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Torsten

anyone willing to do on-camera interview about ayahuasca?

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this is for a commercial network and it appears to be a news segment [not trashy current affairs]. They already have the bad side of the story, but we got them interested in the good side too. SAB will apparently feature heavily despite us refusing interviews. They bought plants here though the day before.

Looking for people with degrees to give this some substance. eg anthropology, pharmacology, psychiatry, etc

PM me urgently.

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Your post has made my heart sink from worry as it conjures up images of another scare campaign by some journalist who is a science illiterate and wants only to stir up some controversy. I can already picture the overly dramatised introduction about the threat of "dangerous drugs" that can be bought easily and how the kiddies aren't safe. Medicinal plants will then be portrayed as being on par with things such as dirty street meth and there'll be calls for a crack down so that we can protect the children. Maybe they'll interview some politicians and police to ask them what they're going to do about this horrible threat to public safety. Then some concerned parent or family group will call for action. Someone will then propose reactionary laws so that they can appear tough on crime and hopefully gain some votes.

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I agree, this sounds potentially pretty heavy.

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It's pretty unlikely that they will show a good 'side'. I'm not sure what the repercussions of getting involved could be. It might be worth it, considering that if there is even a tiny chance that they will show it in a positive light, they will need some sound bites, which will require an interviewee, and if they want to make it look bad, it probably doesn't make much difference whether they have someone to talk about it or not.

But we know what the media is like with things like this, particularly commercial media. They need to have an angle, and showing any drug in a positive light is not usually the angle they take. They will have people who have no idea what they're talking about espouse the dangers of drugs, this may include police officers and doctors. They will interview someone who is in support of ayahuasca use (or freedom of use), but instead of investigating points of contention between the two sides and working out which is supported by evidence, they will grab a couple of 3 second soundbites from the 'pro' person and do their best to make them look bad by taking the quotes out of context.

Like I said, I don't really know what the best course of action would be at this stage but, like migraineur, I don't have a good feeling about this.

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which network is it?

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What would perhaps be useful is waiting until they've done their scare-campaign crap (assuming that's what they're going to do) and then being as active as we can in the comment sections of wherever it get's posted. See if there's any letter-to-the-editor stuff we could do, or even contact somebody like media-watch.

But yeah, this sucks. I'm so sick of the one-sided way this kind of stuff gets canvassed, it's completely unfair. I kinda wish they'd go back to complaining about petrol prices and telemarketers and leave decent, open-minded people (who aren't hurting anybody) out of their poo-fights.

Edited by gtarman
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It would be useful to have the name of the channel so we can bombard them with information should they portray medicinal plant growers, herbalists and users in a bad light. I like the idea of getting on to the comment sections too.

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I suspect this situation will have parallels with the internet censorship debate where politicians like Stephen Conroy, who is a technological illiterate, want to impose censorship on us and take away our freedoms under the guise of saving children. Anyone who presents valid counter arguments is then counter attacked by Conroy who is armed with his sword of logical fallacies. According to Conroy, if you don't support his policy then you must support child porn (nobody in the Catholic Church that he is a member of would abuse children, you see!).

In this case, it'll be if you don't support the banning of *insert medicinal plant here* then you are some immoral drug abuser or pusher who seeks to benefit at the expense of the safety of our children (shame on you!). I won't be surprised if they make the owners of these plants appear as some kind of dodgy stereotype, such as some new age hippy stoner, in order to detract from the science of it.

I forgot to add a sound byte of my own:

Edited by migraineur

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Torsten if history is anything to go by once this goes live expect a lot more orders.

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the piece was going to air one way or the other. he already had all the trashy stuff, so whatever we added to it can only make it better or the same, but not worse.

i offered him several PhDs with institutional backing, but he seemed obsessed with getting my nursery guy up there. actually he wanted me, but I'd only been released from hospital earlier that day and was still coming down off my anesthetic barely being able to form coherent sentences - would have been a good look, lol.

we'll see how it turns out. It is 7 news and should screen on monday. expect nasty shock ads over the weekend.

I've got the feeling this is not the end of it though as he seemed genuinely interested in the bigger picture of it.

I think the original aim was to do a trash piece on sab, aya and daime. If the final result is anything less than that then we've done well.

as for the shop, all advertising is good advertising :) Not that we look for it or encourage it, but it doesn't hurt. It does however speed up legal changes which is why we usually avoid any and all interviews.

I may need to restrict forum access for a day or so just to keep the server from crashing, so you may need to log in to see stuff. or I may even take the forum down for a few hours.

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sounds ominous indeed

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expect nasty shock ads over the weekend.

 

you mean like - legal drugs available online in australia

or - youth subculture experiment with dangerous unknown experimental plants

or - police target new south american drug craze

or - doctors warn of harm caused by common backyard plants

or - nurserys the new backyard meth labs

Torsten, i have never met you and probably never will, however i had a prophetic dream the other night that i met you in person and you were deep in research, you seemed more scientist than hippie. I imagine you now as blonde brown haired, thin build and 35ish but in my dream you were deep in work, 55ish grey black haired very serious but calm in nature and whilst you were occupied in work you still took time to remember me when i came to visit your place as in a tourist type location. It seemed like you said to me - do i know you? and i said yes im on your website as santiago, you paused for a second or two like you were pondering your mind database and said - ah how are you in a friendly way and how is that daughter of yours? i have imagined what that place of yours wanjina i think is like, i imagine a big place with a mountain somewhere and many cages for some reason but in the dream the office was was very govermental like, very organised, it ran strangely downhill to your office all around and there was a waterless moat kind of walkway around your main office with a walkway that went around the building like a square.

Personally i have never read much into dreams and i still dont but i think they represent subconscious underthoughts. If im wrong well then i saw your future. Your future is bright and i found you more scientific and factual than i probably may have given you credit for. But you certainly have a battle ahead of you, the wolves are at the door and i think the way life is heading things will get a lot worse before they get better. So i think your in for some problems and this community too.Im only being realisic about it. There are some narrow minded people out there in power and as JR says in the new dallas promo.... nobody ever gets just gets power, somebody has to lose it or take it and i think that represents the so called policy of a lot of current day causes we must all abide by. I think you are in for a battle and up for it, the decision is for you...whether you want to be buried in a pile of paperwork in your later years, or a kind person with a sense of humanity and spirituality.

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the best analogy i have heard for the news is the foreign words va na nihada (?) which is a literature reference meaning to have murdered someone and buried them and planted flowers on top, and are then pacing around them nervously hoping they don't get caught. that is the news..

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Hmmmm

I'll be breaking my mainstream media abandonment and will tune in - just need to find my TV antenna again lol

Conducting their 'research' and interviews just a day or two before this goes on air may give some early indication of the expected quality and stance

Pretty weird that we'll have 2 SAB members independently on mainstream media so close together (Sunday night Safran and 7News the next night)!

The melting pot keeps on warming

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Can someone with a television record it? I threw my television out of the window about 6-7 years ago - life is so much brighter without one. I can't stand seeing one these days, flicking and flashing and screeching away. I do hunt down and find interesting things to watch though (computer), if they're ad and news free - this news article sounds like an interesting exception to squeeze into my bubble... Ah my little TV free bubble, how I love you so...

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I have to add my voices to those who don't have mainstream media on tap. It would be good to get a permanent link on to youtube or something, it would be good if they have it online somewhere where we can post our comments / well thought out critiques.

We should also consider getting together to film some kind of response, a documentary perhaps of the lives of those who live "undercover" or pushing the boundaries of society in a spiritual way. I know a good cameraman if I can persuade him (via some recompense perhaps, to drag him away from TV work) and possibly someone reasonably famous involved in plants and film and doco's (but not ethno's) who I was talking to a few months ago, though I think he's trekking in South America or somewhere doing a doco on the history (economical value wise) of plants. Chuck ideas on this thread, I've never done anything like this before so I would need some help - or someone who has time to do this might be better positioned than me. I'm pretty sure someone like ABC would show something really well done, even if just by amateurs.

It looks like the first salvos in a new skirmish are about to be thrown and we need to prepare our own opening salvo in response.

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can someone tivo it for me?

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we're trying to make sure it is recorded so we can put it up here or youtube.

He has made no effort to get in contact with any of the highly qualified people I put him in touch with and who would have made for an interesting story, so I am not expecting much more than a trashpiece with Justin being used as the 'right of reply' required for news reporting.

santiago, those shock headlines are pretty much what we expect. however, most of the dream was a bit off. While my mind is scientific and organised and I am certainly not a hippie, my office is a complete mess. I am 44 and while i used to be very slim, this is no longer the case, LOL. I am also not blonde.

I am in two minds as to whether there is any point in getting on the 7 website much to respond to the fallout. yes, some well placed facts would be good, but having lots of people go there just seems to legitimise 7 as an actual news source. I just can't take them serious.

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The path of the story is most likely already chosen before they have even contacted you, any information they get i.e. interviews of people on the opposing side to them end up being clipped and trimmed until all the facts are removed. I don't want to know how this will pan out and i am especially worried about the excessive publicity, Truly after the schoolies DMT thing now this i am worried a lot of people not in the right frame of mind are going to be ending up on ayahuasca and possibly losing it. Or just spreading the word and having the noose tightened around our necks that little bit more as more plants get banned.

We are just fortunate that often the time it takes to get from a nursery stock sized plant to something of a consumable quantity is too long for most cowboys to keep interest and they will probably kill the plants by then, shame for the plants but probably beneficial for the people involved.

With the steady rise in the publicity of all legal and borderline legal drugs, or in this case plantscontaining substances that we are still able to grow, this was inevitable though. The damages of the synthetic craze may run much deeper than anyone could have ever thought. They are stories that generate viewers and if there is another similar story that can be followed they will be on it. I know that they wont portray it in agood light because truly i feel until you have experienced the power of ayahuasca, and what it can teach you will you be able to understand what it was originally used for.

Just be extra careful T after the story and be sure to send safety information etc with all plants.

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what's the old proverb about the Chinese farmer and his son?, horse runs away, "oh this is bad" - "who's to say", horse comes back bringing with it a number of other wild horses "oh this is good" - "who's to say", horses trample the son's legs, "oh this is bad" - "who's to say", war breaks out between a neighbouring village, all able bodied people sent to fight "oh this is good" - "who's to say" ..

i think if people do follow up after the story, and for eg. visit the corroboree or SAB page, the most nefarious content they're likely to find is threads on trannies or self incriminators and nwb print seekers getting shut down

on the whole if i had to make an assessment i'd say i see a fairly careful and reasonably sophisticated orientation to the plants from people here, i know i and many other people wouldn't post here were it not structured the way it is. i hate the way in situations like this that conflicting perspectives create the feeling that it's something wrong because it's illegal, that it's something to feel guilty about, as though having entheogenic experiences on something as innocuous as mushrooms is something that has to be keep secret, as though it's something to feel ashamed of.

the fuck created the list of priorities where targeting people using plants is in any way even close to being allocated the time and resources that are allocated to other problems people experience like domestic abuse or numerous other genuinely more significant problems in our country.

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you're forgetting that australia says no to domestic violence man, problem solved.

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Huh. Typical small-minded "journalists" (if it's at all possible to use that word loosely, I do so here).

I'm really hoping Caapi doesn't go the way of Salvia - one laughably ignorant ban is more than enough.

I just get really tired of these self-righteous "think-of-the-children" bigots (who don't have the foggiest idea what they're talking about) being the ones who call the shots.

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a new satanic drug from brazil, is robbing the sanity of our children, i ask for the death penalty to be re introduced!

death seems to me even a too mild form of punishment, for those drug peddlers.

sincerely,

tony

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I just saw the add for it on TV. 7pm monday...channel 7. the 'new drug, free on the internet.... '

they had some footage of a garden with cacti and other plants. as expected it doesn't look good folks!

EDIT * I think I got the time wrong - 7pm is home and away ;)

Edited by watertrade

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