Protesting the war on drugs (community project)

[Just Say Know]

http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/753348-protesting-against-the-war-on-drugs-(community-project)?p=12963317#post12963317

i'm trying to get the different cognitive liberty communities together to protest, write to legislators, and generally make an attempt to end this foolish war. thank you for those who do participate. the help counts.

the war on drugs goes too far too often. people are killed in this war just like any other. people loose so much from this. although we can say "well i'll just use substances regardless because i already believe in this and as long as we don't get involved into risky situations or act stupid there's less likelihood of getting caught" or "people power doesn't work" or something such as that.

we shouldn't have to feel that way. our voices should be heard regardless. i don't know what kind of feedback this will recieve but i just ask you to think about it. i will be posting this link to shroomery as well. i will also be contacting SSDP and LEAP as well. is there any other organizations i should look into?

i think there should be a meeting-thread with the different forums that support cognitive liberty and that we should send ambassadors to the other forums. there are alot of people here on this forum, on shroomery, and on bluelight meaning there could be alot of voice if we all organized together.

will anyone stand with me on this? together we could accomplish some impact. even if it's just a little... thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[SnozzleBerry]

What are you actually proposing? I see earnest feelings, but not much actual plan.

Protest what? Where? In what form? Why would it be effective?

Write to legislators why? Which ones? With what stated request?

Generally make an attempt?

This stuff takes time and energy at the bare minimum. What are the odds you get press? What about engagement of some of the most at-risk communities as far as prohibition is concerned? Who is going to do that outreach?

I've reached out to numerous anti-prohibitionist NGOs in the past for various reasons. The responses were less than helpful. How much experience do you have with the type of endeavor you are suggesting?

What you have proposed is a massive venture at best and a massive time sink at worst. This is all my opinion, of course. I'm not trying to torpedo your idea, simply provide some (hopefully) constructive criticism.

 

[a1pha]

Just Say Know,

Shhhh. Calm. Relax. Aummmmmmm! ;-)

Psychedelics can be powerful tools. Are they for everyone and need a movement full of angry protesters? NO!

You need to look at things on the proper scale. We are still living in a post-Leary America where psychedelics will destroy the children and topple the capitalistic ideal. Personally, I feel fortunately that the fog is finally clearing in a noticeable way. Research is taking place at a more frequent place. Kids are exploring with LSD, MDMA, DMT, etc. on their own time and for the most part responsibly. (See: Festival Scene) Yay!

It's going to take time and you need to have some patience. To me the real protest is a personal one. Before you start marching on the streets it would probably be better to spend time with yourself and see the true power of psychedelics. Remember the old saying: "With power comes responsibility!"

 

[Jin]

this has been already going on

with the cannabis lobby , and other organizations

get in touch with the people doing this and offer support , time and effort

also look up CEL if its still active

 

[Just Say Know]

i actually strongly appreciate your imput snozzle; the criticism is nothing but constructive. i will elaborate: this is a general movement that i agree will develope overtime. the first thing i was thinking was "organize the forums together and talk about our goals". we've had the Coalition for etheogenic liberty which i could see takes alot of collaboration, time, and effort.

i also appreciate a1pha's comment as well XD it entertained me and also was serious as well.

what i was thinking was that this post would just be the connection to the three websites to send ambassadors (preferably moderators or senior members) to discuss a movement in better detail than i could. but i hadn't seen other posts like that on their websites and wanted to make the post to BL and Shroomery and make the connection.

now i was thinking the protesting wouldn't be angry but peaceful. such as hunger strikes, writting to legislators generally speaking (i know that most of them will at least listen; though that's no guarantee they'd actually care about it).

what i figured was that if the forums protested peacefully; even an online protest that we could make some difference. the protest would be on the basis that the war on drugs infringes on cognitive liberty, human rights, and wastes resources. i think that this would be more of a movement than a protest; but i couldn't think of other words to describe it.

honestly i wrote this out of a sense that i want to get involved in reform and try to do my part in some way. and this isn't just typically about psychedelics because the topic is extremely broad; from harm reduction to the prison system a movement could do some good to the human public.

but i also am looking at the pro's and cons of this. i've included this into the link to the other sites so i think that most people who will get involved will find the constructive criticism that you two have given helpful in seeing this in a rational aspect.

mostly i'd like to do my part and see if the powers of the three mentioned communities combined could help with legalization or decriminalization. i know it seems like i'm anxious but it's more of a long-term conflict i've been dealing with. alot of people feel "in the closet" about this and i kind of want to open that closet door just a little bit for those people to get their voices heard.

i was thinking we could organize together and make a documentary; though we don't have to mention the sites. it's just that there's so much harm in regards to the war on drugs. i don't mean to scare anyone with what i said about it but i'm just hoping to try something here. i don't want to be radical or agressive; just effiecient and i feel like the nexus, bluelight, and shroomery will help the movement to be efficient. the main reason for posting this to the nexus is because i could see the nexus being the leader of this mainly due to our level of peacefulness, organizational skills, and generally high quality of content.

just my thoughts in response to A1pha and Snozz. this is mainly to get the three organizations together to discuss things further; not so much for me to spearhead it. i know i was the one to make the three posts on the different websites but by no means am i the leader of this; just a catalyst.

as for where; i was thinking the protest could be online and in an international sense; but i'm also okay with starting somewhere specific like the UK or US; where prohibition is big. i think it would be effective due to the number of voices associated with three major successful drug information website communities who are used to acting as a community.

i think writting to legislators or even media would be a way of reaching our movement into politics; but as you guys said we don't want to draw attention to the at risk communities who simply want to go about their business.

i don't know if this idea will be perfect; but who knows what this will form into? it's mostly something i wanted to try out on a whim/gut feeling that the communities united would work best. i even have the idea of the three communities (and i think there are other less heard of communities like hippieforums) forming a united drug forum.

i mostly like the idea of uniting our ideas, people, and perspectives together into a mixing pot. but i'm up for as much criticism as possible because the criticism will provide a better foundation for the movement to be serious. thank you both for your input; it did get me thinking.

 

[Jees]

Casualties of alcohol are kinda social accepted (bizar!), it's a hard task to bend this acceptance toward alleged "drugs" spinoffs.

I favor a charter that declares the existence of responsible private use, even outside religious context. To max guarantee the responsibility, it asks for modalities (such as not grab-level at Walmart to anyone flipping bonkers). Just as you need a drivers license to drive, a license to teach children, or do plumbing, one could obtain a license for use of certain products. No buy without that license that is delivered by some controlled Entheogenic University, incorporating a medical/psychological check routine, an approve by phd. Far fetched? Nah, I had to do that to get my job.

I think, you can't just ask to drag it open to the unaware public without putting something in return to make it as less disaster as possible. Would you, by right of freedom, cancel driving licenses? Any license?

2 cents.

 

[endlessness]

I think it's wonderful that you feel motivated to help out! It's important that people feel responsible into helping the world and society.

Regarding what you are proposing, I must agree with sentiments posted earlier, it seems like there's a lot of will, but in terms of a more concrete plan, I think it's still lacking.

Sure we can individually write to congressmen but remember not all of us are american, this is a global issue. Also all countries have signed UN treaties on narcotics so I think that is a main limiting issue in how much autonomy countries have in terms of drug legislation. If we could have an impact on the International Narcotics Control Board, that'd be something, but I think they are also some kind of puppet show.

I don't think protests will help in much. I think the momentum is going towards decriminalization world wide, at least it seems like. It's just a matter of time.

My suggestion, if you really want to make a difference and are commited to the cause: try and find a local organization that is already doing work on the issue of war on drugs and donate your time and effort to the cause in a direct way. Go volunteer in communities, or prisons, or other places where the war on drugs have had a direct impact. I think rooting yourself in the daily reality and helping other people is a much more beneficial approach than a generic " lets protest and write to congressman" idea. Just my opinion

 

[Just Say Know]

i think i might take the local appraoch; thanks everyone for helping to guide me and give me constructive criticism; it helps to see things in a more rational sense. i'm hoping to join SSDP soon. will be signing up when i can.

also just wanted to share this link http://thefreethoughtproject.com/extensive-police-state-cops-worse-solving-crimes-why/