Podcasts Science Psychedelics Today Solidarity Fridays - Week 18

Solidarity Fridays - Week 18

Published: July 31, 2020, 1 p.m.

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In today\'s Solidarity Fridays episode, Joe and Kyle sit down to discuss recent topics in the news and analyze the ongoing debate of decriminalization vs. legalization.\\xa0

They first discuss the story of LSD chemist William Leonard Pickard, who was released from prison on July 27th due mostly to his age, health status and risk for contracting Covid-19, and while it\'s great that he\'s out, how it changes nothing about the conspiracy surrounding his arrest ("Halperngate") and the very questionable DEA claims of LSD availability decreasing by 95% after his imprisonment.\\xa0

They then talk about Denver mushroom grower Kole Milner, who is facing up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and all the complications surrounding state or city legality vs. federal legality, and how anyone in this space should be extremely careful about what personal information they share publicly, regardless of any perceived legal safety.\\xa0

This leads to a long discussion about decriminalization vs. legalization: the need for more conversation, what the model might look like for the US, what we can learn from Portugal, how Covid-related economic issues might influence things, the "my drug is better than your drug" issue with advertising, the problem with D.A.R.E.\'s "scare you straight" model and the need for truth instead of manipulation, and how advertising and corporate profit incentives may come into play- does legality mean that companies will try to convince more people to use these powerful medicines irresponsibly?

Notable quotes

\\u201cIt\\u2019s a false dichotomy to just say \\u2018decriminalization vs. legalization.\\u2019 As we say, decriminalization doesn\\u2019t necessarily mean anything. It can mean something for a municipality or a county or a state but it doesn\\u2019t necessarily mean that\\u2019s the case for the feds. And as soon as you\\u2019re crossing state lines, that\\u2019s when they can be really into it. But realistically, the DEA seems to have plenty of power to do whatever they want.\\u201d -Joe

\\u201cI remember a few years ago, I started making this comment: \\u2018Oh cool, so you want it to stay illegal so you can have your heady, farm-to-table LSD. Cute, but that\\u2019s not really how it works and there\\u2019s plenty of people getting hurt as a result of not having these controls in place.\\u2019 ...It just takes a couple high schoolers whipping up a shitty lab, or non-safety-oriented people just trying to make a quick buck to get a few people hurt. I want to be a libertarian, but I don\\u2019t necessarily trust people\\u2019s motives enough to fully be a libertarian. I feel like there needs to be incentive structures in place and regulation in place for a lot of things.\\u201d -Joe

\\u201cI remember them threatening us: \\u2018If you do this, we will come and arrest you.\\u2019 Like, whoa... What if you had somebody that was like, \\u201cHey, psilocybin mushrooms- these were originally used in ceremonial contexts, they had these kinds of safety mechanisms built in place, and this is what\\u2019s going on, here are the risks and dangers, this is why you would want to do it in a situation like this, people are using it to find spiritual growth\\u2026\\u201d And I don\\u2019t know, is that more enticing to people? Like, \\u201cOh. I\\u2019m really curious!\\u201d But at least when they would practice, hopefully, they\\u2019d be like, \\u201cOh yea, remember, they told us to do it in this context\\u201d instead of being like \\u201cThis is an illegal thing, we\\u2019re going to get arrested so let\\u2019s hide and do it in secrecy and not tell anybody about it because the police chief is going to kick down my door and arrest me and tell me I\\u2019m a bad person.\\u201d -Kyle

\\u201cLet\\u2019s just be fact-based. Like, \\u2018Ok, here are the laws, here\\u2019s where it comes from, here\\u2019s the history, here are the pluses and minuses, and here are the legal consequences at this point in time.\\u2019 I would just like the facts, you know? I don\\u2019t need to be manipulated. Because that\\u2019s all I felt it was- a manipulation of the truth and a manipulation of us. This is not science-based policy, and I think a lot of us now want science-based policy.\\u201d -Joe

Links

Breaking: LSD Chemist William Leonard Pickard to be Released From Prison

Lucid News: LSD Chemist And Psychedelic Icon William Leonard Pickard To Be Released From Prison

Erowid character vault on William Leonard Pickard

Erowid\'s article on Halperngate

LSD Use Up 56% Since 2015, According To Study by University of Cincinnati

Man Accused of Selling Mushrooms Faces Up to Twenty Years

Al Jazeera youtube stream: Are magic mushrooms going mainstream?

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