under new editorship from San Francisco (564 Mission Street, Box 808-sm, SanFrancisco, CA 94105-2918). Jon Hanna, isevidently going to write a column alongwith Will Beifuss [author of The

Psychedelic Sourcebook] in the post-DeKorne ER in a telephone call Hannaconfirmed he was not pressured out of publishing the PRL.]

I said that TELR would change following the RFRA decision because my ownfaith in "the law" as it deals with entheogensis currently at an all-time low. I don't thinkthat entheogens are going to be legalized orde-controlled in the foreseeable future. Ithink that we're several technological advancements away from a time when entheogens will be recognized for what theyare or can be. And, the impetus for changewill not come via the legal system, it will bethrough the much larger system called culture. The legal system, in all but the mostaberrant of situations, reacts to culture. Thevery nature of law is conservative. In fact.

that's the point of law, or one of them—tocreate a unstable set of fixed rules. Culturechanges, and then law changes; it's not theother way around. In other words, winning alegal case is never going to be the cynosureto getting entheogens legalized so long asthe "public" isn't already convinced of theirpotential merit, or at least not afraid of them.A winning legal case on the current cul-turescape will simply be met by strict legislation overturning the rule established in thecase.

It's true that the US Supreme Court hasthe power to construe the Free ExerciseClause as protecting entheogen-centered religion, but the Court has spoken on thisissue and the message was "even membersof the NAC don't have a Constitutional


The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/California* 95617-3481* e-mail: [email protected] Page 173

Blacklist Raid(Continued from page 173)terms of their DEA drug registrations... those doctors who prescribe or recommend Schedule 1 substances [which includes marijuana] are violating federal law.The licenses of over 900 physicians haveeither been surrendered or revoked in thelast two years for fraudulent prescriptionpractices."

Only an order from a courageous federaljudge in San Francisco keeps the DEA fromattacking California physicians. There is nosuch order protecting us patients, so a manwho had cancer nine times before he was tenyears old, Todd McCormick, was arrestedby the DEA for growing marijuana in hisBel Air home—the fabled Medical Marijuana Mansion. After a three-month intensive investigation involving at least fourDEA Special Agents and weeks with a federal Grand Jury, McCormick was chargednot with selling, not with buying, but onlywith growing—cultivating—which isspecifically permitted under Proposition215 (now The Compassionate Use Act of1996).

For this, McCormick faces life imprisonment (a ten-year mandatory minimum)and a $4 million fine.

A California law, enacted by the votersof California, is being trampled on by theDEA. That's how powerful the DEA is—itcan violate the will ofthe people of California, and not even California Attorney General Dan ("Am I Governor Yet?") Lungren,dares do his sworn duty to defend the lawsof California against all comers.

Arresting a multiple-cancer patient is

how low the DEA will sink. It won't letMcCormick use medical marijuana whileawaiting trial. The DEA randomly urinetests him twice a week. It also won't let himleave the country where he could find reliefin a civilized place such as Holland.

When Todd McCormick was three, as aresult of cancer treatment, his top five vertebrae were fused together. When he wasnine, radiation treatment froze the growth ofone hip—he has one normal adult hip andone the size of a child. "I don't sleepthrough the night because every time I movemy neck the pain wakes me up," he recentlywrote me. "Then I am tired all day long, andmy appetite is decreased, and then I pondera bit too much about the possibilities ofreoccurring cancer and life imprisonment.Not fun."

The DEA is torturing this unfortunateyoung man to make a cruel point—and totest its limits.

This brutality, the DEA now knows, isclearly within its limits. How much outragehave you heard about McCormick? Notmuch, I'll bet. Seeing this, the DEA nowfeels powerful enough to test its tendrils onthe entertainment industry. And it is.

What can one do but to paraphrase Oscar Wilde? "The way America treats her sickpeople, she doesn't deserve to have any."

McCormick and his point of view areworth at least a TV movie, don't you think?And a donation to his defense fund wouldbe most appreciated, I'm sure. (Todd McCormick Defense Fund c/o David M.Michael Client Trust Account, Bank ofAmerica, Pier 5 North The Embarcadero,San Francisco, CA 94111,415-986-5591.)

President Clinton's October remarkswere made while launching a plan, in ca

hoots with Partnership for a Drug-FreeAmerica, to spend $350 million this seasonon prime-time ads. The money comes fromthe federal government (that is, we're paying for it), alcohol, cigarette, and pharmaceutical companies, and their advertisingagencies.

These ads are not designed to spread thebalanced truth about drugs, oh no. According to the PDF A: "The Partnership's mission is to reduce demand for illegal drugs bychanging public attitudes about drugs—to'denormalize' drug use, by making use lessglamorous and less acceptable." Nothingabout truth. And note the word "illegal."How convenient that this campaign is beingpaid for, in part, by the marketers of legaldrugs.

The Empire is expecting no backlash oftruth from Hollywood during this campaign,and President Clinton's accusations werespecifically designed to stifle any murmur-ings from Hollywood before they began.The PDFA boasts: "The Partnership hasaccess to the entire advertising industry.This means it has a nearly limitless supplyofthe best creative ideas in the country."

Come on, Hollywood, are you going totake that lying down?

Take a look at Hollywood's output during America's last failed War on Drugs, thewar against alcohol, Prohibition, 1920-1933. Movies had speakeasies and hipflasks galore. Gloria Swanson, in one CecilB. DeMille picture after another, practicallybathed in the bubbly. Joan Crawford drankand flapped her way all over the place.

The screen's comics made the most ofProhibition. Chaplin rose to fame in musichalls playing a drunk, a skill he would revise


Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continued from page 173)right to use peyote!" That was the 1990Smith case. [The NAC is now protected by a1994 Amendment to the American IndianReligious Freedom Act, and by a handful ofstate statutory and common law protections- but not under the federal Constitution.]

MD: So you don't see the legal arena as thecenter of what Jonathan Ott calls The Entheogenic Reformation?"

RGB: Definitely not. It may be wherechange ultimately shows itself—and wherewe'd like to see it—but it's not gonna be themoving force for the change. I think that thedemise of the Fugitive Slave Law of themid-nineteenth century is a possible modelfor how the anti-drug laws could becomeundermined. The Fugitive Slave Law lost so

much public support that it eventually became unenforceable, and was repealed. [TheFugitive Slave Law was a federal law thatmade it a crime to rescue, aid, or harbor arunaway slave.] It targeted the so-called"underground railroad" a secret transportation network that aided runaway slaves inmaking it to freedom. When the FugitiveSlave Law was first enacted, some bravepeople spoke out against it and even calledfor its wholesale violation. Ralph WaldoEmerson, for example, called for everyoneto break the law at the earliest opportunity,saying that nobody with any self-respectcould obey such a clearly unjust law.

By the late 1850s, enough people wereagainst the Slave Law that the tactics usedby the so-called underground railroadshifted to above ground. It was not uncommon for arrested runaway slaves to be res

cued in the middle of their trial, by armedcitizens who would storm into court, grabthe captured slave and rush him or her out ofcourt and then out of the country—all inbroad daylight The law simply became unenforceable because it lacked public support.

To a person whose entheogen has beenoutlawed and who has been made a criminalfor being true to their minds and spirits, theLaw can certainly appear to be the enemy.But, I see the anti-entheogen laws as simplythe weapons of the enemy. In a fight, youdon't center your entire strategy at manglingthe enemy's weapon—you want to kill theenemy, or make it your friend. If you disarman enemy but leave it standing, it'll just grabthe next available weapon. The anti-entheogen laws are the weapons of people



Blacklist Raid(Continued from page 174)many times on screen. In one scene. Charlie's wife leaves him. He turns away fromthe camera and appears to be sobbingdeeply. Turning back, we find he is shakinghimself a martini.

One of Keaton's best-rememberedroutines—filmed twice during Prohibition—has Buster, very drunk, trying toundress a female companion who iseven drunker. Keaton also explored theinjustices of Prohibition. In one film,the bad guy plants a bottle of bootleghooch on Buster and then informs apoliceman. The policeman, then as now,was not bothered by the niceties of theFourth Amendment when it came to drugs.One illegal search later, the chase was on.Even MGM, Louis B. Mayer's bastion of"family values," released while Prohibitionwas still the law of the land a BusterKeaton-Jimmy Durante comedy, SpeakEasily.

And, of course, there was W.C. Fields.Hollywood had one hell ofa time during

the last Prohibition chiding the bigots.The only difference between alcohol

Prohibition and the current drug prohibitionis that alcohol Prohibition was legal. Whenbluenoses made alcohol illegal, at least theydid it right—they amended the Constitution.When the rest of us re-legalized alcohol, weamended the Constitution again. Without anamendment, the current Drug War is uncon

stitutional. Period. (Please see my bookAin't Nobody's Business If You Do. It's atb o o k s t o r e s , o r f r e e a twww.McWilliams.com.)

The Murphy Brown episode was entitled"Waiting to Inhale." I don't know aboutyou, but I've been waiting years to see anynumber of sitcom characters inhale. We'veseen them all drunk. That's a sitcom staple.

If you don't exercise your freedomof expression about drugs now,

you may never be able to again.Lucy's interaction with the alcohol-ladenVitameatavegimin is a classic.

What fun it would be to see our favoritesitcom characters high. Most shows couldget a whole episode out of it. Some, likeSeinfeld, could get a whole season. ImagineFrasier and Niles getting the munchies forBeluga, or discovering how the Third Rockaliens react to pot's earthly pleasures.(Maybe space creatures don't need to inhale.)

In drama, have any character light upand announce, as more than 19 millionotherwise-law-abiding Americans have,"I'm going to smoke pot from now on; I likeit better than beer," and watch the fireworks.

The fundamental hypocrisy—obvious toany ten-year-old—is that tobacco and alcohol are legal while pot, no more harmfulthan those, is not. This hypocrisy is destroying millions of American families, and yet it

has seldom, if ever, been honestly exploredin the dramatic form.

Logic, science, reason, and the Constitution are on the side of an adult's freechoice to use marijuana as a recreationaldrug, and yet the federal government decreed in the 1995 Omnibus Crime Bill thatif you possess enough marijuana, even formedical purposes, the government (our gov

ernment) can put you to death.Where is Hollywood's answer to

this injustice, to the ten million marijuana arrests since 1972? Where isthe Gentleman's Agreement or ToKill a Mockingbird or Platoon dramatizing the insane cruelty of the

War on Drugs?And what about the children? DARE to

tell them the truth—the whole truth—aboutdrugs. If you tell kids the truth about drugs,most will listen when you also tell them,"Wait until you're an adult to decide." Noone favors recreational drug use for children.

If you don't exercise your freedom ofexpression about drugs now, you may neverbe able to again. In fact, it's probably already too late. Find out. Throw in a joke ora positive fact about marijuana just to see ifthere is a Blacklist.

If you find that there is one, imagine it's1947.

—P.S. I represent no group ororganization, just me. I paid for this ad

personally. Why? Well, to quote a greatmovie, "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going

to take it any more!"

Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continued from page 174)who are, for one reason or another—or irrationally—afraid of their own minds orwhat's inside them.

Myron Stolaroff, who spoke earlier [atthe mind states conference] said that, in hisopinion, one of the keys that distinguishespeople who have good or rewarding relationships with entheogens from those whodon't is often self-honesty. The same witheach individual entheogenic experience. Ifyou are being dishonest with yourself aboutsomething, and you take a sufficient amountof an entheogen, you will quite likely beforced to deal with that self-dynamic andthis can produce a very very uncomfortableexperience. So, it makes sense to me that inthe macrocosm of western society, a collective or perhaps consensus dishonesty notonly exists, but stands in the way of anacceptance of entheogens. Kinda "as belowso above." The result is the outlawing ofanything as illuminating as entheogens for

fear that their use would reveal this horridand systemic dishonesty. We'd rather lie toourselves than face this nastiness, not onlyas individuals, but collectively.

MD: So, it sounds like you think any favorable legal change is a long ways off, sincewe seem to be living in an age in whichdishonesty is greater than ever. Is that whatyou think, . . . that legalization of entheogens is decades, or perhaps centuriesaway?

RGB: Well, I don't know if western cultureis anymore dishonest now than at any othertime. And, the act of trying to predict whenlegalization will occur tires me. It's certainly not going to happen in the immediatefuture, which is really all that is evenslightly predictable, until you get to extremes of time, when predictability againreturns. But in that huge span between tomorrow and the "ends of time," the accuracy

of prediction falls so low that it strikes me asa crap shoot. And I still believe that changewith regard to entheogens, like any largecultural change, will happen suddenly, notgradually. The metaphor of a kaleidoscopesnapping from one pattern to another, seemsto me to be the best model; and again underscores how prediction is a fool's game.

I think that people who use outlawedentheogens, make better use of their timetrying to avoid the law rather than change it.Hakim Bey has written [see Millenium] thatbecause of the ever-increasing-monolithicstructure of the status quo, practitioners of"psychedelic religion" are ipso facto placedon the pole of opposition. I agree, and we'replaced there whether we like it or not, andeven if in every other way we might besupporters of the status quo. Someone whouses an outlawed entheogen, even if in everyother way he or she is an impressive and"up-standing" citizen, is branded as an en-


The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/California • 95617-3481* e-mail: [email protected] Page 175

From it's discovery in 1938/43 until themid-1960s, ingesting LSD was as legalas drinking a cup of coffee. During thatperiod, word of this phenomenal drugspread from coast to coast. Impressed by thepotentials ofthe drug in psychotherapy, psychologists and other scientists began studying the drug and its possible uses.

When LSD was declared illegal, manyusers turned to underground chemists forsupply and, hence, were able to continue

. . . it often happens that in retrospect, history places higher valueon those individuals who violatedquestionable laws of their time because of foresight and high moralprinciples than those who had issued them for wrong reasons.

— Stansilav Grof, M.D. from the"Prologue" to The Secret Chief

their use, albeit always with some doubtabout the quality of their drug, and alwaysin fear of imprisonment. The scientific studies, however, ground to an immediate halt,as scientists not only lost their pharmaceutical supply ofthe drug but, short of jumpingthrough an almost impossible set of regula-

The Secret ChiefBOOK REVIEW

tory hoops, were afraid that continuing theirresearch underground would jeopardizetheir careers. The knowledge deficit createdby outlawing research on and professionaluse ofLSD and other entheogens, includingMDMA in 1986, will never be quantifiable.

As Myron Stolaroffs new book, TheSecret Chief, documents, not all psychologist and scientists threw in the towel. Themost courageous and pure of integrity, refused to yield their scientific and psycholog

ical studies to governmental edict.Dubbed the "SecretChief by TerenceMcKenna, and referred to as "AdamFisher" in the Shulgins' PIHKAL, a licensed Ph.D. psychologist who isstill only known bythe pseudonym"Jacob," continuedusing entheogens inhis therapy sessionsdespite the highrisks of doing so.The Secret Chief, isthe transcript of

talks between Myron Stolaroff and Jacob,recorded in 1981. The conversation coversmany topics including: how Jacob screenedclients, security issues, preparing for thesession, selecting substances, boosters,group sessions, and the changes and transformations Jacob witnessed in people.

Throughout the years of his underground practice, Jacob reported that he'doften get scared and paranoid of arrest andthat he regularly asked himself if continuinghis practice was worth the risk. (Jacob'sprinciple security technique was to get hisclient to promise that "they will not reveal toanybody elsewhere where and with whomthey had [their session] without prior clearance from me, ever.") When these concernswould grow largest, however, he'd thinkabout the often miraculous changes he'dwitnessed in clients and conclude that theconstant risk he faced was indeed justified.

Jacob died in 1988. He was 76. Bestestimates are that he shared his entheogen-assisted psychotherapy technique with over100 fellow therapists, family counselors,and social workers of one sort or another,and personally guided some 3000 clients. InStolaroffs estimate, Jacob "was responsibleprobably more than any other individualalive for introducing individual clients andtherapists to the benefits and procedures ofeffectively using mind-altering substancesin personal growth."

This book is compelling reading. Allprofits from sales of The Secret Chief go tofund psychedelic psychotherapy research,via the Multi-disciplinary Association forPsychedelic Studies (MAPS). Hardcover$22.95, plus $3.00 shipping; Softcover$10.95, plus $3.00 shipping from MAPS,2121 Commonwealth Ave., Suite 220-TELR. Charlotte, NC 28205 USA.

Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continued from page 175)emy ofthe status quo. not to be trusted andsomehow corrupt. You can see this evenwithin the nucleus ofa family. I know several adults who don't tell their parents thatthey use entheogens because, despite thefact that their parents love and respect them,that piece of knowledge would overshadoweverything else and injure their relationship.I've even met some people who have kepttheir entheogen use a secret from theirspouses. This is to say nothing of facingyears in prison if a government agent shouldhappen to learn your "dirty little secret." Inthe eyes of society, the visionary plants andsubstances that are of such intense interestto the people who attend a conference likemind states are not entheogens, but ratherpathogens believed to immorally infect andcorrupt those who come in contact with

them. Somehow, the prohibitionists havecloaked their position as "moral" and our asimmoral—a view which is completelyridiculous, but nonetheless entrenched.

So, in this climate, it is a wise course ofaction to keep the use of entheogens a secretfrom the state and its agents. Returning tothe analogy of the Fugitive Slave Laws, Ithink we're still in the period of an underground railroad.

Wasson called the Mazatec use of sacred mushrooms a "precious secret." It wasthe Mazatec themselves who kept the secretbecause of religious persecution. If entheogen use is the heart of your religion, itmakes sense to protect it just like the humanheart is well protected inside the body,shielded by ribs and layers of muscle. Thisis even more true with some a rampant virusloose that targeted the heart. Right now the

use of most outlawed entheogens is underattack by a menacing legal virus which, ifcaught, can result in imprisonment for yearsof your life.

MD: If you're so pessimistic about the current legal situation, and you think that rational argument will not, in the current climate,change the law or its interpretation, what'sthe point of continuing TELR?

RGB: Good question, sometimes I thinkthere is no point Originally, I tried in TELRto present solid arguments that might beuseful in the event of arrest. But, it hasbecome increasingly clear to me—so clearthat I can no longer deny it—that in thecurrent anti-drug socialscape even a meritorious argument supported by evidence is



Illinois GHB Bust

This is the edited text ofa press release sentout by the Illinois Attorney General onMonday, December 8, 1997. The most interesting legal aspects are highlighted.

Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan,flanked by an Illinois State Police-led lawenforcement task force, announced Mondayan eight-count indictment of three men forpossession, sale and trafficking of GHB, oneofthe so-called "date rape" drugs.

GHB was classified a dangerous andillegal drug by the state on Aug. 15.

The drug is insidious because it endangers the life ofthe user and is used as a toolby sexual predators, Ryan said at a newsconference in DeKalb, home of NorthernIllinois University. Colleges and universities across the country, including Illinois,have reported use of date rape drugs. InAugust, U.S. Attorney General Janet Renolaunched a nationwide campaign to educatecollege students about the increasing useand danger of these substances.

"This drug is used as a weapon againstwomen," Ryan said. "We will not tolerateits existence in Illinois."

The indictments allege that one of thedefendants arranged for the drugs to be sentto Illinois from California via a deliveryservice. The drugs passed through a sortingcenter in Rockford before arriving at ahouse in Sycamore, authorities believe.They were distributed in the DeKalb areaand perhaps in metropolitan Chicago, according to police.

Included in the eight-count indictment

are the following defendants and charges:• William Bryant, 24, 123 E. Lincoln,

Sycamore. He is charged with UnlawfulPossession of a Controlled Substance. Unlawful Possession with Intent to Deliver aControlled Substance and Criminal DrugConspiracy, all Class X felonies, and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class 1 felony.

• Todd Miller. 21, 941 S. Fifth St.,DeKalb. He is charged with Unlawfiil Delivery of a Controlled Substance and Criminal Drug Conspiracy, both Class X felonies,and Unlawful Possession of a ControlledSubstance, a Class 1 felony.• Richard Seldal, 30. 833 W. Taylor.Apt. #604, DeKalb. He is charged with Unlawful Possession with Intent to Deliver aControlled Substance, Controlled SubstanceTrafficking and Criminal Drug Conspiracy,all Class X felonies, and Unlawful Possession of a Controlled Substance, a Class 1felony.

Class X felonies are punishable bybetween six and 30 years in prison, withControlled Substance Trafficking punishable by between 12 and 60 years. Class 1felonies are punishable by up to 15 yearsin prison.

The investigation began in Octoberafter a member of the DeKalb-basedNorth Central Narcotics Task Force purchased a bottle of GHB from defendantMiller. The task force is a multi-agency unitheaded by the Illinois State Police and consisting of officers from the DeKalb,Sycamore and Northern Illinois UniversityPolice Departments and the DeKalb CountySheriffs Department. Later, the U.S. DEAjoined the investigation when it was de

termined the drugs were being sent fromCalifornia.

"Drug enforcement task forces haveproved their effectiveness time and again bygetting dealers of crack, marijuana andheroin off the streets," said Illinois StatePolice Director Terrance W. Gainer. "Nowthose who deal in GHB know they'll bepursued and prosecuted just as intenselyas other drug dealers."

The indictments allege that Seldal arranged for the drugs to be sent from California to Bryant's residence in Sycamore.From there, Seldal removed some of thedrugs from Bryant's residence for thepurpose of resale, and Bryant was sellingsome of the remaining drugs, the chargesstate. During the course of the investigation, task force officers seized multiplebottles of GHB after obtaining a searchwarrant.

Under Illinois law, GHB is treatedlike cocaine and other "schedule 1" controlled substances.

Last October, President Bill Clintonsigned into law a bill that adds a minimum 20 years to a rape sentence if GHBor other drugs are used on the victim.

Ryan praised the work ofthe task forceand State's Attorney Johnson. "This is anexample of law enforcement officers working cooperatively and swiftly," the AttorneyGeneral said. "If these allegations areproven, the task force has halted the sale anddistribution in northern Illinois of a verydangerous drug."

The public is reminded that criminaldefendants are innocent unless the government is able to prove its charges incourt beyond a reasonable doubt

Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continuedfrom page 176)more likely to lose than win in court. It isnaive to think that the best argument wins incourt or—at least in court—that "the truthshall overcome." The fact is that if you arearrested for using an outlawed entheogenthe chances of "winning" your case on somekind of entheogen-specific issue is justabout nil. So, while 1 will still present sucharguments in TELR as I spot or developthem, and critique the holdings of poorlyreasoned cases, I see that service as largelyacademic and/or merely documenting injustice. I don't think it's really gonna helpanyone. Perhaps I'm overly pessimistic, butthis is how I assess the situation at themoment.

That being the case, the focus of TELRhas shifted to provide more of an informa

tion conduit between the world ofthe underground mystery church that is entheogenusers today, and the front-line of the oppressing group's primary strategy for eradicating that church. I guess the point ofTELR now is to provide relevant legal information and inspiration by acting as a sort oflegal scout—posted high on a hill and issuing dispatches on the enemy's position backto the camp.

MD: 1 read somewhere that you believe thatthe most effective law is art. What did youmean by that?

RGB: Hmm, I probably meant that in orderto facilitate the universe in unfolding in itsleast corrupted way, the values associatedwith art and its impact on people and cul

ture, as opposed to "law" are what you needto instill in people, template, or propagate.If you want to change the anti-entheogenlaws, you are much better off becoming acelebrity and then coming out in favor ofentheogens or integrating them into your art,than going to law school.

Imagine if a popular network televisionseries did a pro-entheogen episode, or acharacter played by Uma Thurmann orSharon Stone was realistically depicted using MDMA. And, pro-entheogen people inthe advertising and marketing industrycould do a huge amount of good by forminga countergroup to The Partnership for aDrug Free America—using their art andtalents to promote an accurate image ofentheogens. This is all the more required—


The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/Califomia • 95617-3481* e-mail: [email protected] Page 177

Pharmacophilia or The Natural ParadisesBOOK REVIEW

Christmas came early for me this year,when the day before that rather unsettling holiday I received in the mail JonathanOtt's new book Pharmacophilia or TheNatural Paradises. This is a barn-burner ofa book, sure to become an instant classic. Asis clear from the title ofthe book, Ott setsout to—and succeeds at—demolishing thedeeply-entrenched myth that using drugs isunnatural.

As the title conveys, The Natural Paradises is in many ways enantiomorphic tothe nineteenth century poet Baudelaire's Artificial Paradises. Ott applauds Baudelaireas a poet, but derides his pharmacologicalknowledge. But, then Ott reverses this equation in his book. While Ott's pharmacological and pharmacognostic points are impeccable, his poetry, at least to this reader, isbulky and contrived—nay, artificial*. Whilethe "Phytomphalos" preface struck me asboth inspired (indeed appropriately in collaboration with E. coca) and well-written,Ott peppers the main of his book with overdone (and I mean way overdone) alliterativestutters, that often end in an exclamationpoint more evocative of one who is left outof breath or expired, rather than inspired.Take for example where after describingParacelsus as the father of scientificmedicine (and indeed the inventor of lau

danum, the opium preparation to whichBaudelaire became addicted) Ott clumsilycalls Paracelsus: "a heroic heresiarch whodared to challenge hidebound hewing to ahagiarchy of healing!" Now, being one who isa fan of well-done alliteration, and wanting nothingmore than to enjoy Ott's words,I even read Ott'sa l l i t e r a t e dphrases out

between dreamy desire, destiny and deed;rugged requisite reaching for ravenous realization; robust, rubicund." If this is music tothe ears, it is far too punctuated and mono-tempo for my tastes. Tinnitus is not music.

If you have never been very "high, "you maynot know the difference between natural plea

sure and learned reward, and you will not knowwhat the unconditioned state is. That positive

feeling you get from doing well, going right, at-ioud, but was taining some goal is game reward, not pleasure.l e f t e q u a l l y u n - , , - . , . , . . ~impressed, nay Most oj the things we like are artificial, learned

rewards—the artificial, man-made bell thatmade Pavlov's dog salivate. Do you call thatpleasure? Do you really want the cultivated,trained reward rather than the natural kick?

— Dr. Timothy Leary

d e p r e s s e dTake, for example, when asserting that thedefinitional linedrawn between"food" and"drug" is blurry.Ott urges: ". . .their respective rewards and pleasures are oneand the same; emanate, ebullient, from everyepicurean ego; ecstatic efflux of Eros' efflorescent essence; are sybaritic cerebral siblings;that vibrant and vital, voluptuary vinculum

Be that as it may, I must admit that Iderived an odd sort of pleasure from seeingOtt unfold his writing wings. (Perhaps asOtt suggests in one of his notes, his use of


Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continued from page 177)right now—with the government allocatingalmost 200 million dollars to a new slew ofanti-drug ads.

These industries—not law— it seems tome, are currently behind the steering wheelof culture. Law is not only conservative as Imentioned before, but it's also very pessimistic. It's entirely premised on corruptedhumans or unexpected failure of one kind oranother. Plus, it assumes that every player isuntruthful. It's no model for any sort ofUtopian society. Just the opposite, its trulydesigned on a te/ow-the-lowest-common-denominator principle. I don't think that it iswell-equipped to deal with something likeentheogens. Art, on the other hand, is eitherdesigned to evoke or represent optimism, orit's meant to shock and/or disturb the observer into breaking unhealthy thought patterns. Art, like entheogens, aims to changeconsciousness. And, I, of course, include in"art" things like Situationist spectacles, hiphop music, Goa trance, Web design, and lifebravely lived, as well as all the traditional or

conventional forms of art. These all seem tobe much more promising vehicles for recreating culture into a sustainable and healthysystem which might support legal change. Inother words, although the problem is theanti-entheogen laws, the necessary first stepin the solution is to change culture withculture.

MD: That seems to have been true withrespect to ending alcohol prohibition. Society at large was okay with alcohol drinking,so prohibition ended.

RGB Yeah, but we aren't even close to thatsort of situation with outlawed entheogens.For one thing, and many people seem toforget this, or perhaps don't know it, whilethe parallels between today's drug prohibition and yesterday's alcohol prohibition aremany, the analogy is inaccurate in at leastone major respect. During federal alcoholprohibition, it always remained legal forpeople to drink alcohol in their private residences. What was outlawed under the Eigh

teenth Amendment and even under the Volstead Act was the manufacture, sale andtransportation of intoxicating liquors. Historians pretty much agree that had the Eighteenth Amendment sought to outlaw theprivate use of alcohol it never would havepassed. Prohibition was really aimed at"saloons" that evidently were rather riotous.

It would actually be a big advance tohandle entheogens under the alcohol prohibition model. Let people possess and useentheogens in their private homes, but continue prohibiting their commercial sale andtheir use in public places.

Also, under the Volstead Act it remained legal to drink sacramental wine inpublic churches and synagogues, whereaseven religious use of entheogens is a crimetoday. Religious leaders during alcohol prohibition were granted permits to oversee themanufacture and distribution of sacramentalwine.

Anyway, Prohibition was abolished after thirteen years when the 21st Amendment



Information Suppression

GFKN-97-4044

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Thile it is a crime to grow, manufacture, or possess a long list of en

theogens, it's not supposed to be a crime tospeak, write, sing, or otherwise share information about them. Nevertheless, as theDEA's recent visit to PeterMcWilliam's home demonstrates,there are powerful forces interestedin suppressing accurate informationabout entheogens that doesn't fallinto the government's lock-stepcampaign to cast them as evil.

Consider the following. In Julythe DEA whipped up its own administrative subpoena and served it onRonin Publishing Company. Roninpublishes numerous books on marijuana and other entheogens including my book Marijuana Law. Thesubpoena (see facsimile copy inFigure I), ordered Ronin to turnover "[t]he names and addresses ofany and all residents of the State ofArizona who have purchased or otherwise obtained copies of the bookMarijuana Hydroponics: High TechWater Culture by Daniel Storm." Asimilar subpoena was served onAqua Culture, Inc. (a gardeningstore in Tempe, Arizona, that sellshydroponic equipment), demandingthe names of customers who purchased Daniel Storm's book, growlights, fans, and certain fertilizers. InMay, the DEA sent one of theirsubpoenas to General Hydroponics,Inc. in Sebastapol, California, demanding the mailing addresses of allArizona residents who purchasedequipment from the store since January1996.

These subpoenas are horrifying for what

they say about how out of control the DEAis at present. The subpoenas blatantly infringement on the First Amendment, because they obviously equate the reading ofcertain books with criminal activity, or po-

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Figure I. DEA's subpoena to RoninPublishing.

tential criminal activity. The very purpose ofthe First Amendment was to protect unpopular speech and expression. Yet, the DEAseeks to make an end-run around the FirstAmendment by threatening to investigate

people based on the books they order!If this occurred on any subject otherthan drugs, the public would be up inarms and the government agency trying this would be placed under investigation! But, because the media hasbecome a "partner" in the vilificationof drug users, few rise in protest.

After insisting that the companiescomply with the subpoenas (all refused) the DEA finally backed downon January 2, 1998, after an AssistantUS Attorney conceded that the subpoenas were "unduly burdensome."

Consider also that at a press conference held by California AttorneyGeneral Dan Lungren on October 14,1997, he displayed 16 marijuana trading cards sold at convenience stores.The cards are made by a companycalled In-Line of San Francisco, andshow pictures of Cannabis andmarijuana-related items. At this pressconference Lungren actually said thatif it wasn't for the First Amendment hewould be prosecuting the company!For what crime he, of course, did notsay. (At the same conference, Lungrenannounced that California's ISth annual Campaign Against MarijuanaPlanting (CAMP) seized 132,485plants this year—40 percent more thanlast year and the biggest haul of thedecade. Trying to justify the enormous

expense of this futile effort to extinctCannabis (an effort that cost taxpayers$371,000), Lungren said the plants had a

Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continuedfrom page 178)repealed the 18th Amendment—which isstill the only constitutional amendment toever be repealed. It was repealed in themidst of the depression, so economic concerns played a part along with a turning-tideof popular sentiment that came to see Prohibition as both an absolute failure and excessively oppressive.

MD: I guess there is also a parallel betweenthe "underground railroad" and today's underground users, growers and manufacturersof outlawed entheogens.

RGB: Yes. Anyone with any knowledge ofhistory—well, to the extent that history canbe known—understands that freedom has itsown way of slipping between the fingers ofcontrol. When the Church clamped down onentheogen users during the Inquisition, thepractice simply went underground—butcontinued. It's no different today under thegovernment clamp down. All the statisticsseem to show that despite an all-out War onSome Drugs, including many entheogens,people still use them. Really, the only effectof outlawing entheogens has been, except ina few cases, to bring a screeching halt to

scientifically studying them. There are nowonly a handful of authorized research programs involving entheogens. It's this weirdinversion where the anti-entheogen lawshave really only been effective at stopping"official" research into their potentials, anddone very little to stop unauthorized use. Ofcourse, they've also run up prices and madeit just about impossible to know the qualityofa laboratory-made entheogen.

I think that a person's mind can beimprisoned or enslaved just as much as aperson's body. In fact, this is a trans-


The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/Califomia • 95617-3481* e-mail: [email protected] Page 179

Suppression of Information (cont'd)

(Continuedfrom page 179)street value of $529 million. Not surprisingly, Lungren's statement that the raidscost just shy of $600,000 is a gross understatement because it only accounts for thelaw enforcement costs, but does not includethe tremendous costs of prosecuting the arrestees and ultimately confining those whoare convicted.

Finally, consider that the recently heldMind States conference ("current perspectives on visionary plants and drugs") held atthe International House in Berkeley onNovember 22 and 23, 1997, was pressuredby an anti-drug group from Iceland! A manby the name of Kristjan H. Kristjansson,stating he was a member of the "AlcoholPrevention Council elected by the Icelandic

Parliament" and referring to his principaljob "as detective inspector in the drug intelligence unit of the Icelandic Police" contacted the venue for the event expressingdispleasure over the conference topic (seeFigure 2).

Although the conference was scheduledto take place in a building located off campus, and was not in any way associated withthe University or endorsed by it, no lesserfigure than the President ofthe University ofCalifornia voiced his concern to the International House which subsequently feared aprotest and a swarm of illegal drug use if theevent was allowed to go on as scheduled.

While subsequent discussions with theInternational House convinced them thatfreedom of speech was a good thing and

shouldn't take second place to amorphousthreats from distant busybodies (see Figure3), the International House informed theevent's organizers that it would be"request[ing] a police presence" at theevent and wanted the event organizers topay half the cost—an amount that wouldhave bankrupt them! The event organizersrefused to hand-over such "payola" andwent forward with the event.

As expected by the organizers, the eventwent absolutely smoothly, without anyprotest and without a single incident of illegal drug use noticed. Conversation with thepolice officers purchased by the International House confirmed that not one incident occurred.

/ * * B ^ .

INTERNATIONAL HOUSEAT Till INIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA

October 31.1997

Dear Mr. I

The gentleman to whom I referred to yesterday is a Mr. Krisijan H. Kristjansson who stales thai heis a member ofthe alcohol prevention Council elected by the Icelandic Parliament. He refers to hisprincipal job as detective inspector in the drug intelligence unit ofthe Icelandic Police.

From what 1 gather, he has a drug prevention web shoe address is not decipherable.

In any event, this gentleman has apparently communicated his grave concerns about your event 10the President ofthe University of California.

As I have indicated to you, (here is and may well be increasing concern about your event fromthose whose views and/or experiences are opposed to those which appear lo characterize theconference you are sponsoring. It is, in part, as I explained, for this reason that we will request apolice presence to insure security for our community as well as your participants. In addition, atour request, police will insure that no illegal substances are being provided in any manner whatsoever.

As you can appreciate, the cost ofthe police services is a burden we had not initially anticipated.But because these services are for the benefit of all constituencies, including your participants andcur residential community, 1 would hope that you would consider helping to support these costs.

will discuss this further with you once I know what the cost will be.

Please note that the rental of our facility to your group in no way constitutes on endorsement ofyour event by International House, nor should any of your publicity so indicate.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Joseph LurieExecutive Director

ornctotRICHARD GLEN DOINE

AtTORTtEV AT LAW

3 November. 1997

Mi. Donna Redlntetnanocul House, Events Office2299 Piedmont AvenueDe.Le.ey, CA 9472fl-232<)

t ' -^ tet t^Baff^R^yj t t fwix i r^Try

Dear Ms. Rett

This letter » to reiterate that the Miso Strsns conference wiO not. in any way,involve (he use, sale, or cfambutioM of illegal drags. The continence wtU bringtogether national and international expect*, who *UI talk on the topic of teadiboniland modem shamanism, including medical hann (eduction. A cenfetxrtee sbnilu CoMom Statu ("Entneottotanr: Shamamc Flint Science") was held ai San Francisco'sPalace of Fine Am tn October of last year, without any reported trouble.

Plaat-hased ituAUrmitt is indeed a temples «od controversial area of study becauseit iflternria» fundamental beliefs about religion, psychology and social structure.The discussion of ccotrovenial topics it, of cosine, protected by the Pint Amendment, ami academic freedom would be aneotpiy ooncepr if scholar* where unable tomeet and share ideas on such subjects. The puipote of Mind States is to peovidc aforum to facilitate such a ouilh-diteijiliiiMYdiicimtati.

All rendors it Mng State* have stoned contracts (see attachment) wtnanbng thatthey wtu not seB anything itlegd, including scheduled drugs of plants. Additioni%,all attendees have been explicitly informed in a pre-conference uifofmaijon packagethat the use. sale, o* distribution of any illegal substances will not be tolerated.Anyone found vntariflg these Riles will be immediately removed Iron the pretnisei-

Should you tile to discuss this milter tn more deuil. « if you hive any tfuei&on*,please do not hcutate to Cal) my office £> 16) 753-9602.

Vetr uulv vourf,

RichtnJ Glen Bout, Esq,

RGBy©Attachment vendor contract

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Figure 2. Letter from International Houseto Mind States organizers.

Figure J. Response from Mind Statesattorney.

7%*? Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/California • 95617-3481 • e-mail: [email protected] Page 180

Traps and Trajectories (cont'd)(Continued from page 179)religion maxim. In my personal opinion (notas a lawyer), people should break the anti-entheogen laws because abiding by them isto yield autonomy over their own mind,their own consciousness, to the government.I really don't understand how we in the U.S.can be said to enjoy any freedom if we don'thave the most fundamental freedom of controlling our own minds and internal states.Freedom of mind is the essential foundationof every other freedom.

MD: Ska Pastora is an ally of mine. Do youthink it will be outlawed soon?

RGB: It's clear that what gives birth tonewly scheduled substances today is publicity. A substance that can remain off themediascape is not "seen" as threatening. Ifit's not on TV or in the papers it doesn'texist in the minds of those people chargedwith controlling emerging drugs. What getssubstances scheduled is media depictingthem as widely used and becoming moreavailable. A substance can exist and be usedunderground for years and years, but if itbecomes the object of a news report andbecomes the latest in a string of so-called"dangerous drugs," it will score a politician's points to call for its scheduling. Inother words, it's not that a substance existsthat triggers its scheduling, nor is it thatpeople in fact are using it—even large numbers of people, it's when this fact becomesknown that the wheels ofthe anti-drug lawsstart to spin. So, in my opinion media attention on any currently legal entheogen isalways bad. So again, secrecy is dictated. 1think that if a currently legal entheogensuddenly becomes the subject of media attention, the best counterstrategy is not to

marshal medical and scientific data showingthat the substance is relatively safe or perhaps beneficial for some people, but rather aresponse that minimizes the popularity (orperceived popularity) of the drug. Ska Pastora is, so far, untouched by the media.

MD: What are your thoughts on the Internet, both in terms of entheogens and entheogen law specifically, and just as a modern phenomenon?

RGB: I'm logged onto the Internet duringall working hours and have threatened myfriends and some of my clients that come thefirst of the year the only way to contact mewill be via the net. I hate the telephone, andmuch prefer e-mail.

For the entheogen interested, 1 think theInternet is an almost unimaginably cooltool. Anyone with access can obtain information about many visionary plants andsubstances in the privacy of their own home.I still think, however, that the first place tocheck for specific information about anygiven entheogenic substance is PIHKAL orTIHKAL, and with respect to visionaryplants Pharmacotheon. Unlike the Net, thesignal-to-noise ratio of these books is veryvery high—the information can be relied on.The Net is great for such things as "tripreports," and cultivation tips. It's certainlythe place to go for information on the latesttechniques for mushroom cultivation. 1don't know where you could get better information about dextromethorphan (DXM)than William White's DXM FAQ [http://www.frognet.net/dxm/contents.html]. TheNet is also great for getting philosophicaltakes on the entheogen-elicited mindspace.On Terence McKenna's page alone [http://www.levity.com/eschaton/tm.html] an inter

ested person could read for months, and theLycaeum [http://www.lycaeum.org/] hasthousands of pages of info.

MD: Arc any of your writings on the Net?

RGB: Yeah. It's flattering, people haveuploaded stuff from TELR and MarijuanaLaw, as well as some other essays of mine. 1guess you could find them by searching myname in something like Yahoo—at least ifthey've attributed them to me. Also, I wroteabout 30 reports for copswatch: the mediaparasite, some of which are archived onthat website [http://www.bevcom.org/cop-swatch.htm]. I'm working with spectralmindustries right now to get a centralizedsite going for my essays and other writings[http://ltome.cwnet.com/specmind]. IdeallyI'd like to publish every issue of TELR tothe spectral mindustries web site. Puttingthe information onto the web would get it tomany more people and I'm all for that, butI'm worried that if I do so, the paid circulation would drop and I'd no longer be able toafford writing it. TELR takes a huge amountof my time and just barely pays for itself asit is.

MD: How come so few other lawyers arewriting on this topic?

RGB: Probably for several reasons. For one,entheogen law is no way to make a living.It's hard to "spend" your time and effortwriting on a legal topic that relatively fewpeople care about, and which most law journals will reject. Especially when the sameeffort and time could result in a publishablearticle on a legal topic that could bring theirfirm big-buck corporate clients. In fact, in


STATEMENT OF PURPOSESince time immemorial humans have used entheogenic substances as powerful tools for achieving spiritual insight andunderstanding. In the twentieth century, however, many of these most powerful of religious and epistemological tools weredeclared illegal in the United States, and their users decreed criminals. The shaman has been outlawed. It is the purpose of TheEntheogen Law Reporter (TELR) to provide the latest information and commentary on the intersection of entheogenic substancesand the law.HOW TO CONTACT TELRPlease address all correspondence to TELR, Post Office Box 73481, Davis, California 95617-3481. Immediate contact can bemade via e-mail transmission to [email protected] U B S C R I P T I O N I N F O R M A T I O N , , , , . _TELR is published seasonally (i.e., four times per year) by spectral mindustries. A one-year subscription for individuals is $25domestically and $35 internationally. Law library subscription rate is $45 per year domestically and $55 internationally.copyright© 1998 spectral mindustries.

Subscriber information is strictly confidential. The list of subscribers will be released only under court order.

The Entheogen Law Reporter is not engaged in rendering legal or other professional advice, and assumes no responsibility for the statements andopinions advanced by any of its writers or contributors. The information herein is subject to change without notice and is not intended to be, norshould it be considered, a substitute for individualized legal advice rendered by a competent attorney.

The Entheogen Law Reporter • Post Office Box 73481 • Davis/California • 95617-3481* e-mail: [email protected] Page 181

Traps & Trajectories (cont'd)(Continuedfrom page 181)most law firms, a lawyer who wanted towrite a legal article on entheogens wouldlikely be pressured against doing so for fearthat the article might offend a client. When 1wrote Marijuana Law I was working for alaw firm and at least one partner was verydispleased that I did not use a pseudonym.But, entheogen law is what I am committedto—with respect to law. Fortunately shortlyafter the first edition of Marijuana Lawcame out I escaped the oppressive world oflaw firms.

MD: Do you know if the DEA monitors theInternet?

RGB: Yeah, they do. An acquaintance ofmine attended a DEA seminar on GHB andtold me that they made several references tomonitoring newsgroups. I also know that theDEA is very concerned about the Net beinguse to facilitate the distribution of drugs,including entheogens. And just last month,a sixteen-year-old girl in Irvine was in thenews after being arrested on suspicion ofmanufacturing methcathinone. Her arrestgot press because she allegedly told investigators that she got the recipe off the Net[see Associated Press, "Internet Drugs"Wed, 22 October 1997].

MD: I noticed that you just came out with anew book Sacred Mushrooms and the Laware you working on anything else?

RGB: Yeah. A new edition of SacredMushrooms and the Law just came out, with

a foreword by Terence McKenna. Now, I'm inthe thick of writing a book that is tentativelytitled Sacramental Crimes: The American justice system and the religious defense lo drugcrimes. I'm hoping to finish it up by mid-'98if time and finances permit. Also, I've gotseveral media-hacking projects under development—mainly brainstorming with others atSPECTRAL MINDUSTRIES.

This entire interrogation is available onaudio tape for SI 2.00 (postage included) fromspectral mindustries [Box 73401, Davis, CA95617-3401]. Thanks to Yolanda Oifor transcribing it.

Pharmacophilia (cont'd)(Continued from page 178)alliteration worked its wonder outside myapprehension, as 1 do admit chuckling andfeeling an enjoyable lightness each time Ottlaunched into one of his bulky barrages.)

But, these criticisms are just an aside.The book is, overall, very well written—jam-packed with interesting facts composing a cogent argument.

Using the nineteenth century poet andwriter Baudelaire as his straw man, Ott begins his argument by taking issue withBaudelaire's belief, as documented most inconspicuously in Artificial Paradises thatthe use of drugs such as hashish and opiumis an artificial means to "individualization."I say that Ott uses Baudelaire as a strawman, because Baudelaire (as Ott acknowledges) never systematically explained whyhe considered drug-induced inebriation to

Back Issues 1-10The first ten issues of The Entheogen LawReporter. Includes many essays, answers toquestions, and notes on government-watched visionary plants and drugs.Comprehensively indexed.Limited supply. 100 pages.

$25.00, plus $3.00 s/h.(half the normal back issue price.)cal purchasers must add $1.70 sales tax.

Individual Back IssuesAll individual back issues are currentlyavailable for $5.00 each.

be artificial. Rather, as was common in thenineteenth century, Baudelaire simply tookit as self-evident that drug use was unnaturalor artificial. Ott, of course, demolishes thispresumption with a solid argument leadingthe reader to the inescapable conclusion thatnothing could be more natural than ingesting drugs. An inspiring conclusion.

While Baudelaire viewed inebriation asartificial and inherently immoral, Ott's stopsshort of taking an overt moral position onthe issue. At first. 1 thought that Ott mighthave been implicitly saying that natural wasipso facto "good." {But, as someone oncesaid, "Dog feces is natural, but I wouldn'twant to spread it on my toast." And whilefire is natural it would not be "good" if itburned down my house.) But, while Baudelaire criticizes so-called artificial paradises,and Ott takes issue with the label, Ott neverdoes argue that inebriation per se—evenassuming it is natural rather than artificial—is a good thing.

Rather, Ott's argument, if I understandit correctly, is much more sophisticated,though nonetheless, political and with powerful moral undertones. In his chapter"Idiosyncrasy and Pharmacophilia," Ott explains how individualized and varied are our"pharmacogenetics" and, hence, how individualized and varied are our reactions tovarious drugs. In effect, Ott takes the libertarian position that each person should bepermitted to judge for him or herself thevalue, if any, of drug-elicited inebriation.The political implication is that the government has no business criminalizing humannature, and that doing so is immoral. Iwholeheartedly agree.

All along the way Ott treats us to onefascinating factoid and pharmacognosticalinsight after another. This is Ott at his best.In the chapter "Psychopharmacological Engineering," Ott calls on neuroscientists to"engineer euphoria, optimize the pharmacology of pleasure; yea create better andsafer inebriants." Embracing what he terms"pharmaco-hedonology," Ott calls for thecreation of "more specific and euphoric,longer-lasting, less toxic, hyperhedonic tonics!" In this chapter, Ott seems to take it forgranted that "pleasure" (clearly a naturalphenomenon) is "good," perhaps hopingthat the reader will conclude that if a drugproduces pleasure it is therefore good. Anassumption which, if granted, brings Ott'sargument fully counter to Baudelaire's thesis that drugs are artificial and their usemorally degeneratory.

This is must reading. Hardcover $36.00,plus $3.00 shipping; Softcover $18.00, plus$3.00 shipping. Jonathan Ott Books, PostOffice Box 1251-TELR, Occidental, CA95465.


F 0 01> F O RF R li E M I N 1) S

SacredMushroomsand the Lawby Richard Glen BoireFOREWORD BY TERENCE McKeNNA

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A bold new book exploring the legal substrate underlying shamanicmushrooms and their active principles. Among the many importanttopics explored are:

• Psilocybin, psilocin, and their analogues.• Are mushrooms illegal "materials" or "mixtures?"• Cultivation law and punishment.• The "drug package profile."• The law of spores (including California's statutes).• Mail order investigations• Defenses to criminal charges.

And, much more ...

Richard Glen Boire's manual on the current legal status of psilocybin/psilocin provides valuable information to anyone caught in theKafkaesque danse macabre of "preparing their defense."

— Terence McKenna

Richard Glen Boire is, among other good things, an attorney specializing in the law of shamanic inebriants. He is editor ofthe seasonal legaljournal 77ie Entheogen Law Reporter (TELR).

Terence McKenna is, among other good things, co-author of Psilocybin: The Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide. Hehas spent the last twenty-five years studying the ontological foundations of shamanism and ethno-pharmacology.

$9.95 PLUS $3.00 S/H (CALRE41DCNTSMU&T.\M>75clKTSIAUST.I\) 70 PAGES, QUALITY PAPERBACK ISBN 1-890425-00-1

• * T E L * -PO Box 73481Davis, CaliforniaU 95617-3481

the entheogen law reporter, winter 1997/1998 - no. 17 - erowid

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