One more reason the mainstream media is dying. They’re still stuck back in the “reefer madness” days. Case in point: CNN (via an alleged new-media affiliate) discovers a “new” drug that strips users of their free will. Gasp! OMG! The horror!
But the name of the supposedly new drug sounded very, very, very, extremely, wildly familiar. And sure enough. It’s been around forever and its been quite well known to science for 130 years.
As to stripping away free will — dubious. But it’ll make you heave your guts out and hallucinate and it can kill you, as thousands of tribal shamans and would-be shamans have discovered over the centuries. About once a year, some young lad on a res, hoping to achieve shamanic visions, dies of its effects. It also has historic and current medical uses.
As to this “new” drug coming from that oh-so-threatening country of Colombia … yeah, it probably does. But one source of it also grows in a desert wash about half a mile from where I sit right now. I recall another source of it growing against my schoolyard fence when I was a kid. The stuff is everywhere, quite likely even in your own garden. Or the weed patch next door. And here’s another source — the stunningly lovely plant (“Angel’s Trumpet”) that grows abundantly in the mountains of Panama. You can get a glimpse of it in the center of this photo I took on my recent trip, though this doesn’t show how spectacularly big and beautiful its blossoms were:
So the CNN relay of the VBS story is not only hysterically hysterical. It displays an appallingly typical lack of research and an equally appalling and typical credulity. The VBS video itself is little more than a live-on-the-spot-in-Columbia retailing of urban legends (what a waste of an airline ticket!).
Here’s a better photo of Angel’s Trumpet, taken by my friend Lorri. Still doesn’t adequately show what a gorgeous plant this is:
“We believe this unique reporting approach is worthy of sharing with our CNN.com readers”.
I think it sucks; the writer doesn’t even sound like a THIRD-rate journalist!
As for the drug, if the writer doesn’t recognize _Scopolamine_, he’s just showing his ignorance — and so is CNN by not qualifying or expanding knowledge about it to its readership.
Scopolamine does affect the central nervous system, however, and can cause hallucinations and mental confusion — among many other symptoms, mostly physical. If ‘doctored-up’ (by a drug dealer?) or given in a wrong dosage, it could do major harm.
BUT — the entire article is written to titillate. What is CNN’s purpose in presenting it to us?
Pat, I couldn’t agree more. BTW, I’ve been expanding the blog entry since the original posting, and have included some info now on scopolamine’s effects.
Yep. Everybody in the medical profession knows that drug. Heck, I’ve known of it for decades and I stay as far from the medical profession as I can. We’re talking about &^%$#ing morning glories, about datura and belladona — which can be dangerous as hell but are certainly nothing new. They’ve been around, and been used, for eons. How could that escape everybody who was responsible for getting this “news” to the world?
Yeah. The article’s entire purpose is to titillate and alarm. And the accompanying VBS video is like something made by a high-school kid (whose parents give him too much money and who flies off to Columbia without bothering first to use Google or Wikipedia). Sad. I sure hope the attempt to drum up hysteria over this “new” drug doesn’t catch on.
Sadly, though, the Jeep tour guide who showed us the glorious Angel’s Trumpets in Panama also said officials in Florida are busily attempting to eradicate the plant there, simply because of its potential effects.
Gonna be a lot of gardens uprooted if that attitude prevails
Ironic, since it’s been used sucessfully to treat drug addiction.
I can’t wait for the sensationalized reports of poor inner city kids whose lives have been destoyed by something from the garden section of wal-mart.
“Sadly, though, the Jeep tour guide who showed us the gorgeous Angel’s Trumpets in Panama also said officials in Florida are busily attempting to eradicate the plant there, simply because of its potential effects.”
Ah — that explains it. It’s the next drug they’re “fighting” in their War on Drugs. Maybe it’ll take the place of cannabis, which is no longer the ogre it used to be.
Just as the fedgov is spreading from country to country, it now plans to spread from drug to drug.
Control… always control.
I hate that this got out. Now that it is on CNN, and the whole world will know my dirty little secret. I had planned to use this knowledge for putting up a resistance, should that day ever come. I suppose I can share my plan now that it is the fourth most visited article on the CNN website. For years I have been putting out Angel’s Trumpet each summer around the Hummingbird feeders. You lure them in with sugar-water, but they cannot resist and must sample that sweet Angel’s Trumpet nectar as well. In no time at all, the Hummingbird’s lose all free-will and are my evil little minions, ready to follow any orders I give them. This Hummingbird army has increased with each passing year. Now hundreds of these devious little critters follow my every command *evil cackle*. I guess my plans of world domination via my killer-Hummingbird army are not going to take the world by suprise any longer. Darn you CNN!
Nothing new here. Last time it was the lovely garden flower salvia.
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/07/18/more-states-ban-salvia.html
“Missouri, Delaware, North Dakota, and Illinois had already passed laws against selling and possessing salvia, and Louisiana, Maine, and Tennessee have restricted its distribution. Bills to ban or control the entire plant or its primary active chemical are pending in a number of other states.
…
Brandenburg says Florida legislators are primarily concerned with salvia’s role as a gateway drug. “When the kids get used to using salvia, the idea is that it’s a little easier to step across the line and buy drugs that are already illegal,” she said. “We wanted to nip that entry level in the bud.”
The active ingredient of salvia, a compound called salvinorin A, targets a single receptor site in the brain called the kappa-opioid receptor, according to Bryan Roth, a professor of pharmacology at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine who discovered how salvia works in the brain. Salvinorin A is the strongest naturally occurring hallucinogen, with the same potency as LSD, he says.”
Way too much time on their hands. Way too much.
When they gonna make banana peels illegal? (Guess that dates me.)
Btw, the (Spanish-speaking) country is Colombia, with two o’s; Columbia is the university (or record company).
Philalethes — Ah yes, “mellow yellow.” That dates us both. And thanks for the catch on ColOmbia. Fixed now. Never have been a world champion speller.
Karen — Thanks for the cheery reminder on the salvia hysteria. Sigh. You know, you used to hear Puritanism defined as “the fear that someone, somewhere might be having fun.” I think that’s a more apt definition for government. FWIW, I tried salvia just once. Made a tea of it, as recommended by the owner of the plant. Tasted icky-gacky. Had no effect except to make me want to brush my teeth.
G.W.F. — LOL! You know, if you let 15 minutes pass, perhaps the hysteria over Angel’s Trumpet will die off, everybody will forget, and you can put those robotic hummingbirds to nefarious uses after all. Have you considered applying to join the Evil League of Evil?** In the meantime, thanks for bringing a little levity to the hysteria.
Winston — A smile to you, too. Can’t wait to see SWAT teams crashing through the Wal-Mart Garden Center.
** Oops, sorry. Just realized that link contains a serious spoiler. Don’t click on it unless you’ve either already seen Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog or have no intention to.
Every war spawns propaganda. The big money in the war on drugs allows for better propaganda technology….like operating a news outlet.
I’m sure the news outlet here, CNN, will soon regal us with video of the helicopters, SWAT teams, advisors , etc. deployed to meet the new threat.
Responses here are intelligent, funny, and thought provoking. Rather gives one some hope for the human condition.
Unfortunately, my addition is rather dour. I ask the question, was not the so-called War on Drugs the first modern experiment with shredding our liberties wholesale? Here we were promised a war on our domestic turf, a war with no end, proposed and staffed by the ruling elite.
I cannot shake from my memory the story of the elderly couple who lost their building to the “authorities” because their tenant was allegedly involved in drugs. Note, they had nothing to do with drugs. This was but one of literally thousands of documented cases of depriving people of their property without any due process whatsoever.
Then we have mandatory sentencing, an exploding prison population, and the formation of the nascent police state.
No doubt, those who are in power love to create random victims. It spreads fear, mistrust. Sounds to me like the media pawns are drumming up for more War on Drugs type draconian measures.
I know a few people are saying enough to the policies of Fascist Amerika, but it really is too much to expect a media that eagerly spreads murderous lies to behave any different than they currently do.
Though not recommended for recreation use – parts of this plant were regularly used by native peoples in the Americas for centuries. From the perspective of an amateur (but semi-rigorous) herbalist – it has its uses if that’s all ya’ got.