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Interview: Richard Glen Boire |
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Written by Michael Pinchera
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Saturday, 30 May 1998 |
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Page 3 of 3
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Once any plant or substance has been scheduled there is very little that can be done to turn the clock back. Attempts to reschedule Cannabis (from Schedule I to Schedule II) so that it can be prescribed by physicians, have been blocked at every turn. It's very frustrating. It's possible, however, that Cannabis will someday be rescheduled. But, as for legalizing other entheogens, there just isn't much hope, in my opinion. Any change in the law will follow a cultural change, and culture seems to be stagnating now, at best. The most effective strategy to keep currently legal entheogen legal, is to keep them a secret. Entheogen users are today's Mystery Church, and there’s something to be said for keeping the Church a mystery during the currently hostile legal climate. When a mushroom is running its spawn underground it is relatively safe. But, when it fruits above ground it’s liable to get kicked.
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How successful do you feel the new hopes at re-scheduling Cannabis (down to at least Schedule II) will be? Why?
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It depends how much dirty pool the government plays, and I suspect that’s *all* they’ll play. Prognosticating on such things is a fool’s game.
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Did you like the film “Liar, Liar”?
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I refuse to turn my head over to Hollywood for two hours. [Incidentally, “Liar, Liar” is such an intellectually vacant film that one needn't turn their mind over to Hollywood for any more than several minutes.-ED]
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Who do you admire most in the entheogenic community?
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T. McKenna, the Shulgins, Ott, Torres, Ratsch, Stolaroff, Michaux, and some amazing people who would not want their names mentioned, and others who would not consider themselves part of such a “community” but whose life is transformed by entheogens.
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In the most recent issue of the Resonance Project, James Kent (in his Ketamine article) said that most of the time if you are caught with Ketamine on your person, nothing will happen to you, legally. How accurate is this? Is Joe Schmoe legally allowed to possess/buy Ketamine hydrochloride?
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Ketamine is not a controlled substance under federal law. Since 1991, however, in California it has been a crime for an unregistered person to sell ketamine or possess it for sale. Simple possession falls into a gray area, a crime without any designated punishment! It's a misdemeanor to possess ketamine in New Mexico, Arizona and Georgia. I haven't checked into it lately, so it could well be illegal in a few other states also. [Indeed, this year Ketamine and GHB both became “Schedule I drugs of abuse” in Florida and several other states -- I think Texas, Rhode Island, and Georgia.-ED]
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As of January 1st in Germany, many potentially entheogenic items which were legal as recent as December 31st were made illegal. Is there any evidence or are there any trends which suggest this catastrophe will land in the US, wiping out the remaining legal entheogens here?
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I've heard only general rumor about this German law, but have not seen the law itself. Until I see it myself and read what it actually says, I really can't comment. If someone can send it to me (box 73481, Davis, CA 95617, or e-mail:
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
) in it's German form I can translate it myself.
[To see more essays from Richard, visit his Web site]
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