dprogram • Alexander & Ann Shulgin


Home > 1 > 2 > 3 Drugs and the Dark Side Ann I've felt for some time that there is a deeply unconscious motive for making these drugs illegal. And that is that the people who make laws tend as a rule to be certain kinds of people who do not value insight, they tend to be more extroverted than others, more action-oriented. Who are, and have been since childhood uncomfortable with the idea of exploring their own minds at any level, and the reason for this is that unconsciously, along with a good part of the human race, they have a terrible fear that what is at the bottom of themselves, the core self that they might encounter if they went too deeply is a monster. Jung has called this 'the shadow'. It's called the dark side and we all have it. The people who dare to explore themselves, sooner or later are going to come across that aspect of themselves because we use it all the time - it's a necessary component of our psyches. But the more unconscious you are of those darker elements, those more aggressive aspects of yourself, the more power they have, because they are unconscious and they work unconsciously. I think that the law makers tend to be people who are deeply afraid of themselves and who project that fear and the cause of that fear onto everyone else. They fear very deeply that if they were to take a psychedelic drug that they would lose control completely and become an axe murderer or an out-of-control something or other. Not having done the work on their dark side - the spiritual progress one has to try to make - and they project that onto everyone else. I think that's what's basically at the bottom of prohibition. Denial Sasha Trace the history over sixty years of trying to take morphine, which kills pain (virtue) but makes you feel good (evil) and I don't know how many millions of dollars and millions of man-years have been invested in trying to separate the narcotic aspects of Morphine (kill pain) from the goody aspects of Morphine (feel good). You've gone through reiterations of structure that you would not believe. It never occurs to them that killing pain and feeling good are the same damned thing in a lot of people's eyes. So there's this denial of the pleasure, denial of the joy of an altered state. Addictive Drugs Ann I'd like to say something about the lumping together of all drugs in Schedule 1 in this country. For the most part psychedelics are not addictive. I think that there are probably two that are quite habituating to some people and therefore you have to be very careful with them. One is Marijuana and the other is Ketamine. You need to be watching yourself very closely if you are using either one. As a rule psychedelics are not addictive and yet they're lumped in with drugs which definitely are. It's very disturbing that the authorities make no effort to distinguish between them. Ecstacy - The First Magic Sasha From my viewpoint the absolute magic of MDMA, the first experience, sometimes the first three or four experiences are extraordinary and this is lost. Somehow on the fifth or the tenth experience you are reminded of what it was like and you have the stimulation, the energy, but you don't have that magic. It's a sad loss That is a thing that is sought after and this is one of the reasons the dosages are often increased, "Maybe if I took more I could capture that original music a little bit." It seems to be a property of the person becoming familiar with or perhaps conditioned. There may be changes in the body that this, some day, may be related to. Or in the mind. A lot has been made of research results suggesting long term neurological changes as a result of using MDMA regularly. What do you think about this? Sasha You'll find a number of people who are dedicated to searching for these changes and I'm just cynical enough to feel there is an element of support from groups who would just as soon find such reasons for why such drugs should not be used. And of course there is obviously need of supporting one's research - so there is some, you might say anticipation of these results as a consequence of these research needs and support needs. But the evidence isn't there. There is no evidence that can be brought out that there are such changes in man and I'm sorry but I can't let that be a valid warning. Further Research cognitiveliberty.org phenethylamines.com Further Reading Books by Alexander & Ann Shulgin: PiHKAL - Published by Transform Press TiHKAL - Published by Transform Press Home > 1 > 2 > 3 email • mail order credits © dprogram 1996>2008
	Originally broadcast on UK television's Channel 4, dprogram is an award winning, mind expanding trip featuring rare and exclusive interviews with leading edge personalities from areas like cyber culture, consciousness research, parapsychology, music and art. Volume 1 includes: • Dan Mapes CEO of San Francisco's leading edge virtual reality design company SynergyLabs on the metaphysics of VR. • Jah Wobble Musician and founder member of Public Image Limited on Cockney mystics, creativity and the inspiration of William Blake. • Dr Sara Parker UC Berkeley scholar on the New Age 'colonisation' of Native American spirituality. • Bishop Joey Head of the First Church of the Last Laugh - the worlds fastest growing snack relgion! • Burning Man A unique four day experience exploring creativity and consciousness in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. • Willis Harman Former president of The Institute of Noetic Sciences on their 'conventional research into unconventional areas'. • Dr Edgar Mitchell Founder of The Institute of Noetic Sciences and Apollo 14 astronaut on parapsychology experiments in space. • Nick Pope of the British Ministry of Defence on why he had to change his mind about the UFO phenomenom. • Peter Russell Author, on the global brain, spirituality on the net and our part in the evolution of the planet. • Ann & Alexander Shulgin Pioneer researchers into psychedelics and the mind, on the politics of ecstacy. And more... Running time: 70 mins. £19.99 plus Post & Packing. Post & Packing rates: For the UK add £3.00 For Europe add £4.00 For the United States and the Rest of the World add £6.00 ORDER ONLINE Snail Mail Orders: Make a Cheque, Postal Order or International Money Order payable to Digital Media Labs and send to: Digital Media Labs 8 Manson House 16-17 Manson Place London SW7 5LT United Kingdom Customer Service Helpline: +44 (0) 20 7225 0861 Please Note dprogram is only available on VHS PAL. To play this tape in the US you must use a multi-region video machine capable of playing PAL format tapes. We are currently working to provide dprogram on DVD. If you would like to be notified when this becomes available enter your email address below.