fyzygy

https://medium.com/@adamdemartino/you-cant-eat-technology-325f604fe394 Mycelium needs a middle ground, a happy medium.

I prefer the quieter acoustic tunes, full of melancholy. Thanks for sharing, and keep at it!

I'd like to get my hands on cuttings/plants of S. tortuosum, S. emarcidum, or any other cultivars known (first-hand) to be active. To buy or trade. PM if you can help out. Thanks.

This article gives three (or four) possible explanations (including deliberate user - not dealer - contamination): https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/5/4/17307296/cocaine-opioid-crisis-fentanyl-overdose. A fuller explanation would be ... "all of the above." The following sentence reminded me of SayN's comment: In other words, accidental contamination seems probable, as the EPA seems to be aware: https://www.epa.gov/sciencematters/remediation-fentanyl-contaminated-indoor-environments. Alas, with great power (or potency) comes great responsibility.

Olive oil – described as “liquid gold” in Homer’s Iliad – is renowned for its health benefits. Not only is it delicious, it is anti-inflammatory, good for the gut, beneficial for the heart, and may even help us feel happier and live longer. Scientists are now turning their attention, however, to the murky, brown and previously discarded by-product of its production – olive mill wastewater (OMW) – and have discovered it may be an even more powerful superfood. OMW is left over after olives have been ground and their oil separated – a watery residue squeezed out from the remaining mulch. It was previously considered a bit of a nuisance as, if not properly managed, it can contaminate surrounding soil and water, but now it is being commended for its protective and anti-inflammatory potential. After hearing reports of olive farmers who had taken to drinking it for health reasons, researchers became intrigued and started investigating the waste product. They found that instead of being useless, this dark, bitter and cloudy liquid is just as – and maybe even more – nutritious as its source. OMW is full of healthy plant-based compounds, or phytochemicals, particularly polyphenols, which contribute to gut health, among other benefits. In fact, OMW is thought to contain at least 10 times the amount of phytochemicals as extra virgin olive oil, which is already considered a rich source. Italian scientist Adriana Albini, a pioneering professor of cancer research and the first Italian to be elected to the American Association for Cancer Research’s board of directors, has been studying OMW for the last 10 years. She has run studies on OMW extract with her team and found that it may be helpful in both the prevention and treatment of certain cancers, including those of the lung, prostate, colon and breast. Other research has shown that OMW may support exercise recovery, improve metabolic markers, and has the potential to help cardiovascular and neurological conditions. “Plants can’t run,” said Albini. “Their only defence is to produce secondary or tertiary metabolites, which ward off parasites. Many of these metabolites are poisons and we know that in certain concentrations, poisons can be therapeutic. “Arsenic, for example, can be helpful in treating leukaemia. So the idea is that these metabolites can help defend us from cancer. What plants use for their health, we can also use for ours.” Eating foods rich in these beneficial plant-based chemicals, like those found in the Mediterranean diet, is linked to a decreased risk of developing diseases. OMW contains at least 30 different types of polyphenols, among which hydroxytyrosol was the most abundant, said Albini. Also found in both olives and olive oil, hydroxytyrosol could, research has shown, help brain and heart health, as well as reducing inflammation, which is good for overall health. Source: https://www.theguardian.com/food/article/2024/aug/24/nonna-caterina-was-right-olive-oil-wastewater-heralded-as-new-superfood

Speak of the devil ... https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-27/australia-nitazenes-drugs-naloxone-nightspots-harm-minimisation/104233180

Just when I was wondering what happened to SayN ... I've read that even ketamine has been cut/contaminated with fentanyl. Maybe the stuff is a bit like micro-plastics or PFAS, simply everywhere. But it's a good distinction to draw, whether a product has been cut, or simply contaminated. Pretty sloppy business practices, either way. It's ironic that poisons are scheduled as such in order to keep them out of inexpert hands, and harm's way. But maybe the law is driving the overdose phenomenon, unintentionally. I've witnessed cocaine being cut, but with Panadol. I've seen cannabis crops sprayed with household insecticides. The driver in both cases was simply greed, which overpowered any moral considerations. As the perpetrators knew only too well: these products sell themselves, to an eager market. Quality control is pretty lax, on both the producer and the consumer's part, when scarcity has been engineered by prohibition. Criminals are made by criminal laws.

You mean, why cut cocaine with fentanyl etc. when you could just cut with baking powder or Panadol? Maybe, as you suggest, unscrupulous dealers do want to promote dependency and addiction. I doubt they'd want their clients to overdose too frequently though, because that would diminish sales. If Big Pharma can promote dependency and addiction and not give a shit about consequences, why wouldn't black-market bottom-feeders do likewise? Prohibition only encourages criminal and risky behaviour. Sick, sad world.

Biochef food dehydrator, bought a few years ago, only used a handful of times. 10 or so drying racks, plus liners. Melbourne pickup only, 3044. PM if interested in a trade.

first colonial botanists, rather. The USA seems to have prided itself on a "bigger, faster" growth mentality, so perhaps that explains the popularity of the PC. Smaller spines being an added bonus among suburban gardeners not too fond of the exotic. USA and Oz are settler societies, with a perceived abundance of wide open space to be filled, and quickly. There are also perhaps some significant climatic differences that make the PC less suited to European gardens. Pure conjecture on my part, so I'd love to know more from those in the know.

Nice! That's quite a collection.

Topic is broad, from growing, importing, distributing, to lobbying, campaigning, anything short of kidnapping and torture. The parlous state of affairs in Oz is beyond woeful -- and beggars belief. I have gardening-related nerve pain, no income, no income support, no access to GP or their Big Pharma opiod prescription racket. One can petition the TGA for changes to kratom's legal status, but the gatekeeping is all done with toxicology and other requirements. I can make a credible humanistic and even medical argument in favour of de-scheduling, but the laboratory/scientific stuff is well beyond me. Who else feels the need to take formal action to make kratom freely available to Australian sufferers of chronic and acute pain? Please PM or post below if you're interested in taking action.

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Feel free to PM, if anyone can confirm this.

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It would have to be a bonsai, given that the tree aspires to a height of 20 metres. That said, I certainly haven't tried.

Any maverick veterinarians out there?

Definitely not in my experience. Growers who deal and smoke their own stuff can get consumed by paranoia. Too much of a good thing, is a bad thing.

Criminalisation puts consumers at risk, no doubt. But so too, commercialisation. I've seen well-to-do, know-nothing cannabis gangsters use everything from neem oil to Mortein, all in a vain attempt to control spider mite for which they've provided the ideal conditions. And this despite the availability of biological controls, even pre-emptive biological controls, that cost no more than chemical options. I've read that plant growth accelerators are available "under the counter" in Oz, from your local hydro store. But I'm not at all convinced that the medicinal cannabis industry grows a product that is any safer. After all, they're in it for the same reason as the would-be gangsters: rapid turnovers of product and cash. I'm not sure what regulations, if any, surround the production of medicinal cannabis. Minimal, I'd say. (The LA Times report in OP could be referring to cannabis products for the recreational market, and/or medicinal, I don't know). As far as I know, only organic certification stipulates freedom from synthetic pesticides. Any kind of closed-system, monoculture crop, is all the more vulnerable to infestations of pests. A friend worked at a mushroom farm, where the fruiting bodies were routinely sprayed with sheep dip.

From Double Blind: The past few semanas have been, uh, eye-opening in regards to toxins being found in popular psychoactive products. The LA Times dropped a bombshell investigative story about pesticides being found at alarming levels in legal cannabis products—yes, including in well-known brands we all have likely consumed. A flurry of lawsuits have since ensued and the Department of Cannabis Control has remained largely silent on the issue, despite issuing a few random product recalls. While that story has caused an absolute utter shitstorm in the cannabis space, the FDA and CDC also launched an investigation into a “mushroom” brand called Diamond Shruumz from Santa Ana, CA earlier in June. These products landed 23 people in the hospital and rendered 36 others ill with an array of symptoms, including seizures, nausea, vomiting, and abnormal heart rate and blood pressure. The FDA and CDC released some lab tests they conducted on a few Diamond Shruumz products, but they only tested two products out of dozens available, so it’s impossible to know what’s causing the illness with certainty. However, journalist Michelle Lhooq investigated the COAs on Diamond Shruumz’s website, and… well, you’ll have to read the story to see what she discovered after talking to the labs the brand employed. What I will say is product safety is not looking great right now, despite the recent recall of Diamond Shruumz. The takeaway? Either know your dealer or grow your own.

Big Cotton. Big Canola. GMOs patented by Monsanto.

We should take pride in the achievements of previous generations of Oz anti-nuclear activists, and respect the environment.