Black Rainbow

PRISM's response to the report: https://www.prism.org.au/prisms-response-tga-expertreview/

I'll miss you guys. Luckily an angel sent me some little brown balls in lockdown, so I'll be there in spirit!

Report released today. Available here: https://www.tga.gov.au/independent-expert-panel-mdma-and-psilocybin

You can download the report here: https://www.tga.gov.au/independent-expert-panel-mdma-and-psilocybin “MDMA and psilocybin may show potential as therapeutic agents in highly selected populations when administered in closely supervised settings and with intensive support. Evidence appears strongest for MDMA. By contrast, randomised findings for psilocybin are largely limited to short follow-up data prior to cross-over.”

Our Eighth Microdose Webcast episode will feature John Safran discussing his new book, in which he takes on big tobacco and vaping. John will also take questions about his book and past projects. Hosted by Nick Wallis & EGA. Registration for the Microdose Webcasts are free, but donations are encouraged to support EGA's important work (booking fees apply). Wednesday 29 September 2021 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM (UTC+10) AEST. John Safran's new book, Puff Piece, is a hilarious but thought-provoking probe into big tobacco, their relationship with the vaping industry, and when words literally become a matter of life and death. Tobacco giants Philip Morris are slowly dying as cigarettes lose favour with everyone from world governments and investors to, increasingly, smokers - so, what’s their plan? Philip Morris have announced they’ll shut down as a cigarette company and relaunch as a health enterprise, dedicated to convincing the one billion smokers of the world to quit. WHAT?! In Puff Piece, the ever-curious John Safran attempts to get the real story out of Philip Morris. While digging, John discovers a company up to brand new shenanigans, wangling their way into unexpected places. They’re also upending language itself, changing the meaning of words. Will they slip past bans by convincing governments they don’t sell ‘cigarettes’ but rather ‘HeatSticks’, that don’t emit ‘smoke’ but ‘aerosol’? Nick Wallis spoke to John in the research stages of Puff Piece while also hosting him on 3CR's Enpsychedelia. Nick previously worked on the adult industry's lobbying efforts for nicotine vaping devices and viewed the battle in a similar lens to other drug law reform and harm reduction initiatives. Puff Piece focuses on the murkiness of vape lobbying and the efforts of Big Tobacco's Philip Morris to push for a different kind of device, a 'heat not burn' leaf-tobacco device. There is a far more nuanced battle behind the vape clouds and smoke screens of modern tobacco regulation which we will blow away on this latest installation of EGA's Microdose webcast. John will also take questions about his book and past entheogenic related projects such as John Safran VS GOD. Subscribers will have the chance to win a copy of John's new book. Register here: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing?eid=805256&

EGA's new guide documents a simple, innovative and recyclable technique that anyone can use to easily grow plants from seed. Coke bottle tek is a modification of the famous 'take-away tek', which uses plastic bottles for raising cacti and succulents from seed. Coke bottle tek is a set-and-forget technique, allowing plants to become more established with less human intervention, better preparing them for outdoor, in-ground environment and reducing the need for up-potting. Coke bottle tek also represents a more recyclable and environmentally friendly alternative to take-away tek. This technique being used to successfully cultivate Trichocereus spp., Lophophora spp., Hylocereus spp., Gymnocalycium spp., Astrophytum spp., Ariocarpus spp., Ferocactus spp., and of course many different trees and herbs. Halcyon and Dr Liam Engel are passionate ethnobotanists and longstanding members of The Corroboree forum. If you find this resource helpful, please support EGA so we can make more! Download the tutorial here: https://gardenstates.entheogenesis.org/coke-bottle-tek-a-terrarium-technique/

With the help EGA and our ethnobotanical family I wrote this resource to encourage awareness of Peyote conservation - "If you grow Peyote, are curious about cultural uses of these plants or the area of psychedelic conservation, our Peyote conservation reference guide can shed light on the ethical complexities of a relationship with this threatened species. The guide also provides species descriptions, history, pharmacology and other safety and legal issues around these plants. It features many beautiful photographs and includes contributions from Dr Liam Engel, Keeper Trout, Dr Martin Terry, Torsten Weidemann, Jonathan Carmichael and Andrew Oliver. Download the Peyote conservation reference guide here: https://gardenstates.entheogenesis.org/reference-guide-for-lophophora-conservation/ Check out more EGA resources here: https://gardenstates.entheogenesis.org/resources/" Lockdown sucks, I was so looking forward to seeing you all in December. Here's hoping it isn't too much longer. Miss you all!

Systematic literature review of the therapeutic value, benefits and risks of MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of mental health conditions 5 August 2021 The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Scheduling Delegate (decision maker) has deferred the final decision on applications to down-schedule MDMA and psilocybin from schedule 9 (prohibited drug) to schedule 8 (controlled drug) pending a review into the therapeutic value, risks and benefits to public health outcomes for these substances. The Independent Expert Panel to undertake this review has now been established. Terms of Reference The Independent Expert Panel has been established to undertake a systematic literature review of the roles of MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of mental health conditions. The Review will report findings on the current state of the evidence of therapeutic value, benefits and risks of MDMA and psilocybin for the treatment of mental health conditions, including the size of effect, the quality of evidence and the applicability of the evidence to real-world use in Australia, currently and into the future. The Review excludes pre-clinical trials (i.e. experimental pharmacology studies in test tube or animal models). The Panel is not a decision making or approval body, and their role is to provide a publicly available report which will be considered by the delegate and the Advisory Committee for Medicines Scheduling. Panel Members Professor Mark Connor Professor Mark Connor is a molecular pharmacologist with expertise in analgesics and psychoactive drugs, particularly cannabinoids and opioids, with extensive research experience in the USA, UK, and Australia. Currently, his work focuses on the pharmacology of synthetic cannabinoids and the molecular effects of phytocannabinoids. Professor Connor holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) and PhD in Pharmacology. He is currently the Associate Dean, Higher Degree Research, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Macquarie University. Professor Steve Kisely Professor Steve Kisely is a psychiatrist and public health physician with health services research experience in the UK, Australia, and Canada. He obtained fellowship of the relevant Colleges in the UK, Australasia and Canada, as well as of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine. He is also an accredited member of the faculties of adult psychiatry, addiction (FAP) and consultation psychiatry (FCLP) of the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists. Professor Kisely holds a Doctor of Medicine (Research Doctor of Philosophy and Doctor of Medicine. Professor Kisely is currently Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland. Professor Andrew Somogyi Professor Andrew Somogyi Professor Somogyi is Professor in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology. He is a practicing pharmacist and has a research program centred on elucidating the mechanisms and factors contributing to altered human drug response in pain therapeutics, infectious diseases, depression, and transplantation through pharmacokinetic, metabolism, pharmacodynamic and pharmacogenomic studies. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee and Company Director of the Australian Medicines Handbook. Professor Somogyi holds a Certificate of Pharmacy, Diploma of Hospital Pharmacy, Master of Science, and a PhD (Clinical Pharmacology). Professor Somogyi is currently a Professor of Pharmacology, Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide. Timing The Panel's Report will be published on the TGA website on 30 September 2021 ahead of consideration by the Advisory Committee on Medicines Scheduling. Contact details For enquiries regarding the Review or to contact the Panel please email [email protected] https://www.tga.gov.au/independent-expert-panel-mdma-and-psilocybin

It's all good, I had a nice vape in the park and some rude people stole our gazebo anyway

Lol I just arrived, rough

Takes me between 90min to 2hr to get there, so if we were aiming for 1pm lemme know...

We still on?

Awesome! Didn't realise these would be online so quickly. Would I have still got up at 5am on my weekend to watch this series if I had anticipated this? Yes, yes I would. I recommend the first two two talks and the final loungeroom session in particular. More of these and the EGA Microdose live streams and I can do away with TV altogether! Nice work KT, Ann and everyone else involved. Thank you all very much.

If you're convinced the current COVID-19 vaccination options aren't good for your health and you don't trust mainstream media or government communications as a source of information on the issue, try speaking to a health practitioner or a scientist, or try reading relevant health and science publications. If you don't trust these sources, I would ask you to look critically at the sources you do trust. People on this forum begrudge, disrespect and badger anti-vaxxers because not only is science and health expertise strongly represented amongst forum members, most likely view anti-vaxxers as a threat to the health of themselves, their friends and family, and the human population. This is less like drug use, which poses a risk primarily to your own health, and more like driving a car, which poses a risk to the health of others, too.

That's spooge, I'm sure they'll be at EGA too ;)

I'm sure all of those fellas are gonna be there, they're EGA OGs! What we really want is someone to do a cultivation workshop, I think. I have seen Chris Johns distributing courtii plants and his own cultivated courtii seed, which is pretty cool. Haven't seen much else from him though, anyone rekon he'd be good?

I recommend using the forum search engine and messaging people privately, this is a bit of a sketchy topic. Search terms like 'speciosa' are likely more handy than the K word. For this reason you might also have more luck if you edit that word out of the thread title and your post. If you don't find anyone it does seem like XXX often stocks it under the counter, but you might need to find someone on good terms with the vendor to ask. I've heard their XXX store only sells small quantities for people looking for OST, but I've also seen them selling huge bags of the stuff at a festival in XXX quite recently. Worth keeping in mind that as well as being illegal this plant still works on the opioid receptors, and withdrawal, dependence and tolerance are still real risks for everyday consumers. Could be a shitty situation if you ran out of supply, but if someone is on opioids anyway I can definitely see the appeal.

I'm counting down already :D Roll call! Who else is gonna be there in person, or on the stream?