Party Vibe

Interesting website and campaigns; although both sides campaigns have some flaws.

The Psychedelic Society appears to have been set up by young intelligent University students of liberal arts subjects (it is not dissimilar to the D66 youth movement campaign in NL) it does link to some useful info in a form more appealing to those below 21. Unfortunately they also appear to be completely unaware of the security risks of running a controversial political campaign on the same website which on one page appears to actively recommend one particular dark web market, or well known vulnerabilities of TOR and cryptocurrencies, particularly when used together. They also seem to ignore the existence of other “less psychedelic” NPS like stimulants or depressants.

They do however have a representative in Edinburgh, unlike the LGA who can only lobby for England and Wales.

LGA also appear to be mostly complaining about problems caused by retail shops selling the stuff; there are already many existing laws which can be used to close any business that is causing a nuisance or social harm. At least Cameron seems to realise that (unlike Thatcho) he knows little about science/engineering so leaves that to folk who do; blanket bans rushed in by countries often cause problems to legitimate pharm manufacturers (of which there are a lot still operating in the UK).

He also doesn’t particularly want to stand and watch the Union Flag hauled down and piped out of Edinburgh in the pissing rain which is ultimately what could happen if England/Wales and Scotland diverge even further over laws (already the drink/driving limit is different in each country), nor deal with another load of riots. Even the NCA begrudgingly admit that dark nets are at least reducing the level of serious violent crime associated with drug dealing (it was already reducing anyway) and that they along with the NHS are only acting as “blunt instrument” regulators of both NPS and currrently controlled substances.

MDMA was already controlled before it became widely available in the UK, and cannabis years before I was even born. That didn’t stop the country [and much of its youth] being full with these substances by around 1991.

I was then at University in central London, lived in SE London (where substances were easy to obtain). By early 1992 I had perhaps predictably been chucked out of there for computer hacking and bringing the University into disrepute by using their online resources to discuss and download info on drug use (much the same stuff on here). I returned to my family home just outside Reading in SE England, in an affluent suburban area on the border with Oxfordshire. Nearly all my circle of friends were on various controlled drugs, a lot of them were starting to experience physical and mental health issues (the local GP surgery and the main Royal Berkshire Hospital) noticed that suddenly a lot of previously healthy young people were ending up requiring treatment. I was lucky myself not to end up sectioned or in prison, quite a few folk I knew did unfortunately go that way, others had fatal ODs or were badly injured in road traffic collisions.

By the end of 1992 Thames Valley Police tried to crack down on MDMA and cannabis use; but only succeeded in pushing users towards harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin; leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces. I moved to a completely different area of England in 2006 near the coast due to a job offer (where I still live and work) and saw both drug users and the Police repeating the exact same mistakes; first with MDMA / cannabis / ketamine then with the NPS cathinones.

The only differences between then and now are that symptoms of excessive substance use get noticed quicker due to advances in healthcare, technology and awareness of health issues amounts the young. Also the Internet and online commerce has made it easy to get hold of anything in Europe that isn’t obviously restricted (such as firearms, explosives or certain types of radio transmitters) and can look like something else which is valuable for industry/business (lots of useful chemicals which aren’t NPS look like “white powder” or “crystals”).

I don’t think selling branded blends without full description of whats in them over the counter is a good idea, but its not something that would be instantly solved by making all of them controlled substances. Even cops / NHS / Home Office (as well as other similar agencies in other EU countries) are starting to finally realise that all the laws they might pass or try to enforce will never completely stop young people (who are put under a lot of pressure from high school age onwards) from trying to seek pleasure or escape.