possible jail for importing entheogen

[psycho0]

http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/10_17_02entheogen.cfm

this was in the drug alliance newsletter.

[gomaos]

God damn those prosecutors!

Peaceful entheogen-consumers treated like witches in the middle ages!

Democracy? What a joke!

Sieg heil, mein fuehrer BUSH!

[theobromos]

The witches did not have a hope of succesful defence. Ohters have been acquitted before, it is possible that a judgement in this case could overturn the present anti-hallucinogen laws in the USA.

[planthelper]

irgedwer ist immer der boese im land,

und dann kann man das gute und die augen

voll sand in die heiligen kriege

ziehen.

konstantin w.

[Auxin]

"Sieg heil, mein fuehrer BUSH!"- gomaos

I'll have to remember that one if Bush ever comes to my area.

Of course when people yelled 'Bill Clinton you suck!' a few years ago they were arrested. Dont you just love 'freedom of speech.'

[jetblack]

Bill Clinton you suck

Heh, just spin that round a little...

[gomaos]

Is that what Monica would have said:

"Suck you, Bill Clinton..."

on another note:

Locking people up for saying that is...

hitleresk...

What would happen if I said:

G.W.Bush, YOU TOTALLY SUCK!

[Auxin]

"What would happen if I said:

G.W.Bush, YOU TOTALLY SUCK!"

You would be arrested as a terrorist, put in a cuban prison, and held without being charged or allowed access to a lawyer while the government harasses anyone you have ever met and the mass media searches for ANYONE that they could pay $250,000 to say you might be a muslim terrorist. If you did get out you couldnt get a job in the US or any country where the US has appointed the leader, you would be hounded by the media, and your house would be routinely firebombed and otherwise vandalized by idiots that think you didnt suffer enough.

The american way!

[gomaos]

Jesus mf christ, that's truely frightening!

So far I've always put the "bush equals hitler" thing on the side, as some sort of

day-to-day paranoia thing ( I felt the same way when reagan was "doing it")

But reading what you write Auxin I now realize that the american government has already crossed the line to true dictatorship.

I'll better shut up then!

[Auxin]

I'VE GOT IT!!!

Laws that SUPERSEDE the laws of any country belonging to the UN:

UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 18.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

This allows people to use any entheogens that their religion allows.

Article 29.

(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.

This means that people cannot be arrested for a victimless crime such as importing entheogens and/or using entheogens in private.

I think a person just might be able to use this defense in court!

You can read the entire declaration here: http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

[Guest electro]

Could this really be ?

Does this really mean that in our quests to better ourselves and help those around us by venturing into the depths of our relm and beyond, we are protected by law (against law) ?

How would one argue in court that the rituals performed truely are religous practices/rituals, being that todays neo-shamanistic approaches and practices are so diverse and varied from shamanism's traditional ways?(despite any amount of effort to practice traditionally - it is just impossible in such a society)

Does that grey area serve in the argument's favour and if so, how do we as a community ensure that this does not serve to the detriment of the practices?

Also, if one engages in such practices but feels that they themself do not measure up to the title of shaman, will the law apply to them, given that they are not specificly "shamans" or would the ruling be more leniant.

eg:

a believer in christian faith = christian as opposed to only defining leaders of the faith as christians

Unfortunatly this doesnt serve as such a good example though, considering the nature of traditional shamanism.

This brings us back to the diversity of neo shamanism, considering that traditionaly shamans were "spiritual leaders" (wether respected, acceped, feared or outcast) with only a select few being defined as such.

[This message has been edited by electro (edited 21 October 2002).]

[MrBumpy]

"So, what if you don't actually look like a rasta, but you is got a couple of Bob Marley cd's and when of dem funny hats with da dreds...is it legal? "

-bumpy

[Auxin]

Mrbumpy, do you have to 'LOOK' like a christian to go to church and get holy communion? Same thing.

But please remember that as far as I know the UN human rights defense has not been tested with entheogen convictions, and I'm not a lawyer.

[theobromos]

You can be a shamanist without being a shaman. One shaman(ish) says you have to have one foot in the world of the dead to feel the call to be a shaman. I would rather be one of the flock, or at most one of the choir.

[Guest electro]

Heh i'm set then, i've lived in the world of the dead for half my life (i felt quite literally as if i were dead and waiting for my body to catch up), only comming back to the world of the living two or so years ago.

Funnily enough i knew nothing of shamanism (until i found this site/community), Throughout life I came to my own conclusions and created my own beliefs based on a combination of experience and science only to find that what i had come to (mindset, belief structure, rituals etc etc etc) was already around (neo-shamanism & shamanism) and that it had been practiced in various forms for centuries (shamanism)