Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Pondering thoughts on deliberating about thinking about thinking about the philosophy of thinking about thinking about thinking.
Nobody is in control
or of what they know
either how they act
or sentience thought of as fact
somehow I feel ok
if as a plant I don't even grow
seeing much pass
understanding is always subjective
If I don't get taller or greener
nobody can say an observing plant can't see.
yet we say things are said
and act different
than we think about thinking.
Interesting propaganda move, or a benevolent US military?
A curious action on behalf of America. Americans saving Iranians is surely a strange headline for Iranians to read, but why would the US military help people they seemingly want to kill? As the war drum beats throughout the republican presidential candidate race the timing seems particularly odd.
One thing is for sure, Iran has a lot of oil and America wants it.
Considering the malevolent actions Americans have historically committed in the name of getting that precious precious oil, surely their campaign against Iran is driven by similar interests...
and maybe, in the name of winning Iranian hearts and minds, saving them is in the same precious oil interest.
If only North Korea had oil... maybe Americans would, from time to time, save them too.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
OCD presents itself early in life...
and how it's treated will determine the quality of life for the duration of life. Thus a keen eye for childhood anxiety and depression is key to ensuring the child doesn't kill him/herself as an adult.
I often wonder about the etiology of my own OCD, and this study provides me clues. In fact to this day I struggle with oral and tactile sensitivities, and though these sensitivities have varied since childhood they all share a common thread: they occupy my mind to such a strong degree I have no choice but to analyze them incessantly. It's to the point where I cannot focus on immediate surroundings until I "think" through it (thus fuelling the OCD) or accept it (thus theoretically reducing the OCD)... regardless this takes much time, and when I'm forced to endure this in public I become exponentially anxious. Unfortunately analyzing has become a compulsion of mine... a "mental compulsion" is what psychologists have termed it... and since it's not a pysical compulsion I can hide mental turmoil and appear "normal". Yet appearing "normal" has become an obsession, and as such I've become a very good actor. Few things in my mind actually match my actions... but I digress... the correlation this study has shown can shed a lot of light.
Other people's scent can drive me to obsessive oblivion, and how my socks feel on my feet can determine the structure of my day. If I wear a shirt with a tag I haven't ripped out it's an exercise in tolerating OCD, or if my morning bowel movement just doesn't feel right I'm forced to deal with the tactile torment until I... well there is no "until"... the sensation of just not feeling right is there until my brain finds something else to obsess on, in which case the torment continues.
The fact this this has been discovered as an indication of OCD in children is monumental. If we can notice these symptoms in children and get them therapy while they're brains are still developing they will have a higher quality of life.
The cognitive restructuring I'm doing to my own mind via therapy, drugs, meditation and education is taking too long. As an adult it's a process that takes decades, however as a young child the potential to develop a balanced brain is in full effect. The child's brain won't need cognitive restructuring if it develops and structures itself without obsessive reactions to life's stimuli.
"Of course, Prof. Dar says, all children have particular habits and preferences, and they're not all precursors to OCD. So what should parents watch for to correctly characterize normal and potentially pathological behavior? "If you see that a child is very rigid with rituals, becoming anxious if unable to engage in this behavior, it is more alarming," he explains. Also, age is a factor. A habit exhibited by a five- or six-year-old is not necessarily a predictor of OCD. If the same behavior continues to the ages of eight and above, it could be a warning sign, especially if accompanied by anxiety or distress."
Only 12 Spotted Owls left in BC!!
I find myself disturbed.
I find myself deep in negative wonder
how I let this happen.
Growth and development I guess.
The ingredients to a good economy.
I guess.
Human priorities.
Human houses
of unneeded sizes.
Bureaucrats who zone without regard for life,
forestry workers who log "because it's their job",
average apathetic Joes who don't care
but think they do
and stake claim on good intentions.
Caring, "it's not my job" says "we".
And a culture of land rape but without hate
because indifference is a powerful tool
and properly used
win elections as it seems...
dead owls are good for the economy.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Krauss: Remembering Christopher Hitchens
"Just before leaving his company the last time I saw him, in one of those poetic accidents that makes life so unexpectedly enjoyable, I was reading a newspaper piece at his kitchen table about an emerging effort to ensure that young people at elite institutions preserve their Catholic upbringing during and after College. When describing the temptations to depart from piety, the author wrote: “Exposed to Nietzche, Hitchens, co-ed dorms and beer pong, such students are expected to stray.”
I reflected on what a remarkable tribute to the man this simple sentence represented. To be so overpowering in one’s cultural impact that one can be mentioned without explanation is one thing, but to be sandwiched between Nietzche and beer pong is an honor that very few of us can so hope to deservedly achieve."
Click here for the full piece.
"How the Grinch Occupied Whoville"
It never ceases to amaze me that cops are always willing to stifle the rights of their fellow proletariate.
I guess a good cop is like a good soldier, ready to sacrifice life, dignity, thought and justice to protect the wealthy.
Instead of turkey at Christmas, we should eat pigs.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Mennonites have an affinity with N. Korea through slave labour. And so do the russians.
kim and the mennonites. who cares if the mennonites care less about Kim Jong-Il. Mennos whent thru the same shit. Then they should be able to identify.
But do they?
Are mennonites today asking "now that il is dead, what can we do to stop the the Stalin like gulags in N Korea? Or even in russia? Shit, do they even KNOW
that russia is hosting slave camps
filled with north koreans?
I didn't know until last week, and I'm a menno my damn self. Do I care? HELL YA, but when I bring it up guess what? the subject will be changed.
I am troubled. Some call it 'white guilt'. some call it 'ocd'. some call it whatever they're brains call it and never think of it again.
cool
maybe for the next few minutes I'll do that too....
before I die of empathy while surrounded in apathy.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Hitchens is in Hell and it's good to hear.
Heaven and hell, the judgment nobody wants to talk about unless you die as a believer... which then means you are going to heaven... but who's going to hell? And can believers really know who's going where?
Matthew 8:8-12 NIV
8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Well, to some degree the answer is apparent: if you don't have faith (regardless of one's volition) you are doomed to hell.
So whatever the hell "hell" is, Hitchens is there and I appreciate the honesty of hearing it. The Richard Dawkins disciples who are offended have no reason to be; but in fact should laud the consistency of Bryan Fisher for saying it, for consistency can be a rare virtue when attempting to follow Jesus' teachings. If a Christian were to exercise some mental gymnastics and come up with a reason why Hitchens may not be in hell... ... ...
the scriptures may as well be thrown out...
... .... ....
Monday, December 12, 2011
LIFE
focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts, focus on the good parts
Sunday, December 11, 2011
N. Korea labour camps in Russia.
As a Mennonite by ancestry the very existence of North Korea has always bothered me. I see no difference between Russian gulags and N. Korean prison labour camps, except that "we the rest of the world" allow Kim Jong-il to continue his malevolence. Our apathy sickens me. The ironic thing is that millions and millions of people including relatives of mine died in Siberian gulags exaclty the same as these modern day N. Korean camps, yet Mennonites as a whole do not care about dead North Koreans, for they are focused on other things such as church politics or whatever pressing non-political injustices the MCC may bring into focus. Yet the irony lies in the fact that the the plight of North Koreans is a Mennonite doppelganger. Mennonites endured the same tortures, yet seem unconcerned with Kim Jong-il though he's a modern day Stalin.... which reminds me...
Stalin is being glorified in Russia, history is being rewritten, dead ancestors are rolling in their graves, yet nobody cares. Alas, nobody knows.
And what else does nobody know? Siberia is now used by N. Korea for labour camps to sell lumber to the UK! (and on a side note, I feel nauseous.)
Shortly after I arrived in Siberia, our British editor, Andy Capper, texted me: “You’ll love Siberia. Everything is so close and the people are so nice.” He was of course being facetious (or British: same thing) because everything is 18 hours by train and the people are very mean indeed. Some might start out nice, but after the vodka starts flowing—which is always—so does the malevolence. There are exceptions to the cranky-Russian rule, but they’re very few and very far between. One such exception was a lovely, lovely man named Billy the Fish—not his real name, of course. His nickname was the Fish, and I added the “Billy” in because I was drunk.
Billy was a local mafia type from a remote Siberian town that had no police and little regulation, save him and his boys. This would prove to be literally lifesaving, because we were after a very dangerous quarry in the middle of nowhere—North Korean slaves—who don’t want anyone to know they are actually there. Billy, clearly game for some hijinks, agreed to take us into the forest to find them.
At the first camp we found, the North Korean guards threatened us and tried to throw us out. Billy the Fish laughed—a great gold-toothed guffaw—and then smiled. “This is Russia,” he growled, eyes glinting. Motioning to the vast expanses around him, he declared, “This is mine.” Then to our camera crew, “Keep shooting. They can do nothing.” So we did.
Later, when we were deep in the forest, we came upon cadres of North Korean workers. A group of them approached and quickly surrounded our truck. One of them was swinging an iron bar, looking like he was going to bash our imperialist brains in. Billy took it from him, looked at it, and remarked calmly, “This your lights-out switch?” Sniff. “You’re going to need more than that.” He smiled and chucked it into the forest.
Later, we had lunch by an old woodpile—spam, hard bread, paprika chips, vodka, beer, and, for dessert, vodka with juice. Billy pulled out some old shotguns, and we released some built-up tension by shooting at our empty beer bottles. It was like being 15 again; naughty boys in the forest. When we came around the corner there were the North Koreans, waiting for us, but cowed and much less aggressive. “Did you know they were there?” I asked Billy. “Of course.” Sniff. “Where else would they be?” Classic Billy.
After an afternoon of playing cat and mouse with North Korean slaves, Billy took us to a freezing cold Siberian river for a swim to “clean it up,” then more vodka to “warm it up,” and then home to his family for the only good meal we ate in Russia. After eating, the Fish family took us to the bar (read: room with lights) for a night of boozing and drunken hugging with hard men whose nicknames included Stalin, Bear Killer, and, my favorite, plain old Killer. Tears, more vodka, giving of cheap presents, and finally the two-day train ride back to “civilization.”
But the North Koreans were waiting for us on the train… And so began the worst 48 hours of my life, which ended with the FSB (the modern version of the KGB), the local militia, plainclothes police, and assorted thugs removing us from the train and placing us into custody. Finding myself wishing for Billy and his ability to effortlessly sort things out, I texted him that the FSB had detained us. He replied, “Of course they have. Just leave.” So we took off, racing across Siberia to the Chinese border (Billy told us about the smugglers’ route) and finally… to freedom.
Billy was a local mafia type from a remote Siberian town that had no police and little regulation, save him and his boys. This would prove to be literally lifesaving, because we were after a very dangerous quarry in the middle of nowhere—North Korean slaves—who don’t want anyone to know they are actually there. Billy, clearly game for some hijinks, agreed to take us into the forest to find them.
At the first camp we found, the North Korean guards threatened us and tried to throw us out. Billy the Fish laughed—a great gold-toothed guffaw—and then smiled. “This is Russia,” he growled, eyes glinting. Motioning to the vast expanses around him, he declared, “This is mine.” Then to our camera crew, “Keep shooting. They can do nothing.” So we did.
Later, when we were deep in the forest, we came upon cadres of North Korean workers. A group of them approached and quickly surrounded our truck. One of them was swinging an iron bar, looking like he was going to bash our imperialist brains in. Billy took it from him, looked at it, and remarked calmly, “This your lights-out switch?” Sniff. “You’re going to need more than that.” He smiled and chucked it into the forest.
Later, we had lunch by an old woodpile—spam, hard bread, paprika chips, vodka, beer, and, for dessert, vodka with juice. Billy pulled out some old shotguns, and we released some built-up tension by shooting at our empty beer bottles. It was like being 15 again; naughty boys in the forest. When we came around the corner there were the North Koreans, waiting for us, but cowed and much less aggressive. “Did you know they were there?” I asked Billy. “Of course.” Sniff. “Where else would they be?” Classic Billy.
After an afternoon of playing cat and mouse with North Korean slaves, Billy took us to a freezing cold Siberian river for a swim to “clean it up,” then more vodka to “warm it up,” and then home to his family for the only good meal we ate in Russia. After eating, the Fish family took us to the bar (read: room with lights) for a night of boozing and drunken hugging with hard men whose nicknames included Stalin, Bear Killer, and, my favorite, plain old Killer. Tears, more vodka, giving of cheap presents, and finally the two-day train ride back to “civilization.”
But the North Koreans were waiting for us on the train… And so began the worst 48 hours of my life, which ended with the FSB (the modern version of the KGB), the local militia, plainclothes police, and assorted thugs removing us from the train and placing us into custody. Finding myself wishing for Billy and his ability to effortlessly sort things out, I texted him that the FSB had detained us. He replied, “Of course they have. Just leave.” So we took off, racing across Siberia to the Chinese border (Billy told us about the smugglers’ route) and finally… to freedom.
And check out this clip of Shane Smith on the Joe Rogan Experience:
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Salvia brings hope to the future
The lack of science on this particular type of sage is unfortunate, and the fact that our politicians are working to criminalize this drug is exponentially unfortunate since the healing potential is so large. Why governments stifle science I do not fully understand. In the meantime, it's legal in Canada and the UK as well as most states of America, and definitely worth investigating. Recently I came across this old letter to US congress and found it both interesting and informative. Check it out, and follow the sources for more info :)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Prominent Salvia Divinorum Researcher Speaks Out: Letter to Congress
RE: Bill H.R. 5607
Dear Honorable Member of Congress:
This letter summarizes the important medicinal properties of Salvia divinorum and its primary active constituent salvinorin A. It also puts forth several objections to bill H.R. 5607, which inappropriately seeks to place this medicinal herb in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
As a pharmacognosist who has devoted the last ten years to the scientific study of this herb, I believe that I am particularly qualified to speak on this issue. I was the first person to investigate the human pharmacology of salvinorin A and to clearly identify this compound as the psychoactive principle of Salvia divinorum (Siebert, 1994). Most recently, I coauthored a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), in which my research group reported our findings regarding the neurological mechanism of salvinorin A’s action. These findings are of particular significance because they provide solid evidence for the medicinal value of this compound. I am currently working in collaboration with several other scientists on various avenues of scientific investigation into the pharmacology of salvinorin A and closely related compounds. My collaborators include Dr. Bryan Roth (Project Director of the National Institute for Mental Health Psychoactive Drug Screening Program) and Dr. Michael J. Iadarola (Chief of the Neuronal Gene Expression Unit at the Pain and Neurosensory Mechanisms Branch of the National Institute for Health). In addition to my scientific endeavors, I am presently completing work on a comprehensive book about Salvia divinorum.
RE: Bill H.R. 5607
Dear Honorable Member of Congress:
This letter summarizes the important medicinal properties of Salvia divinorum and its primary active constituent salvinorin A. It also puts forth several objections to bill H.R. 5607, which inappropriately seeks to place this medicinal herb in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
As a pharmacognosist who has devoted the last ten years to the scientific study of this herb, I believe that I am particularly qualified to speak on this issue. I was the first person to investigate the human pharmacology of salvinorin A and to clearly identify this compound as the psychoactive principle of Salvia divinorum (Siebert, 1994). Most recently, I coauthored a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), in which my research group reported our findings regarding the neurological mechanism of salvinorin A’s action. These findings are of particular significance because they provide solid evidence for the medicinal value of this compound. I am currently working in collaboration with several other scientists on various avenues of scientific investigation into the pharmacology of salvinorin A and closely related compounds. My collaborators include Dr. Bryan Roth (Project Director of the National Institute for Mental Health Psychoactive Drug Screening Program) and Dr. Michael J. Iadarola (Chief of the Neuronal Gene Expression Unit at the Pain and Neurosensory Mechanisms Branch of the National Institute for Health). In addition to my scientific endeavors, I am presently completing work on a comprehensive book about Salvia divinorum.
Medical properties
There are approximately one thousand species of Salvia worldwide. Salvia divinorum is just one of the many species that are recognized for their useful medicinal properties. The common name for all salvias is sage. Most people are familiar with the common culinary sage, Salvia officinalis, which in addition to its usefulness as a flavoring agent, is also used for its medicinal properties. The genus name Salvia is derived from the Latin salvare, meaning “to heal” or “to save.” The words salvation and savior also come from this same root.
Salvia divinorum is endemic to the Mazatec Sierra of central Mexico, where it has a long history of medicinal use. It is used both for its psychoactive properties and as an effective treatment for arthritis, headache, and eliminatory complaints. The validity of each of these different applications is well supported by my research group’s recent pharmacological findings.
To summarize our recent findings: Salvinorin A is a uniquely potent and highly selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist, and as such, it has tremendous potential for the development of a wide variety of valuable medications. The most promising of these include safe non-addictive analgesics, antidepressants, short-acting anesthetics that do not depress respiration, and drugs to treat disorders characterized by alterations in perception, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and bipolar disorder (Roth et al., 2002).
Kappa-opioid receptor agonists are of particular interest to pharmacologists because they provide effective pain medications that are not habit forming and do not produce dependence. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence that indicates that kappa-opioid receptor agonists are actually “aversive”—the opposite of addictive. This is an important advantage over most powerful analgesics currently prescribed. My colleagues and I will soon be publishing a paper that reports the results of animal studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of salvinorin A as an analgesic (Chavkin et al., in press). In my book I describe many case reports in which people testify to the effectiveness of this herb for managing pain. The traditional Mazatec use of Salvia divinorum to treat headaches and arthritis also attests to its efficacy as an analgesic.
The ability of salvinorin A to block perception of pain also suggests that it may prove quite useful as a short-acting general anesthetic. The fact that it does not depress respiration is particularly interesting, because it indicates that salvinorin A could be much safer than most general anesthetics currently in use.
Recently Dr. Karl Hanes published a case report in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, in which he describes a patient that obtained relief from chronic depression by using Salvia divinorum (Hanes, 2001). In my book I describe several additional accounts of people who have recovered from serious depression with the help of this herb. It is especially interesting that these people were able to obtain persistent relief from their depression after only a few treatments. Quite unlike the continuous medication regime required with conventional antidepressants such as Prozac—which in most cases only offer symptomatic relief from depression—Salvia divinorum often produces long-lasting clinical improvement.
Because salvinorin A alters various perceptual modalities by acting on kappa-opioid receptors, it is clear that these receptors play a prominent role in the modulation of human perception. This suggests the possibility that novel psychotherapeutic compounds derived from salvinorin A could be useful for treating diseases manifested by perceptual distortions (e.g. schizophrenia, dementia, and bipolar disorders). This is a promising area of research that is important to pursue further.
Salvia divinorum has several properties that make it useful in psychotherapy: it produces a state of profound self-reflection, it improves one’s ability to retrieve childhood memories, and it provides access to areas of the psyche that are ordinarily difficult to reach. I have spoken with several psychotherapists who have used this herb in their practice. They are impressed with its effectiveness as a psychotherapeutic tool. This type of application is not new—the Mazatecs have long used Salvia divinorum to treat psychological complaints.
Salvinorin A is also an important neurochemical probe for studying the dynorphin/kappa-opioid-receptor system. As such, it is useful for research into the neurological mechanisms of perception and awareness.Salvinorin A is remarkable in that it belongs to an entirely different chemical class than any previously identified opioid receptor ligand (it is a diterpenoid). This fact is of great interest to pharmacologists because it opensup a vast new area for future drug development.
There are approximately one thousand species of Salvia worldwide. Salvia divinorum is just one of the many species that are recognized for their useful medicinal properties. The common name for all salvias is sage. Most people are familiar with the common culinary sage, Salvia officinalis, which in addition to its usefulness as a flavoring agent, is also used for its medicinal properties. The genus name Salvia is derived from the Latin salvare, meaning “to heal” or “to save.” The words salvation and savior also come from this same root.
Salvia divinorum is endemic to the Mazatec Sierra of central Mexico, where it has a long history of medicinal use. It is used both for its psychoactive properties and as an effective treatment for arthritis, headache, and eliminatory complaints. The validity of each of these different applications is well supported by my research group’s recent pharmacological findings.
To summarize our recent findings: Salvinorin A is a uniquely potent and highly selective kappa-opioid receptor agonist, and as such, it has tremendous potential for the development of a wide variety of valuable medications. The most promising of these include safe non-addictive analgesics, antidepressants, short-acting anesthetics that do not depress respiration, and drugs to treat disorders characterized by alterations in perception, including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, and bipolar disorder (Roth et al., 2002).
Kappa-opioid receptor agonists are of particular interest to pharmacologists because they provide effective pain medications that are not habit forming and do not produce dependence. In fact, there is a growing body of evidence that indicates that kappa-opioid receptor agonists are actually “aversive”—the opposite of addictive. This is an important advantage over most powerful analgesics currently prescribed. My colleagues and I will soon be publishing a paper that reports the results of animal studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of salvinorin A as an analgesic (Chavkin et al., in press). In my book I describe many case reports in which people testify to the effectiveness of this herb for managing pain. The traditional Mazatec use of Salvia divinorum to treat headaches and arthritis also attests to its efficacy as an analgesic.
The ability of salvinorin A to block perception of pain also suggests that it may prove quite useful as a short-acting general anesthetic. The fact that it does not depress respiration is particularly interesting, because it indicates that salvinorin A could be much safer than most general anesthetics currently in use.
Recently Dr. Karl Hanes published a case report in the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology, in which he describes a patient that obtained relief from chronic depression by using Salvia divinorum (Hanes, 2001). In my book I describe several additional accounts of people who have recovered from serious depression with the help of this herb. It is especially interesting that these people were able to obtain persistent relief from their depression after only a few treatments. Quite unlike the continuous medication regime required with conventional antidepressants such as Prozac—which in most cases only offer symptomatic relief from depression—Salvia divinorum often produces long-lasting clinical improvement.
Because salvinorin A alters various perceptual modalities by acting on kappa-opioid receptors, it is clear that these receptors play a prominent role in the modulation of human perception. This suggests the possibility that novel psychotherapeutic compounds derived from salvinorin A could be useful for treating diseases manifested by perceptual distortions (e.g. schizophrenia, dementia, and bipolar disorders). This is a promising area of research that is important to pursue further.
Salvia divinorum has several properties that make it useful in psychotherapy: it produces a state of profound self-reflection, it improves one’s ability to retrieve childhood memories, and it provides access to areas of the psyche that are ordinarily difficult to reach. I have spoken with several psychotherapists who have used this herb in their practice. They are impressed with its effectiveness as a psychotherapeutic tool. This type of application is not new—the Mazatecs have long used Salvia divinorum to treat psychological complaints.
Salvinorin A is also an important neurochemical probe for studying the dynorphin/kappa-opioid-receptor system. As such, it is useful for research into the neurological mechanisms of perception and awareness.Salvinorin A is remarkable in that it belongs to an entirely different chemical class than any previously identified opioid receptor ligand (it is a diterpenoid). This fact is of great interest to pharmacologists because it opensup a vast new area for future drug development.
No significant abuse potential
There are many popular misconceptions about Salvia divinorum. Presumably, bill H.R. 5607 is based on some these. Many of these misconceptions have their origin in a few sensationalistic articles that have appeared in the popular press, and others derive from the absurd advertising claims of unethical herb vendors who deliberately exaggerate the effects of Salvia divinorum in an effort to increase sales.
The fact is that the effects of Salvia divinorum are not appealing to recreational drug users. The majority of people who try it find that they do not enjoy its effects and do not continue using it. People who use it medicinally take it infrequently. It is not euphoric or stimulating. It is not a social drug. Since it increases self-awareness, it is useless as an escapist drug. It is most useful as a medicinal herb.
Salvia divinorum is not addictive or habit forming. Its mechanism of action indicates that it may actually be anti-addictive. Many people have reported that Salvia divinorum actually helped them to overcome substance abuse problems.
There are many popular misconceptions about Salvia divinorum. Presumably, bill H.R. 5607 is based on some these. Many of these misconceptions have their origin in a few sensationalistic articles that have appeared in the popular press, and others derive from the absurd advertising claims of unethical herb vendors who deliberately exaggerate the effects of Salvia divinorum in an effort to increase sales.
The fact is that the effects of Salvia divinorum are not appealing to recreational drug users. The majority of people who try it find that they do not enjoy its effects and do not continue using it. People who use it medicinally take it infrequently. It is not euphoric or stimulating. It is not a social drug. Since it increases self-awareness, it is useless as an escapist drug. It is most useful as a medicinal herb.
Salvia divinorum is not addictive or habit forming. Its mechanism of action indicates that it may actually be anti-addictive. Many people have reported that Salvia divinorum actually helped them to overcome substance abuse problems.
Safety
Salvia divinorum is non-toxic. Toxicological studies have been performed by Dr. Leander Valdés at the University of Michigan, Jeremy Stewart at the University of Mississippi, Dr. Frank Jaksch of Chromadex Inc., and Wayne Briner of the University of Kansas. Neither Salvia divinorum nor salvinorin A showed toxicity in any of these studies. There is a vast body of empirical evidence that indicates Salvia divinorum is a remarkably safe herb. Indeed, the Mazatecs, who have probably used S. divinorum for hundreds of years, do not attribute any toxic properties to this plant.
Salvia divinorum is non-toxic. Toxicological studies have been performed by Dr. Leander Valdés at the University of Michigan, Jeremy Stewart at the University of Mississippi, Dr. Frank Jaksch of Chromadex Inc., and Wayne Briner of the University of Kansas. Neither Salvia divinorum nor salvinorin A showed toxicity in any of these studies. There is a vast body of empirical evidence that indicates Salvia divinorum is a remarkably safe herb. Indeed, the Mazatecs, who have probably used S. divinorum for hundreds of years, do not attribute any toxic properties to this plant.
Conclusions
Salvia divinorum is a relatively obscure medicinal herb with no significant abuse potential. It does not present a risk to public health or safety. Criminalizing it would only serve to create a problem where one did not previouslyexist. The regulation of herbal medicines such as this is a matter that should be handled by the FDA, not the Controlled Substances Act.
There is no reasonable justification for making Salvia divinorum a controlledsubstance. Placing it in schedule I would deprive people of a safe and useful medicinal herb, and it would seriously hamper promising medical research. Because of its complex stereochemistry, salvinorin A is virtually impossible to produce synthetically. It is important that its source plant, Salvia divinorum,remain available so that researchers can continue to study this important compound.
Evidently, this bill is based on inaccurate information about Salvia divinorum. Schedule I is intended for substances that have a high potential for abuse, a lack of accepted safety, and no currently accepted medical use. Salvia divinorum does not meet any of these criteria.
Sincerely,
Daniel J. Siebert
Salvia divinorum is a relatively obscure medicinal herb with no significant abuse potential. It does not present a risk to public health or safety. Criminalizing it would only serve to create a problem where one did not previouslyexist. The regulation of herbal medicines such as this is a matter that should be handled by the FDA, not the Controlled Substances Act.
There is no reasonable justification for making Salvia divinorum a controlledsubstance. Placing it in schedule I would deprive people of a safe and useful medicinal herb, and it would seriously hamper promising medical research. Because of its complex stereochemistry, salvinorin A is virtually impossible to produce synthetically. It is important that its source plant, Salvia divinorum,remain available so that researchers can continue to study this important compound.
Evidently, this bill is based on inaccurate information about Salvia divinorum. Schedule I is intended for substances that have a high potential for abuse, a lack of accepted safety, and no currently accepted medical use. Salvia divinorum does not meet any of these criteria.
Sincerely,
Daniel J. Siebert
References:
Siebert, Daniel J. Divine Sage. Work in progress.
Chavkin, Charles, Sumit Sud, Wenzhen Jin, Jeremy Stuart, Daniel J. Siebert, Sean Renock, Karen Baner,Nicole M. White, John Pintar and Bryan L. Roth.. Paper in progress.
Roth, Bryan L., Karen Baner, Richard Westkaemper, Daniel Siebert, Kenner C. Rice, SeAnna Steinberg, Paul Ernsberger, and Richard Rothman. 2002. Salvinorin A: A Potent, Naturally Occurring, Non-Nitrogenous κ-Opioid Selective Agonist. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). Vol. 99, Issue 18, 11934-11939.
Hanes, K. R. 2001. Antidepressant Effects of the Herb Salvia divinorum: A Case Report. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 21(6):634-635.
Gruber, John W., Daniel J. Siebert, Ara H. Der Marderosian, and Rick S. Hock. 1999. High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Quantification of Salvinorin A from Tissues of Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva-M. Phytochemical Analysis. 10(1):22-25.
Siebert, Daniel J. 1994. Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A: new pharmacologic findings. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 43: 53-56.
Siebert, Daniel J. Divine Sage. Work in progress.
Chavkin, Charles, Sumit Sud, Wenzhen Jin, Jeremy Stuart, Daniel J. Siebert, Sean Renock, Karen Baner,Nicole M. White, John Pintar and Bryan L. Roth.. Paper in progress.
Roth, Bryan L., Karen Baner, Richard Westkaemper, Daniel Siebert, Kenner C. Rice, SeAnna Steinberg, Paul Ernsberger, and Richard Rothman. 2002. Salvinorin A: A Potent, Naturally Occurring, Non-Nitrogenous κ-Opioid Selective Agonist. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). Vol. 99, Issue 18, 11934-11939.
Hanes, K. R. 2001. Antidepressant Effects of the Herb Salvia divinorum: A Case Report. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 21(6):634-635.
Gruber, John W., Daniel J. Siebert, Ara H. Der Marderosian, and Rick S. Hock. 1999. High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Quantification of Salvinorin A from Tissues of Salvia divinorum Epling & Játiva-M. Phytochemical Analysis. 10(1):22-25.
Siebert, Daniel J. 1994. Salvia divinorum and salvinorin A: new pharmacologic findings. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 43: 53-56.
Monday, December 5, 2011
I do not know where this quote is from.
"Love when you are ready, not when you are alone."
If feel it's a profound sentiment, and am curious who the originator is... if you know, hit me in the comments section or on twitter... "when you are ready".
Meatless Mondays
Affect climate change positively, oppose animal cruelty, elongate your lifespan, and reduce poverty by eating less meat.
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