Andean Cocaine: By Paul Gootenberg
May 27th, 2009 by Rick
Cocaine… it’s origins derive from South America, particularly in the foothills of the Andes in Peru. In the 19th century, the drug was used medicinally. In the 20th century, it was repressed. After World War II cocaine moved to the “illicit goods” list and was declared an illegal substance worldwide.
Paul Gootenberg, professor of history at Stony Brook University in New York and author or editor of four other books, chronicles the global influence of cocaine in his new book, Andean Cocaine.
Not only does Gootenberg include people and organizations (Sigmund Freud, Coca-Cola, and Pablo Escobar) within the book that historically have been connected to cocaine but he also researches the obscured history. From the Peruvian pharmacist who created techniques for refining cocaine on an industrial scale to the creators of the original drug networks, Gootenberg shows how it gave birth to the 1980’s American cocaine epidemic and the never ending U.S. drug war in the Andes.
Excerpt from the book:
Pharmacist Alfredo Bignon was burning the midnight oil in the backroom laboratory of his Drogueria y Botica Francesa, just around the corner from Lima’s main Plaza de Armas. Once more, he went over in his head his hard-won new formula for making cocaine. Tomorrow, the thirteenth of March 1885, he would present his findings at the Academia Libre de Medicina de Lima, where a distinguished panel of Peruvian doctors and chemists would judge his innovation in a ten-page official informe.
William O. Walker III, University of Toronto, author of Drug Trafficking in the Americas said:
There is simply no other work comparable to Andean Cocaine. The methodology, the evidence, and the interpretations come together in mutually reinforcing ways that make this arresting study an outstanding example of what scholars in history and anthropology should aspire to in their own work.
Andean Cocaine is comprised of 446 pages and 16 illustrations and is available in a cloth or paperback cover.
New Search Engine Studies Psychedelics
April 30th, 2009 by Russ
Nearly 40 years have passed since luminaries like Timothy Leary and Alan Watts have used LSD and psilocybin in a rigorous exploration of human “inner space.” Now, a new academic research tool called PsyComp will continue their work and boldly go where no search engine has gone before.
PsyComp seeks to be the first online resource to aid students searching for ‘educational pathways into psychedelic research.’ It is currently compiling a searchable database of undergraduate-level, psychedelics-related courses in such fields as pharmacology, cognitive science, and botany.
While institutional support for such scholastic projects remains sparse, a few intrepid PhDs have laid the groundwork for future forays through the doors of perception. In his essay, So, You Want to be a Psychedelic Researcher? [Warning: .pdf] Dr. Andrew Sewell offers the following cautions to potential future students.
First, examine your motives for entering psychedelic research. Is it because psychedelics are novel and cool? While Dr. Timothy Leary, perhaps the most famous of the psychedelic researchers, found it a route to enduring fame and hot sex with large numbers of young women, he did this primarily though his showmanship rather than his scientific research. If such a lifestyle is appealing to you, there are shorter routes to this goal than decades of scholarly study.
Despite the warnings, Sewell acknowledges that many great minds have come by history-making discoveries via altered brain states.
Scientists such as Ralph Abraham, Stephen Jay Gould, Carl Sagan, Andrew Weil, and Nobel Prize winners such as Francis Crick, Richard Feynman, and Kary Mullis have found psychedelics valuable tools in formulating their great discoveries… [Also], the discovery of LSD was what sparked interest in the serotonin system and prompted the explosive growth of modern psychopharmacology that continues today.
And now, it seems, these potential pathways to knowledge and enlightenment will be made available to the internet public, at large. It’s a Brave New World Wide Web out there.
Book: New Skateboard Graphics
April 1st, 2009 by Rick
Skateboarders rejoice! New Skateboard Graphics by J. Namdev Hardisity has been published that demonstrates just how far skate culture (and design) has come. The book itself has a slick cover, a blonde woodgrain that looks like the maple blank of a board. Inside the front and rear folds of the book are nearly 300 decks including; the now-defunct Bueno, the whole Popwar collection, and Bam Margera’s Element.
For a graphic designer or a product designer interested in applique, the book is an eyeful but the the real treasure trove is the appendix at the end of the book, where the graphic artists are credited. Skateboard art design now has something to offer nearly any graphic designer (especially if you don’t mind a blood covered skull or two.)
Purchase the book here on Amazon.
After the jump we’ve included a few page excerpts from New Skateboard Graphics.
Dying to Get High Author Discusses Work
December 23rd, 2008 by Perry
Author Wendy Chapkis, who wrote “Dying to Get High: Marijuana as Medicine,” recently gave an interview where she talked about some of the research behind her last book.
She mentions a conspiratorial effort she looked at spearheaded by Henry J. Anslinger in the 1930s, which wanted to change the perception of the plant from cannabis, traditional medicine, to marijuana, exotic new threat to America’s youth responsible for rising street crime.
While the allegations against legal drug company using profits to make marijuana illegal is not new, Chapkis’ work makes valid reference to the tangible results of the alleged conspiracy.
The anti-drug efforts included millions spent on commercials, movies and even changing the perception of weed. Long an accepted part of traditional medicine dating back centuries, after several years of Anslinger’s campaigning, cannibus was removed from the Official Book of Pharmacology in 1941.
Spliffigami: Arts and Crafts With Zig Zags
October 15th, 2008 by Perry
As a joint man myself, I have a personal philosophy of “if it ain’t broke…” when it comes to rolling.
That said, every once in a while it’s cool to have a party trick or two up your sleeve, that’s where “Spliffigami,” comes into play. A book of creative joint ideas that encourage you to break the mold with j’s and think outside the zag.
Some joint creations after the jump. Continue Reading
It’s Just a Plant
December 7th, 2006 by Alex
Not all children’s books are created equal and here’s a shining example.
It’s Just a Plant is a true original and one of the first books that attempts to answer a child’s curiosity about marijuana in a progressive way.
Instead of demonizing everything weed-related, cool illustrations and simple language teach children that weed is for responsible adults. It’s not evil, it’s not the devil – it’s just another plant growing from the earth’s soil.
