wakingtimes--2020-01-24--Deadly Distractions: Laying the Groundwork for the Next Civil War

And so it continues .
This impeachment fiasco is merely the latest in a never-ending series of distractions , distortions , and political theater aimed at diverting the public ’ s attention from the sinister advances of the American Police State .
Don ’ t allow yourselves to be distracted , diverted or mesmerized by the cheap theater tricks .
This impeachment spectacle is Shakespearean in its scope : full of sound and fury , signifying nothing .
Nothing is the key word here .
Despite the wall-to-wall media coverage , nothing will change .
Mark my words : the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as ever , dominated by two political factions that pretend to be at odds with each other all the while moving in lockstep to maintain the status quo .
So President Trump ’ s legal team can grandstand all they want about the impeachment trial being “ an affront to the Constitution ” and “ a dangerous perversion of the Constitution , ” but that ’ s just smoke and mirrors .
You know what is really “ an affront to the Constitution ” ?
The U.S. government .
We ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ long—sold to us in the name of national security and global peace , maintained by way of martial law disguised as law and order , and enforced by a standing army of militarized police and a political elite determined to maintain their powers at all costs—that it ’ s hard to pinpoint exactly when it all started going downhill , but we ’ re certainly on that downward trajectory now , and things are moving fast .
The Deep State ’ s plot to take over America has succeeded .
The American system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a profit-driven , militaristic , corporate oligarchy bent on total control and global domination through the imposition of martial law here at home and by fomenting wars abroad .
Even now , we are being pushed and prodded towards a civil war , not because the American people are so divided but because that ’ s how corrupt governments control a populace ( i.e.
, divide and conquer ) .
These are indeed dangerous times but not because of violent crime , which remains at an all-time low , or because of terrorism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because the borders are being invaded by foreign armies , which data reports from the Department of Homeland Security refute .
No , the real danger that we face comes from none other than the U.S. government and the powers it has granted to its standing armies to rob , steal , cheat , harass , detain , brutalize , terrorize , torture and kill American citizens with immunity .
The danger “ we the people ” face comes from masked invaders on the government payroll who crash through our doors in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and terrorize our families .
This danger comes from militarized henchmen on the government payroll who demand absolute obedience , instill abject fear , and shoot first and ask questions later .
This danger comes from greedy , power-hungry bureaucrats on the government payroll who have little to no understanding of their constitutional limits .
This danger comes from greedy politicians and corporations for whom profit trumps principle .
You want to know about the state of our union ?
It ’ s downright scary .
Consider , if you will , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diabolical , dangerous , debilitating , deceitful , dehumanizing , demonic , depraved , dishonorable , disillusioning , discriminatory , dictatorial schemes inflicted on “ we the people ” by a bureaucratic , totalitarian regime that has long since ceased to be “ a government of the people , by the people and for the people.
” Americans have no protection against police abuse .
It is no longer unusual to hear about incidents in which police shoot unarmed individuals first and ask questions later , such as the 16-year-old teenager who skipped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ after they mistook him for a fleeing burglar .
Then there was the unarmed black man in Texas “ who was pursued and shot in the back of the neck by Austin Police… after failing to properly identify himself and leaving the scene of an unrelated incident.
” And who could forget the 19-year-old Seattle woman who was accidentally shot in the leg by police after she refused to show her hands ?
What is increasingly common , however , is the news that the officers involved in these incidents get off with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hands .
Americans are little more than pocketbooks to fund the police state .
If there is any absolute maxim by which the federal government seems to operate , it is that the American taxpayer always gets ripped off .
This is true , whether you ’ re talking about taxpayers being forced to fund high-priced weaponry that will be used against us , endless wars that do little for our safety or our freedoms , or bloated government agencies such as the National Security Agency with its secret budgets , covert agendas @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the wound , even monetary awards in lawsuits against government officials who are found guilty of wrongdoing are paid by the taxpayer .
Americans are no longer innocent until proven guilty .
We once operated under the assumption that you were innocent until proven guilty .
Due in large part to rapid advances in technology and a heightened surveillance culture , the burden of proof has been shifted so that the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty has been usurped by a new norm in which all citizens are suspects .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ stopping and frisking people who are merely walking down the street and where there is no evidence of wrongdoing .
Likewise , by subjecting Americans to full-body scans and license-plate readers without their knowledge or compliance and then storing the scans for later use , the government—in cahoots with the corporate state—has erected the ultimate suspect society .
In such an environment , we are all potentially guilty of some wrongdoing or other .
Americans no longer have a right to self-defense .
In the wake of various shootings in recent years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resounding theme .
Those advocating gun reform see the Second Amendment ’ s right to bear arms as applying only to government officials .
As a result , even Americans who legally own firearms are being treated with suspicion and , in some cases , undue violence .
In one case , a Texas man had his home subjected to a no-knock raid and was shot in his bed after police , attempting to deliver a routine search warrant , learned that he was in legal possession of a firearm .
In another @ @ @ @ @ @ @ licensed to carry a concealed firearm found himself detained for two hours during a routine traffic stop in Maryland while the arresting officer searched his vehicle in vain for the man ’ s gun , which he had left at home .
Incidentally , the Trump Administration has done more to crack down on Second Amendment rights than anything the Obama Administration ever managed .
Americans no longer have a right to private property .
If government agents can invade your home , break down your doors , kill your dog , damage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your property is no longer private and secure—it belongs to the government .
Likewise , if government officials can fine and arrest you for growing vegetables in your front yard , praying with friends in your living room , installing solar panels on your roof , and raising chickens in your backyard , you ’ re no longer the owner of your property .
Americans no longer have a say about what their children are exposed to in school .
Incredibly , the government continues to insist that parents essentially forfeit their rights @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public school .
This growing tension over whether young people , especially those in the public schools , are essentially wards of the state , to do with as government officials deem appropriate , in defiance of the children ’ s constitutional rights and those of their parents , is reflected in the debate over sex education programs that expose young people to all manner of sexual practices and terminology , zero tolerance policies that strip students of any due process rights , let alone parental involvement in school discipline , and Common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ test-takers rather than critical thinkers .
Americans are powerless in the face of militarized police .
In early America , citizens were considered equals with law enforcement officials .
Authorities were rarely permitted to enter one ’ s home without permission or in a deceitful manner .
And it was not uncommon for police officers to be held personally liable for trespass when they wrongfully invaded a citizen ’ s home .
Unlike today , early Americans could resist arrest when a police officer tried to restrain them without proper justification or a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to read before arresting them .
( Daring to dispute a warrant with a police official today who is armed with high-tech military weapons and tasers would be nothing short of suicidal . )
As police forces across the country continue to be transformed into outposts of the military , with police agencies acquiring military-grade hardware in droves , Americans are finding their once-peaceful communities transformed into military outposts , complete with tanks , weaponry , and other equipment designed for the battlefield .
Americans no longer have a right to bodily integrity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and justifying invasive strip searches have left us powerless against police empowered to forcefully draw our blood , strip search us , and probe us intimately .
Accounts are on the rise of individuals—men and women—being subjected to what is essentially government-sanctioned rape by police in the course of “ routine ” traffic stops .
Remember the New Mexico man who was subjected to a 12-hour ordeal of anal probes , X-rays , enemas , and finally a colonoscopy—all because he allegedly rolled through a stop sign ?
Americans no longer have a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Despite the staggering number of revelations about government spying on Americans ’ phone calls , Facebook posts , Twitter tweets , Google searches , emails , bookstore and grocery purchases , bank statements , commuter toll records , etc.
, Congress , the president and the courts have done little to nothing to counteract these abuses .
Instead , they seem determined to accustom us to life in this electronic concentration camp .
Americans can no longer rely on the courts to mete out justice .
The U.S. Supreme Court was intended to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protect the people against the government and its agents when they overstep their bounds .
Yet through their deference to police power , preference for security over freedom , and evisceration of our most basic rights for the sake of order and expediency , the justices of the Supreme Court have become the architects of the American police state in which we now live , while the lower courts have appointed themselves courts of order , concerned primarily with advancing the government ’ s agenda , no matter how unjust or illegal .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We have moved beyond the era of representative government and entered a new age , let ’ s call it the age of authoritarianism .
In fact , a study conducted by Princeton and Northwestern University concluded that the U.S. government does not represent the majority of American citizens .
Instead , the study found that the government is ruled by the rich and powerful , or the so-called “ economic elite.
” Moreover , the researchers concluded that policies enacted by this governmental elite nearly always favor special interests and lobbying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to say that Congress , which has done its best to keep their unhappy constituents at a distance , may well be the most self-serving , semi-corrupt institution in America .
In other words , we are being ruled by an oligarchy disguised as a democracy , and arguably on our way towards fascism : a form of government where private corporate interests rule , money calls the shots , and the people are seen as mere subjects to be controlled .
Rest assured that when and if fascism finally takes hold in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will remain : Fascism will appear to be friendly .
The legislators will be in session .
There will be elections , and the news media will continue to cover the entertainment and political trivia .
Consent of the governed , however , will no longer apply .
Actual control will have finally passed to the oligarchic elite controlling the government behind the scenes .
Sound familiar ?
Clearly , we are now ruled by an oligarchic elite of governmental and corporate interests .
We have moved into “ corporatism ” ( favored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a halfway point on the road to full-blown fascism .
Corporatism is where the few moneyed interests—not elected by the citizenry—rule over the many .
History may show that from this point forward , we will have left behind any semblance of constitutional government and entered into a totalitarian state where all citizens are suspects and security trumps freedom .
Even with its constantly shifting terrain , this topsy-turvy travesty of law and government has become America ’ s new normal .
From Clinton to Bush , then Obama and now Trump , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve been caught in a time loop , forced to re-live the same thing over and over again : the same assaults on our freedoms , the same disregard for the rule of law , the same subservience to the Deep State , and the same corrupt , self-serving government that exists only to amass power , enrich its shareholders and ensure its continued domination .
Elections will not save us .
I haven ’ t even touched on the corporate state , the military industrial complex , SWAT team raids , invasive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the schools , overcriminalization , or privatized prisons , to name just a few , but what I have touched on should be enough to show that the landscape of our freedoms has already changed dramatically from what it once was and will no doubt continue to deteriorate unless Americans can find a way to wrest back control of their government and reclaim their freedoms .
There can be no denying that the world is indeed a dangerous place , but what the president and his cohorts fail to acknowledge is that it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gravest threat to our freedoms and way of life , and no amount of politicking , parsing or pandering will change that .
It is easy to be diverted , distracted and amused by the antics of politicians , the pomp and circumstance of awards shows , athletic events , and entertainment news , and the feel-good , wrapped-in-the-flag evangelism that passes for religion today .
What is far more difficult to face up to is the reality of life in America , where unemployment , poverty , inequality , injustice and violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and where “ we the people ” are at a distinct disadvantage in the face of the government elite ’ s power grabs , greed and firepower .
The Constitution doesn ’ t stand a chance against a federalized , globalized standing army protected by legislative , judicial and executive branches that are all on the same side , no matter what political views they subscribe to : suffice it to say , they are not on our side or the side of freedom .
As I make clear in my book Battlefield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People , the powers-that-be want us to remain distracted , divided , alienated from each other based on our politics , our bank accounts , our religion , our race and our value systems .
Yet as George Orwell observed , “ The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.
” You either believe in freedom or you don ’ t .
It ’ s that simple .
Everything else is just a deadly distraction .
As Orwell observed in 1984 : Constitutional attorney and author John @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Rutherford Institute , where this article ( Deadly Distractions : Laying the Groundwork for the Next Civil War ) was originally published .
He is the author of A Government of Wolves : The Emerging American Police State and The Change Manifesto .

Deadly Distractions: Laying the Groundwork for the Next Civil War
John W. Whitehead, Rutherford
Waking Times
And so it continues.
This impeachment fiasco is merely the latest in a never-ending series of distractions, distortions, and political theater aimed at diverting the public’s attention from the sinister advances of the American Police State.
Don’t allow yourselves to be distracted, diverted or mesmerized by the cheap theater tricks.
This impeachment spectacle is Shakespearean in its scope: full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Nothing is the key word here.
Despite the wall-to-wall media coverage, nothing will change.
Mark my words: the government will remain as corrupt and self-serving as ever, dominated by two political factions that pretend to be at odds with each other all the while moving in lockstep to maintain the status quo.
So President Trump’s legal team can grandstand all they want about the impeachment trial being “an affront to the Constitution” and “a dangerous perversion of the Constitution,” but that’s just smoke and mirrors.
You know what is really “an affront to the Constitution”? The U.S. government.
We’ve been losing our freedoms so incrementally for so long—sold to us in the name of national security and global peace, maintained by way of martial law disguised as law and order, and enforced by a standing army of militarized police and a political elite determined to maintain their powers at all costs—that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when it all started going downhill, but we’re certainly on that downward trajectory now, and things are moving fast.
The republic has fallen.
The Deep State’s plot to take over America has succeeded.
The American system of representative government has been overthrown by a profit-driven, militaristic, corporate oligarchy bent on total control and global domination through the imposition of martial law here at home and by fomenting wars abroad.
Even now, we are being pushed and prodded towards a civil war, not because the American people are so divided but because that’s how corrupt governments control a populace (i.e., divide and conquer).
These are dangerous times.
These are indeed dangerous times but not because of violent crime, which remains at an all-time low, or because of terrorism, which is statistically rare, or because the borders are being invaded by foreign armies, which data reports from the Department of Homeland Security refute.
No, the real danger that we face comes from none other than the U.S. government and the powers it has granted to its standing armies to rob, steal, cheat, harass, detain, brutalize, terrorize, torture and kill American citizens with immunity.
The danger “we the people” face comes from masked invaders on the government payroll who crash through our doors in the dark of night, shoot our dogs, and terrorize our families.
This danger comes from militarized henchmen on the government payroll who demand absolute obedience, instill abject fear, and shoot first and ask questions later.
This danger comes from greedy, power-hungry bureaucrats on the government payroll who have little to no understanding of their constitutional limits.
This danger comes from greedy politicians and corporations for whom profit trumps principle.
You want to know about the state of our union? It’s downright scary.
Consider, if you will, all of the dastardly, devious, diabolical, dangerous, debilitating, deceitful, dehumanizing, demonic, depraved, dishonorable, disillusioning, discriminatory, dictatorial schemes inflicted on “we the people” by a bureaucratic, totalitarian regime that has long since ceased to be “a government of the people, by the people and for the people.”
Americans have no protection against police abuse. It is no longer unusual to hear about incidents in which police shoot unarmed individuals first and ask questions later, such as the 16-year-old teenager who skipped school only to be shot by police after they mistook him for a fleeing burglar. Then there was the unarmed black man in Texas “who was pursued and shot in the back of the neck by Austin Police… after failing to properly identify himself and leaving the scene of an unrelated incident.” And who could forget the 19-year-old Seattle woman who was accidentally shot in the leg by police after she refused to show her hands? What is increasingly common, however, is the news that the officers involved in these incidents get off with little more than a slap on the hands.
Americans are little more than pocketbooks to fund the police state. If there is any absolute maxim by which the federal government seems to operate, it is that the American taxpayer always gets ripped off. This is true, whether you’re talking about taxpayers being forced to fund high-priced weaponry that will be used against us, endless wars that do little for our safety or our freedoms, or bloated government agencies such as the National Security Agency with its secret budgets, covert agendas and clandestine activities. Rubbing salt in the wound, even monetary awards in lawsuits against government officials who are found guilty of wrongdoing are paid by the taxpayer.
Americans are no longer innocent until proven guilty. We once operated under the assumption that you were innocent until proven guilty. Due in large part to rapid advances in technology and a heightened surveillance culture, the burden of proof has been shifted so that the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty has been usurped by a new norm in which all citizens are suspects. This is exemplified by police practices of stopping and frisking people who are merely walking down the street and where there is no evidence of wrongdoing. Likewise, by subjecting Americans to full-body scans and license-plate readers without their knowledge or compliance and then storing the scans for later use, the government—in cahoots with the corporate state—has erected the ultimate suspect society. In such an environment, we are all potentially guilty of some wrongdoing or other.
Americans no longer have a right to self-defense. In the wake of various shootings in recent years, “gun control” has become a resounding theme. Those advocating gun reform see the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms as applying only to government officials. As a result, even Americans who legally own firearms are being treated with suspicion and, in some cases, undue violence. In one case, a Texas man had his home subjected to a no-knock raid and was shot in his bed after police, attempting to deliver a routine search warrant, learned that he was in legal possession of a firearm. In another incident, a Florida man who was licensed to carry a concealed firearm found himself detained for two hours during a routine traffic stop in Maryland while the arresting officer searched his vehicle in vain for the man’s gun, which he had left at home. Incidentally, the Trump Administration has done more to crack down on Second Amendment rights than anything the Obama Administration ever managed.
Americans no longer have a right to private property. If government agents can invade your home, break down your doors, kill your dog, damage your furnishings and terrorize your family, your property is no longer private and secure—it belongs to the government. Likewise, if government officials can fine and arrest you for growing vegetables in your front yard, praying with friends in your living room, installing solar panels on your roof, and raising chickens in your backyard, you’re no longer the owner of your property.
Americans no longer have a say about what their children are exposed to in school. Incredibly, the government continues to insist that parents essentially forfeit their rights when they send their children to a public school. This growing tension over whether young people, especially those in the public schools, are essentially wards of the state, to do with as government officials deem appropriate, in defiance of the children’s constitutional rights and those of their parents, is reflected in the debate over sex education programs that expose young people to all manner of sexual practices and terminology, zero tolerance policies that strip students of any due process rights, let alone parental involvement in school discipline, and Common Core programs that teach students to be test-takers rather than critical thinkers.
Americans are powerless in the face of militarized police. In early America, citizens were considered equals with law enforcement officials. Authorities were rarely permitted to enter one’s home without permission or in a deceitful manner. And it was not uncommon for police officers to be held personally liable for trespass when they wrongfully invaded a citizen’s home. Unlike today, early Americans could resist arrest when a police officer tried to restrain them without proper justification or a warrant—which the police had to allow citizens to read before arresting them. (Daring to dispute a warrant with a police official today who is armed with high-tech military weapons and tasers would be nothing short of suicidal.) As police forces across the country continue to be transformed into outposts of the military, with police agencies acquiring military-grade hardware in droves, Americans are finding their once-peaceful communities transformed into military outposts, complete with tanks, weaponry, and other equipment designed for the battlefield.
Americans no longer have a right to bodily integrity. Court rulings undermining the Fourth Amendment and justifying invasive strip searches have left us powerless against police empowered to forcefully draw our blood, strip search us, and probe us intimately. Accounts are on the rise of individuals—men and women—being subjected to what is essentially government-sanctioned rape by police in the course of “routine” traffic stops. Remember the New Mexico man who was subjected to a 12-hour ordeal of anal probes, X-rays, enemas, and finally a colonoscopy—all because he allegedly rolled through a stop sign?
Americans no longer have a right to the expectation of privacy. Despite the staggering number of revelations about government spying on Americans’ phone calls, Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Google searches, emails, bookstore and grocery purchases, bank statements, commuter toll records, etc., Congress, the president and the courts have done little to nothing to counteract these abuses. Instead, they seem determined to accustom us to life in this electronic concentration camp.
Americans can no longer rely on the courts to mete out justice. The U.S. Supreme Court was intended to be an institution established to intervene and protect the people against the government and its agents when they overstep their bounds. Yet through their deference to police power, preference for security over freedom, and evisceration of our most basic rights for the sake of order and expediency, the justices of the Supreme Court have become the architects of the American police state in which we now live, while the lower courts have appointed themselves courts of order, concerned primarily with advancing the government’s agenda, no matter how unjust or illegal.
Americans no longer have a representative government. We have moved beyond the era of representative government and entered a new age, let’s call it the age of authoritarianism. In fact, a study conducted by Princeton and Northwestern University concluded that the U.S. government does not represent the majority of American citizens. Instead, the study found that the government is ruled by the rich and powerful, or the so-called “economic elite.” Moreover, the researchers concluded that policies enacted by this governmental elite nearly always favor special interests and lobbying groups. It is not overstating matters to say that Congress, which has done its best to keep their unhappy constituents at a distance, may well be the most self-serving, semi-corrupt institution in America.
In other words, we are being ruled by an oligarchy disguised as a democracy, and arguably on our way towards fascism: a form of government where private corporate interests rule, money calls the shots, and the people are seen as mere subjects to be controlled. Rest assured that when and if fascism finally takes hold in America, the basic forms of government will remain: Fascism will appear to be friendly. The legislators will be in session. There will be elections, and the news media will continue to cover the entertainment and political trivia. Consent of the governed, however, will no longer apply. Actual control will have finally passed to the oligarchic elite controlling the government behind the scenes. Sound familiar? Clearly, we are now ruled by an oligarchic elite of governmental and corporate interests. We have moved into “corporatism” (favored by Benito Mussolini), which is a halfway point on the road to full-blown fascism. Corporatism is where the few moneyed interests—not elected by the citizenry—rule over the many.
History may show that from this point forward, we will have left behind any semblance of constitutional government and entered into a totalitarian state where all citizens are suspects and security trumps freedom. Even with its constantly shifting terrain, this topsy-turvy travesty of law and government has become America’s new normal. From Clinton to Bush, then Obama and now Trump, it’s as if we’ve been caught in a time loop, forced to re-live the same thing over and over again: the same assaults on our freedoms, the same disregard for the rule of law, the same subservience to the Deep State, and the same corrupt, self-serving government that exists only to amass power, enrich its shareholders and ensure its continued domination.
Elections will not save us.
I haven’t even touched on the corporate state, the military industrial complex, SWAT team raids, invasive surveillance technology, zero tolerance policies in the schools, overcriminalization, or privatized prisons, to name just a few, but what I have touched on should be enough to show that the landscape of our freedoms has already changed dramatically from what it once was and will no doubt continue to deteriorate unless Americans can find a way to wrest back control of their government and reclaim their freedoms.
There can be no denying that the world is indeed a dangerous place, but what the president and his cohorts fail to acknowledge is that it’s the government that poses the gravest threat to our freedoms and way of life, and no amount of politicking, parsing or pandering will change that.
It is easy to be diverted, distracted and amused by the antics of politicians, the pomp and circumstance of awards shows, athletic events, and entertainment news, and the feel-good, wrapped-in-the-flag evangelism that passes for religion today.
What is far more difficult to face up to is the reality of life in America, where unemployment, poverty, inequality, injustice and violence by government agents are increasingly norms, and where “we the people” are at a distinct disadvantage in the face of the government elite’s power grabs, greed and firepower.
The Constitution doesn’t stand a chance against a federalized, globalized standing army protected by legislative, judicial and executive branches that are all on the same side, no matter what political views they subscribe to: suffice it to say, they are not on our side or the side of freedom.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the powers-that-be want us to remain distracted, divided, alienated from each other based on our politics, our bank accounts, our religion, our race and our value systems. Yet as George Orwell observed, “The real division is not between conservatives and revolutionaries but between authoritarians and libertarians.”
You either believe in freedom or you don’t. It’s that simple.
Everything else is just a deadly distraction. As Orwell observed in 1984:
“All that was required of them was a primitive patriotism which could be appealed to whenever it was necessary to make them accept longer working hours or shorter rations. And even when they became discontented, as they sometimes did, their discontent led nowhere, because, being without general ideas, they could only focus it on petty specific grievances. The larger evils invariably escaped their notice.”
About the Author
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute, where this article (Deadly Distractions: Laying the Groundwork for the Next Civil War) was originally published. He is the author of A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State and The Change Manifesto.


wakingtimes--2020-01-25--8 Things to Consider Before Panicking About the Coronavirus

If you read the news , you ’ ve likely heard about the “ deadly ” coronavirus in China .
You ’ ve probably seen videos of sick people and heard about the impending doom that our great nation faces if we don ’ t do something about this grave threat coming from China .
But have you ever thought about why we ’ re hearing so much about this virus , despite it affecting only a relatively small number of people in another country ?
Who benefits from a mass media hype around the Coronavirus ?
1 .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can deny the incredible hype that this story is getting .
But , why ?
Nearly every major news outlet is front-paging the news about the virus .
NBC warns of the rising death toll , CNN frightens us with “ diving ” stocks due to coronavirus fears ( the DOW dropped by 0.6 % while other stocks like Bowing grew by 1.7 % ) , the Drudge Report sounds the alarm on the spreading outbreak triggering the quarantine of 56 million people , but China ’ s state run communist newspaper , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only 41 total deaths from coronavirus and 34 cured and released , with the total number of confirmed cases to date at 1287 .
Yet , every new development is serious front page news .
CNBC released an updating map of those affected by the virus .
In China , it looks like they are absolutely swamped with illness , however , to say that the true number of cases is minuscule compared with China ’ s population of 1.4 billion would be the world ’ s greatest understatement of the century .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ a virus that could potentially affect millions of people , or do they have ulterior motives ?
2 .
Nobody Knows Where the Virus Came From So , where did the virus come from anyway ?
Some speculate it originated in snakes , or previously from bats or contact with other animals in an open-air food market in Wuham , but if that ’ s true , is there no connection to the fact that the Chinese government opened up a new biolab in the same city , allegedly tasked with studying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ?
Even the science journal Nature was concerned with the facility prior to its operation in 2017 .
So , did the Chinese government accidentally or intentionally release the virus ?
Did it end up in bats , then snakes , then humans ?
Why were they working on studying this virus in the first place , and who benefits from its release ?
3 .
The Media Makes Top Dollar from Your Fear Along with America ’ s other biggest go-nowhere news story of the week , Trump ’ s impeachment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sums of money from reporting on medical fear stories .
Media executives know that people will tune in to watch a deadly virus sweep the globe .
The fear that you experience from thinking about the potential for mass quarantine and death , paralyzes and keeps most people locked into consuming more fear-inducing coverage .
Hence , more moola for the fat cats at CNN , NBC , etc .
Bad news is good for business , and while statistically speaking you should be far more concerned for your safety every time you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clicks like fear and panic .
4 .
Governments Always Seek More Control from Virus Scares What is the logical conclusion for a population of fearful and paralyzed individuals with no experience combatting a new and deadly virus ?
Giving the authorities more power , of course.. Let the government forcefully inoculate you and your family , allow the medical-industrial complex to take more of your hard-earned money , and watch silently with the fear that standing up for your rights might lead to the destruction of the human race .
5 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Important Issues to the Back Page It isn ’ t hard to find examples of medical hysteria in the past , either .
Think back to Ebola , the Swine flu , the regular flu , measles , SARS , or even the plague .
Every few years , the media ramps up its coverage of a new virus that often harms a very insignificant number of people .
The medical establishment calls for more control , governments call for more control , and important stories get vigorously back-paged .
As a nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a non-issue that was never going to matter to begin with , the only net-result being a marked increase in fear and stress .
Chances are pretty solid that you won ’ t even meet someone who was affected in any way by the coronavirus .
Statistically , it makes no sense to worry about the virus when you likely know someone personally who was or will be affected by poverty , the drug war , junk food-induced diabetes , opiate addiction , cancer , heart-disease , the looming national debt , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or water , stress , taxation , unconstitutional no-knock SWAT raids , pollution , depression , etc .
Focusing all of your attention on this new fear is illogical when you consider that we live in a world of daily threats and dangers anyhow .
And by the way , spoiler alert… none of us make it out of here alive .
Furthermore , those who are dying from the virus are not actually dying from the virus , but rather from health complications resulting from having the virus and a compromised immune @ @ @ @ @ @ @ national media genuinely wanted you to be safe , they would be running wall-to-wall coverage of how to naturally boost your immune system and get your body into a state of maximum health , but they rarely mention this fact .
7 .
The Institutions Who Benefit from Coronavirus Hype are Incompetent and Dangerous The institutions , including the CDC , vaccine companies , and media who benefit from coronavirus hype , are incredibly incompetent and dangerous .
One might even go so far as to call them diabolical .
We all know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that began in the 1930 ’ s , and CDC director Dr. Branda Fitzgerald who was forced to resign in early 2018 after she was caught buying shares of Merck , a major vaccine company that the CDC is supposed to oversee .
There ’ s no shortage of medical corruption in the U.S. , both historically and contemporarily , if you look hard enough .
Already the pharmaceutical industry is ‘ racing to develop a vaccine , ’ which when coupled with government mandates equals insane revenue .
8 .
Grainy Videos @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Used to Scare You To top it all off , much of the evidence we ’ re getting from the media is sketchy at best .
Earlier , the Daily Star ran a photograph of two men in lab coats , one of which was lying on the ground .
The photo is extremely grainy and out of focus .
Meanwhile , what are we supposed to make of it ?
There ’ s no context here or proof that the photo is really what they say it is .
Yet , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ drudge report .
“ DOCTORS COLLAPSE ” , it says along with a plethora of other headlines .
“ Experts fear too late for China ” “ Everyone will get infected ” “ Simulation Predicts 65 Million Could Die ” Anyone who ’ s been paying attention could have predicted the rise of the coronavirus and know what the outcome will be .
Mass hysteria and collective fear will be used to further erode individual liberties and stoke allegiance to the medical industrial complex .
By simply being aware , however , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while continuing to focus on your health and wellness , you automatically subvert this attempt at mass control .
Phillip Schneider is a student as well as a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times .
If you would like to see more of his work , you can visit his website , or follow him on the free speech social network Minds .
This article ( 8 Things to Consider Before Panicking About the Coronavirus ) as originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and WakingTimes.com .
It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution , author bio , and this copyright statement .
Like Waking Times on Facebook .
Follow Waking Times on Twitter .

8 Things to Consider Before Panicking About the Coronavirus
Phillip Schneider, Staff Writer
Waking Times
If you read the news, you’ve likely heard about the “deadly” coronavirus in China. You’ve probably seen videos of sick people and heard about the impending doom that our great nation faces if we don’t do something about this grave threat coming from China.
But have you ever thought about why we’re hearing so much about this virus, despite it affecting only a relatively small number of people in another country? Who benefits from a mass media hype around the Coronavirus?
1. This Story is Getting Massive Hype
No one can deny the incredible hype that this story is getting. But, why?
Nearly every major news outlet is front-paging the news about the virus. NBC warns of the rising death toll, CNN frightens us with “diving” stocks due to coronavirus fears (the DOW dropped by 0.6% while other stocks like Bowing grew by 1.7%), the Drudge Report sounds the alarm on the spreading outbreak triggering the quarantine of 56 million people, but China’s state run communist newspaper, the People’s Daily, reports only 41 total deaths from coronavirus and 34 cured and released, with the total number of confirmed cases to date at 1287.
Yet, every new development is serious front page news. CNBC released an updating map of those affected by the virus. In China, it looks like they are absolutely swamped with illness, however, to say that the true number of cases is minuscule compared with China’s population of 1.4 billion would be the world’s greatest understatement of the century.
Is the media simply reporting justifiably on a virus that could potentially affect millions of people, or do they have ulterior motives?
2. Nobody Knows Where the Virus Came From
So, where did the virus come from anyway? Some speculate it originated in snakes, or previously from bats or contact with other animals in an open-air food market in Wuham, but if that’s true, is there no connection to the fact that the Chinese government opened up a new biolab in the same city, allegedly tasked with studying the “world’s most dangerous pathogens”? Even the science journal Nature was concerned with the facility prior to its operation in 2017.
So, did the Chinese government accidentally or intentionally release the virus? Did it end up in bats, then snakes, then humans? Why were they working on studying this virus in the first place, and who benefits from its release?
3. The Media Makes Top Dollar from Your Fear
Along with America’s other biggest go-nowhere news story of the week, Trump’s impeachment process, the media rakes in huge sums of money from reporting on medical fear stories. Media executives know that people will tune in to watch a deadly virus sweep the globe. The fear that you experience from thinking about the potential for mass quarantine and death, paralyzes and keeps most people locked into consuming more fear-inducing coverage. Hence, more moola for the fat cats at CNN, NBC, etc. Bad news is good for business, and while statistically speaking you should be far more concerned for your safety every time you get into an automobile, nothing gets clicks like fear and panic.
4. Governments Always Seek More Control from Virus Scares
What is the logical conclusion for a population of fearful and paralyzed individuals with no experience combatting a new and deadly virus? Giving the authorities more power, of course.. Let the government forcefully inoculate you and your family, allow the medical-industrial complex to take more of your hard-earned money, and watch silently with the fear that standing up for your rights might lead to the destruction of the human race.
5. This Happens Every Few Years and Pushes Important Issues to the Back Page
It isn’t hard to find examples of medical hysteria in the past, either. Think back to Ebola, the Swine flu, the regular flu, measles, SARS, or even the plague. Every few years, the media ramps up its coverage of a new virus that often harms a very insignificant number of people. The medical establishment calls for more control, governments call for more control, and important stories get vigorously back-paged. As a nation, we end up wasting valuable time on a non-issue that was never going to matter to begin with, the only net-result being a marked increase in fear and stress.
6. The Coronavirus Doesn’t Affect You
Chances are pretty solid that you won’t even meet someone who was affected in any way by the coronavirus. Statistically, it makes no sense to worry about the virus when you likely know someone personally who was or will be affected by poverty, the drug war, junk food-induced diabetes, opiate addiction, cancer, heart-disease, the looming national debt, war, a lack of clean food or water, stress, taxation, unconstitutional no-knock SWAT raids, pollution, depression, etc. Focusing all of your attention on this new fear is illogical when you consider that we live in a world of daily threats and dangers anyhow. And by the way, spoiler alert… none of us make it out of here alive.
Furthermore, those who are dying from the virus are not actually dying from the virus, but rather from health complications resulting from having the virus and a compromised immune system, like pneumonia. If the national media genuinely wanted you to be safe, they would be running wall-to-wall coverage of how to naturally boost your immune system and get your body into a state of maximum health, but they rarely mention this fact.
7. The Institutions Who Benefit from Coronavirus Hype are Incompetent and Dangerous
The institutions, including the CDC, vaccine companies, and media who benefit from coronavirus hype, are incredibly incompetent and dangerous. One might even go so far as to call them diabolical. We all know about the infamous and highly-publicized syphilis experiments that began in the 1930’s, and CDC director Dr. Branda Fitzgerald who was forced to resign in early 2018 after she was caught buying shares of Merck, a major vaccine company that the CDC is supposed to oversee. There’s no shortage of medical corruption in the U.S., both historically and contemporarily, if you look hard enough. Already the pharmaceutical industry is ‘racing to develop a vaccine,’ which when coupled with government mandates equals insane revenue.
8. Grainy Videos of Dead and Sick-Looking People Are Being Used to Scare You
To top it all off, much of the evidence we’re getting from the media is sketchy at best. Earlier, the Daily Star ran a photograph of two men in lab coats, one of which was lying on the ground. The photo is extremely grainy and out of focus. Meanwhile, what are we supposed to make of it? There’s no context here or proof that the photo is really what they say it is. Yet, it was featured in all caps on the drudge report. “DOCTORS COLLAPSE”, it says along with a plethora of other headlines.
“Experts fear too late for China”
“Everyone will get infected”
“Simulation Predicts 65 Million Could Die”
Anyone who’s been paying attention could have predicted the rise of the coronavirus and know what the outcome will be. Mass hysteria and collective fear will be used to further erode individual liberties and stoke allegiance to the medical industrial complex. By simply being aware, however, that fearing all the news is illogical, while continuing to focus on your health and wellness, you automatically subvert this attempt at mass control.
Read more articles from Phillip Schneider.
About the Author
Phillip Schneider is a student as well as a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times. If you would like to see more of his work, you can visit his website, or follow him on the free speech social network Minds.
This article (8 Things to Consider Before Panicking About the Coronavirus) as originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Phillip Schneider and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.


wakingtimes--2020-01-25--Trials Planned For Ibogaine Therapy To Treat Opiate Addiction

In light of the growing scientific evidence showing the possibility for therapeutic uses of psychedelic compounds , these substances are slowly becoming more acceptable in mainstream circles .
At the most recent World Economic Forum in Davos , where wealthy and influential people meet to discuss the problems facing the world , psychedelics were publicly discussed as a solution for addiction , which is truly unprecedented for an event like this .
The discussion on psychedelics did not focus on MDMA or Psilocybin , which have gotten attention from the FDA as “ breakthrough ” therapies in recent years , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and less pleasant “ ibogaine.
” ibogaine has been touted as a radical and experimental treatment for opiate addiction , which is said to be capable of putting someone through an experience that leaves them with no desire to return to harmful drugs .
Ibogaine use can be traced back to a coming of age ritual for the West African Bwiti tribe , but the plant was exported to France in the mid-1900s and sold as a stimulant .
Numerous studies have shown that ibogaine can reduce the severity of opioid withdrawal symptoms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
According to one study , published in 2001 by Science Direct , “ Ibogaine has an added benefit to other detoxification strategies in that the treatment experience seems to bolster the patient ’ s own motivational resources for change.
” “ The chapter presents that ibogaine is effective in blocking opiate withdrawal , providing an alternative approach for opiate-dependent patients who have failed other conventional treatments , ” the study continued .
A more recent study published by Clinical Trials last year had similar results with the opioid methadone .
Ibogaine was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ company by the name of Atai Life Sciences AG will soon be testing an experimental therapy centered around the substance .
Atai is one of at least two psychedelic corporations backed by billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel , the other being Compass Pathways , which has launched clinical trials for a depression treatment based on psilocybin .
Atai will be partnering with DemeRx Inc. on clinical trials for a synthetic version of the plant , which will also be called ibogaine .
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems .
He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast .

Trials Planned For Ibogaine Therapy To Treat Opiate Addiction
John Vibes, Truth Theory
Waking Times
In light of the growing scientific evidence showing the possibility for therapeutic uses of psychedelic compounds, these substances are slowly becoming more acceptable in mainstream circles.
At the most recent World Economic Forum in Davos, where wealthy and influential people meet to discuss the problems facing the world, psychedelics were publicly discussed as a solution for addiction, which is truly unprecedented for an event like this. The discussion on psychedelics did not focus on MDMA or Psilocybin, which have gotten attention from the FDA as “breakthrough” therapies in recent years, but instead, attendees discussed the lesser-known and less pleasant “ibogaine.”
ibogaine has been touted as a radical and experimental treatment for opiate addiction, which is said to be capable of putting someone through an experience that leaves them with no desire to return to harmful drugs.
Ibogaine use can be traced back to a coming of age ritual for the West African Bwiti tribe, but the plant was exported to France in the mid-1900s and sold as a stimulant.
Numerous studies have shown that ibogaine can reduce the severity of opioid withdrawal symptoms along with helping to detoxify the body.
According to one study, published in 2001 by Science Direct, “Ibogaine has an added benefit to other detoxification strategies in that the treatment experience seems to bolster the patient’s own motivational resources for change.” “The chapter presents that ibogaine is effective in blocking opiate withdrawal, providing an alternative approach for opiate-dependent patients who have failed other conventional treatments,” the study continued.
A more recent study published by Clinical Trials last year had similar results with the opioid methadone.
Ibogaine was mentioned at Devos because a psychedelic pharmaceutical company by the name of Atai Life Sciences AG will soon be testing an experimental therapy centered around the substance. Atai is one of at least two psychedelic corporations backed by billionaire investor and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, the other being Compass Pathways, which has launched clinical trials for a depression treatment based on psilocybin.
“In some circles, psychedelics are still associated with escape from the real world and irresponsible extravagance. With FDA-controlled studies, we will come to see that their most powerful use brings people to mental health and sober sanity in a medical setting,” Thiel said in an email to Bloomberg.
Atai will be partnering with DemeRx Inc. on clinical trials for a synthetic version of the plant, which will also be called ibogaine.
About the Author
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast.


wakingtimes--2020-01-25--Pharma Founder Gets 66 Months For Bribing Doctors To Overprescribe Deadly Opioids

Millions of Americans who lived through the financial crisis probably recall that not a single executive of a major investment bank was jailed in the aftermath , despite running organizations seemingly dedicated to perpetuating a criminal fraud on nearly every counterparty and client .
But when Americans look back at the opioid crisis , they ’ ll remember that at least one executive of a major opioid manufacturer and distributor was sentenced to a fairly weighty sentence – five-and-a-half years ( 66 months ) in federal prison – for an illegal kickback scheme that effectively involved bribing doctors to prescribe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s right : Packaged under the name brand Subsys , Insys sold a painkiller made from the same ultra-powerful synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths across America .
According to the FT , which , in partnership with PBS ’ s Frontline , is producing a documentary on the opioid crisis , John Kapoor , the founder of Insys , was sentenced to prison time on Thursday after being prosecuted under the RICO act – a law adopted decades ago to help the DoJ prosecute the mafia .
Kapoor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already received jail time for their role in the company ’ s illegal shenanigans , which included uses “ ruthless ” sales tactics to encourage doctors to prescribe more of their drug .
Several doctors who took money from the company in exchange for kickbacks transparently disguised as speaking fees are also either being prosecuted , or have already been sentenced to jail time .
Earlier on Thursday , Alec Burlakoff , Insys ’ s former head of sales and one of the government ’ s key cooperating witnesses accepted a sentence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sentences were handed down despite a long tradition of allowing big pharma to skate by with fines that often amounted to a slap on the wrist .
Subsys was approved by the FDA to target so-called “ breakthrough pain ” , something experienced by many patients with advanced cancer .
But most of the doctors Insys targeted weren ’ t oncologists .
The company encouraged them to prescribe the drug “ off label ” – meaning not for its approved purpose – to treat normal chronic pain .
Kapoor is a serial entrepreneur @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his early 20s .
The fentanyl spray that was the company ’ s main product was approved in 2012 .
Under the company ’ s kick-back scheme , doctors who prescribed large quantities of the drug could earn up to $ 125,000 a year in speaking fees .
The company depended on sales associates whom Kapoor described as “ PHD ” – “ poor , hungry and desperate ” or “ poor , hungry and dumb.
” One of the sales reps who got mixed up in the prosecution was a former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that was widely covered in the press .
Kapoor ’ s insistence that the company meticulously track the ROI from its illegal kickback scheme is what eventually did him in .
Prosecutors managed to get their hands on a spreadsheet calculating the return on investment for every dollar spent on doctor “ honorariums ” .
Kapoor insisted that , for every dollar a doctor received , they must bring in at least $ 2 in sales for Insys .
Kapoor ’ s legal team insisted that their client was unfairly portrayed as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the prosecution .
But the firm ’ s “ callous culture ” was exemplified by a sales video featuring a “ rapping bottle of Subsys ” encouraging doctors to raise the dose for their patient ’ s – effectively encouraging them to accidentally overdose and kill their own patients .
Burlakoff , who played the rapping Subsys bottle in the video , told the press that the video was a big part of the incriminating evidence against him .
He now regrets participating in it , even though he thought it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fred Wyshak , the prosecutor who handled the Insys case , gained notoriety for prosecuting the mob , and having a hand in the conviction of Whitey Bulger , the former Boston crime boss who was murdered while serving a life sentence last year .
By Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge .

Pharma Founder Gets 66 Months For Bribing Doctors To Overprescribe Deadly Opioids
Tyler Durden, Zero Hedge
Waking Times
Millions of Americans who lived through the financial crisis probably recall that not a single executive of a major investment bank was jailed in the aftermath, despite running organizations seemingly dedicated to perpetuating a criminal fraud on nearly every counterparty and client.
But when Americans look back at the opioid crisis, they’ll remember that at least one executive of a major opioid manufacturer and distributor was sentenced to a fairly weighty sentence – five-and-a-half years (66 months) in federal prison – for an illegal kickback scheme that effectively involved bribing doctors to prescribe potentially lethal doses of fentanyl. That’s right: Packaged under the name brand Subsys, Insys sold a painkiller made from the same ultra-powerful synthetic opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths across America.
According to the FT, which, in partnership with PBS’s Frontline, is producing a documentary on the opioid crisis, John Kapoor, the founder of Insys, was sentenced to prison time on Thursday after being prosecuted under the RICO act – a law adopted decades ago to help the DoJ prosecute the mafia.
Kapoor
Kapoor joins seven other Insys executives who have already received jail time for their role in the company’s illegal shenanigans, which included uses “ruthless” sales tactics to encourage doctors to prescribe more of their drug. Several doctors who took money from the company in exchange for kickbacks transparently disguised as speaking fees are also either being prosecuted, or have already been sentenced to jail time.
Earlier on Thursday, Alec Burlakoff, Insys’s former head of sales and one of the government’s key cooperating witnesses accepted a sentence of 26 months in prison. The jail sentences were handed down despite a long tradition of allowing big pharma to skate by with fines that often amounted to a slap on the wrist.
Subsys was approved by the FDA to target so-called “breakthrough pain”, something experienced by many patients with advanced cancer. But most of the doctors Insys targeted weren’t oncologists. The company encouraged them to prescribe the drug “off label” – meaning not for its approved purpose – to treat normal chronic pain.
Kapoor is a serial entrepreneur who immigrated to the US from India in his early 20s. The fentanyl spray that was the company’s main product was approved in 2012.
Under the company’s kick-back scheme, doctors who prescribed large quantities of the drug could earn up to $125,000 a year in speaking fees.
The company depended on sales associates whom Kapoor described as “PHD” – “poor, hungry and desperate” or “poor, hungry and dumb.” One of the sales reps who got mixed up in the prosecution was a former stripper, a detail from the investigation that was widely covered in the press.
Kapoor’s insistence that the company meticulously track the ROI from its illegal kickback scheme is what eventually did him in. Prosecutors managed to get their hands on a spreadsheet calculating the return on investment for every dollar spent on doctor “honorariums”. Kapoor insisted that, for every dollar a doctor received, they must bring in at least $2 in sales for Insys.
Kapoor’s legal team insisted that their client was unfairly portrayed as a “caricature of a mob boss” by the prosecution. But the firm’s “callous culture” was exemplified by a sales video featuring a “rapping bottle of Subsys” encouraging doctors to raise the dose for their patient’s – effectively encouraging them to accidentally overdose and kill their own patients.
Burlakoff, who played the rapping Subsys bottle in the video, told the press that the video was a big part of the incriminating evidence against him. He now regrets participating in it, even though he thought it was ‘cool’ at the time.
Fred Wyshak, the prosecutor who handled the Insys case, gained notoriety for prosecuting the mob, and having a hand in the conviction of Whitey Bulger, the former Boston crime boss who was murdered while serving a life sentence last year.
By Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge.


wakingtimes--2020-01-25--UK Gov. Advised To Give Former Drug Dealers Jobs Once Weed Becomes Legal

Experts from the legal cannabis industry in the United States have advised politicians in the UK on best practices for the industry if the country does decide to legalize the plant for recreational use .
One of the most shocking suggestions to come from the US panel was that former dealers from the illegal market should be given jobs in the newly legal cannabis industry .
The suggestion came from Shaleen Title , the commissioner of the cannabis control board in the state of Massachusetts , where cannabis has been legal since 2016 .
Title has overseen similar policies in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structured in a way that is accessible to people from poorer communities , especially those with experience in the previously underground markets .
In September of last year , she spoke to the House of Lords in the UK about how the government in her state handled legalization .
In her presentation , Title said that people from the community have been sought out to help grow the industry in the state .
“ We are on our first project with 150 people and we put out a bid to vendors who can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is regulated .
It also includes an ownership program to train people who were once entrepreneurs in the underground market .
They have skills already , of course , gleaned over a long number of years .
It is a way to give people and the voters that backed legalization in our referendum what they wanted .
They did not want to hand the industry over to a few giant corporations that are going to exploit it , ” Title said .
“ If for years under drug prohibition you have this security @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you can hardly say to them , ‘ oh never mind now , big corporations will take this business off you , they will take it from here.
’ How is that fair ?
” she added .
Some UK officials have had similar ideas about making the transition to a peaceful end for the drug war .
Michael Semple , the former deputy to the European Union special representative for Afghanistan , said that the government should have peace talks with those in the drug industry to make a peaceful transition into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture , and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems .
He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast .

UK Gov. Advised To Give Former Drug Dealers Jobs Once Weed Becomes Legal
Jonh Vibes, Truth Theory
Waking Times
Experts from the legal cannabis industry in the United States have advised politicians in the UK on best practices for the industry if the country does decide to legalize the plant for recreational use. One of the most shocking suggestions to come from the US panel was that former dealers from the illegal market should be given jobs in the newly legal cannabis industry. The suggestion came from Shaleen Title, the commissioner of the cannabis control board in the state of Massachusetts, where cannabis has been legal since 2016.
Title has overseen similar policies in Massachusetts, where the industry has been structured in a way that is accessible to people from poorer communities, especially those with experience in the previously underground markets. In September of last year, she spoke to the House of Lords in the UK about how the government in her state handled legalization.
In her presentation, Title said that people from the community have been sought out to help grow the industry in the state.
“We are on our first project with 150 people and we put out a bid to vendors who can teach them how to produce cannabis that is regulated. It also includes an ownership program to train people who were once entrepreneurs in the underground market. They have skills already, of course, gleaned over a long number of years. It is a way to give people and the voters that backed legalization in our referendum what they wanted. They did not want to hand the industry over to a few giant corporations that are going to exploit it,” Title said. “If for years under drug prohibition you have this security focus on these communities then after legalisation you can hardly say to them, ‘oh never mind now, big corporations will take this business off you, they will take it from here.’ How is that fair?” she added.
Some UK officials have had similar ideas about making the transition to a peaceful end for the drug war. Michael Semple, the former deputy to the European Union special representative for Afghanistan, said that the government should have peace talks with those in the drug industry to make a peaceful transition into a legal market.
“Given the sheer number of people involved in drug dealing, and, internationally, the scale of violence associated with the ‘war on drugs’, it should not be difficult for drug policymakers to envisage a peace process with drug gangs,” Semple said.
About the Author
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast.


wakingtimes--2020-01-25--Company Trademarks the Word “Psilocybin,” Angering Decriminalization Advocates

With interest in psychedelic substances spiking in recent months amid increased efforts to reform drug laws , there has also been increased discomfort about the possibility that corporations would seek to dominate a market that has mostly been underground .
In an unsettling sign of potential things to come , last week a company successfully trademarked the word “ psilocybin ” —yes , the same word for the psychoactive compound of the popular psychedelic “ magic mushrooms.
” The company , Psilocybin—or rather , Psilocybin™—is actually a chocolatier that doesn ’ t even sell magic mushroom chocolate .
Instead , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advertised as “ medicinal.
” According to their mission statement : “ Psilocybin™ was created to begin educating , enlightening and supporting the community in upgrading their inner vibrations in order to get everything they want of their time here on earth .
We have created physical chocolate bars to be the carrier of this message and create a community around our message which is assisting thousands in upgrading their inner world to be happy , healthy and full of an abundant joy.
” That ’ s a lot of words for “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a psychedelic trip , man.
” So basically , consumers can expect to “ heal ” in some unspecified manner for the whopping price of $ 18 a unit .
Whether that falls under the category of “ a spiritual experience ” or a placebo effect is anyone ’ s guess .
The strange marketing approach has angered advocates for the legalization of the psychedelic fungus who see the trademark as a blatant attempt to capitalize on and effectively monopolize the right to use the name of a purely natural substance—not unlike someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Psilocybin™ founder and self-styled “ marketing and branding visionary ” Scarlett Ravin has defended the move as anything but a cynical marketing ploy aimed at hippie-dippie chocolate aficionados and , we assume , unwitting customers seeking an actual mushroom trip .
Ravin , who also claims to be a “ healer ” and “ medicinal alchemist , ” told Marijuana Moment : “ We ’ re all here to follow spirit guidance to show love and light , and the visions I had of doing what we ’ re doing now was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and allowing people to have an opportunity to sink into being one unit.
” Kevin Matthews , who led a successful campaign to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in Denver and leads national reform group SPORE , told the website : “ This being an open-source movement , trademarking the word psilocybin , in some ways it feels like—although I don ’ t think this is her intention—it ’ s lacking perspective .
Does that mean we can ’ t use psilocybin as SPORE because we ’ re an educational non-profit and she ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t make a lot of sense to me .
She needs to let go of the trademark .
”

Company Trademarks the Word “Psilocybin,” Angering Decriminalization Advocates
Elias Marat, The Mind Unleashed
Waking Times
With interest in psychedelic substances spiking in recent months amid increased efforts to reform drug laws, there has also been increased discomfort about the possibility that corporations would seek to dominate a market that has mostly been underground.
In an unsettling sign of potential things to come, last week a company successfully trademarked the word “psilocybin”—yes, the same word for the psychoactive compound of the popular psychedelic “magic mushrooms.”
The company, Psilocybin—or rather, Psilocybin™—is actually a chocolatier that doesn’t even sell magic mushroom chocolate. Instead, they sell standard chocolate blended with herbs advertised as “medicinal.”
According to their mission statement:
“Psilocybin™ was created to begin educating, enlightening and supporting the community in upgrading their inner vibrations in order to get everything they want of their time here on earth. We have created physical chocolate bars to be the carrier of this message and create a community around our message which is assisting thousands in upgrading their inner world to be happy, healthy and full of an abundant joy.” That’s a lot of words for “don’t expect to go on a psychedelic trip, man.”
Continuing, the company claims:
“Each chocolate bar has been designed for a very deep and cosmic awakening, the packaging begins to shift your vibration and our three bars will each create a different effect on your body, mind and soul.”
So basically, consumers can expect to “heal” in some unspecified manner for the whopping price of $18 a unit. Whether that falls under the category of “a spiritual experience” or a placebo effect is anyone’s guess.
The strange marketing approach has angered advocates for the legalization of the psychedelic fungus who see the trademark as a blatant attempt to capitalize on and effectively monopolize the right to use the name of a purely natural substance—not unlike someone trademarking “THC” or “CBD.”
Psilocybin™ founder and self-styled “marketing and branding visionary” Scarlett Ravin has defended the move as anything but a cynical marketing ploy aimed at hippie-dippie chocolate aficionados and, we assume, unwitting customers seeking an actual mushroom trip.
Ravin, who also claims to be a “healer” and “medicinal alchemist,” told Marijuana Moment:
“We’re all here to follow spirit guidance to show love and light, and the visions I had of doing what we’re doing now was based upon breaking boundaries and breaking perceptions and allowing people to have an opportunity to sink into being one unit.”
Kevin Matthews, who led a successful campaign to decriminalize psilocybin mushrooms in Denver and leads national reform group SPORE, told the website:
“This being an open-source movement, trademarking the word psilocybin, in some ways it feels like—although I don’t think this is her intention—it’s lacking perspective. Does that mean we can’t use psilocybin as SPORE because we’re an educational non-profit and she’s a for-profit branded company? It doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. She needs to let go of the trademark.”
By Elias Marat | Creative Commons | TheMindUnleashed.com


wakingtimes--2020-01-25--Man who pushed SARS dud now pushing new Chinese virus

First , a few updates .
Things are moving fast .
The Chinese government has locked down Wuhan , a city of 11 million people , owing to the “ threat of the coronavirus.
” There are also travel restrictions in several other Chinese cities .
What does all this prove ?
It proves the Chinese government wants to install tighter controls .
It doesn ’ t lead to the conclusion that a coronavirus is making people sick or killing them .
During the so-called Zika Virus crisis of 2016 , women in several countries were told not to get @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brain damage in their babies .
That was a form of lockdown , too .
If it were instituted for good reason , we would now be seeing massive numbers of babies all over the world born with microcephaly ( smaller heads and brain damage ) , as the virus spreads .
We aren ’ t seeing that .
I covered the Zika story extensively , and proved it was a scientific fraud .
A dud .
The measures government authorities enact do not constitute proof of a harmful virus .
Otherwise , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day long simply by issuing orders .
We are now seeing photos of “ people lying in the street ” in Wuhan , and perhaps other Chinese cities , so-called victims of the coronavirus .
What does this prove ?
So far , I ’ ve seen pictures of four or five people lying in the street or on a hospital floor .
In a city of 11 million people .
If this , all by itself , were proof that a new coronavirus is a killer , then Los Angeles and New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people left .
The text of a patent for a coronavirus is circulating wide and far on the Web .
What does this prove ?
Patents for many viruses are obtained all the time .
More specifically , these patents discuss ways of weakening viruses or extracting material from them for the purposes of developing vaccines .
I ’ ve read excerpts from two different coronavirus patents , one in the US and one in the UK .
They both refer to vaccine development .
They aren ’ t , as some people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cooking up a virus in a lab or weaponizing it .
Well , here is a comforting development .
The Chinese researcher , Zhong Nanshan , who “ discovered the SARS virus ” in 2003 , is now at the forefront of pronouncements about the “ new coronavirus ” that is shaking up China and other parts of the world .
His mere presence on the scene is a warning sign : take a grain of salt , try a pound .
Zhong Nanshan ’ s 2003 SARS “ pandemic ” was a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Organization ) advisory against traveling to “ infected ” Toronto cost merchants in the city several billion dollars .
Meanwhile , a Canadian WHO biologist , Frank Plummer , told the press he was shocked by the fact that fewer and fewer SARS patients had the virus in their bodies .
Actually , “ fewer and fewer , ” he said , was approaching ZERO .
Hoax .
THE PURPORTED CAUSE OF THE DISEASE WASN ’ T THERE .
People had ordinary flu symptoms .
What do you do when this sort of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whole business was a mistake or a con or a hustle ?
Do you own up to the fact that , when people are said to be suffering from ordinary flu symptoms , and you ’ re calling it a new disease with a new cause , you ’ re wrong and you ’ re very , very , very sorry ?
Do you point out that people who don ’ t have the cause of a new disease in their bodies don ’ t have the new disease ?
Of course not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no one notices .
When you claim the grand death total from the SARS “ epidemic , ” worldwide , is 800 out of seven billion , and you can ’ t even prove those 800 died from the “ SARS virus , ” do you , the World Health Organization , admit your whole program of epidemic detection is a fraud ?
Do you pay Toronto several billion dollars for their troubles ?
Of course not .
You keep calling SARS an epidemic forever .
You write fake histories .
You do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reputation .
And when a new possible-maybe-could-be virus surfaces in China , now , you bring the same researcher who “ discovered SARS ” out of mothballs , and you put him front and center .
Here ’ s the capper .
Read carefully .
The World Health Organization claims that , every year , there are between three and five million cases of ordinary run-of-the-mill flu in the world , resulting in 290,000 to 650,000 deaths .
The symptoms are indistinguishable from SARS .
But for some reason , they don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
No , they choose SARS , for which the cause is absent—and they call THAT an epidemic .
It caused 800 deaths , versus 290,000-650,000 deaths .
Does this make any kind of sense ?
Actually , it does , if they want to : increase control over the population ; condition them to expect and pray for a ( watch-out TOXIC ) vaccine to save them ; shoot up pharmaceutical profits ; scare the pants off people ; induce them to willingly accept greater surveillance wherever they go ; step up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; hypnotize populations with the idea that they ’ re lifelong patients under the supervision of the medical cartel ; teach “ safety and security ” above freedom .
Just realize how right and good and true THE AUTHORITIES are , get down on your knees and thank your lucky stars they ’ re here protecting the health of everyone on the planet .
They ’ re the Church of Biological Mysticism , and they want you as a devoted member .
Jon Rappoport is the author of three explosive collections , THE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX , Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29thDistrict of California .
He maintains a consulting practice for private clients , the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power .
Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize , he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years , writing articles on politics , medicine , and health for CBS Healthwatch , LA Weekly , Spin Magazine , Stern , and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe .
Jon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ politics , health , logic , and creative power to audiences around the world .
You can sign up for his free emails at NoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine .
Like Waking Times on Facebook .
Follow Waking Times on Twitter .

Man who pushed SARS dud now pushing new Chinese virus
Jon Rappoport, Guest
Waking Times
First, a few updates. Things are moving fast.
The Chinese government has locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million people, owing to the “threat of the coronavirus.” There are also travel restrictions in several other Chinese cities. What does all this prove?
Answer: Nothing.
It proves the Chinese government wants to install tighter controls. It doesn’t lead to the conclusion that a coronavirus is making people sick or killing them.
During the so-called Zika Virus crisis of 2016, women in several countries were told not to get pregnant, because the virus might cause brain damage in their babies. That was a form of lockdown, too. If it were instituted for good reason, we would now be seeing massive numbers of babies all over the world born with microcephaly (smaller heads and brain damage), as the virus spreads. We aren’t seeing that. I covered the Zika story extensively, and proved it was a scientific fraud. A dud.
The measures government authorities enact do not constitute proof of a harmful virus. Otherwise, presidents and kings could write science all day long simply by issuing orders.
We are now seeing photos of “people lying in the street” in Wuhan, and perhaps other Chinese cities, so-called victims of the coronavirus. What does this prove?
Answer: Nothing.
So far, I’ve seen pictures of four or five people lying in the street or on a hospital floor. In a city of 11 million people. If this, all by itself, were proof that a new coronavirus is a killer, then Los Angeles and New York—with their homeless street populations—would have no people left.
The text of a patent for a coronavirus is circulating wide and far on the Web. What does this prove?
Answer: Nothing.
Patents for many viruses are obtained all the time. More specifically, these patents discuss ways of weakening viruses or extracting material from them for the purposes of developing vaccines. I’ve read excerpts from two different coronavirus patents, one in the US and one in the UK. They both refer to vaccine development. They aren’t, as some people assume, slam-dunk evidence that researchers are cooking up a virus in a lab or weaponizing it.
Well, here is a comforting development. The Chinese researcher, Zhong Nanshan, who “discovered the SARS virus” in 2003, is now at the forefront of pronouncements about the “new coronavirus” that is shaking up China and other parts of the world.
His mere presence on the scene is a warning sign: take a grain of salt, try a pound.
Zhong Nanshan’s 2003 SARS “pandemic” was a dud. A WHO (World Health Organization) advisory against traveling to “infected” Toronto cost merchants in the city several billion dollars. Meanwhile, a Canadian WHO biologist, Frank Plummer, told the press he was shocked by the fact that fewer and fewer SARS patients had the virus in their bodies. Actually, “fewer and fewer,” he said, was approaching ZERO. Hoax. THE PURPORTED CAUSE OF THE DISEASE WASN’T THERE. People had ordinary flu symptoms.
What do you do when this sort of embarrassment occurs? Do you confess the whole business was a mistake or a con or a hustle? Do you own up to the fact that, when people are said to be suffering from ordinary flu symptoms, and you’re calling it a new disease with a new cause, you’re wrong and you’re very, very, very sorry? Do you point out that people who don’t have the cause of a new disease in their bodies don’t have the new disease?
Of course not. You just move ahead and pray no one notices.
When you claim the grand death total from the SARS “epidemic,” worldwide, is 800 out of seven billion, and you can’t even prove those 800 died from the “SARS virus,” do you, the World Health Organization, admit your whole program of epidemic detection is a fraud? Do you pay Toronto several billion dollars for their troubles?
Of course not. You keep calling SARS an epidemic forever. You write fake histories. You do whatever is necessary to maintain your phony reputation.
And when a new possible-maybe-could-be virus surfaces in China, now, you bring the same researcher who “discovered SARS” out of mothballs, and you put him front and center.
Here’s the capper. Read carefully. The World Health Organization claims that, every year, there are between three and five million cases of ordinary run-of-the-mill flu in the world, resulting in 290,000 to 650,000 deaths. The symptoms are indistinguishable from SARS. But for some reason, they don’t declare ordinary flu an ongoing epidemic. No, they choose SARS, for which the cause is absent—and they call THAT an epidemic. It caused 800 deaths, versus 290,000-650,000 deaths.
Does this make any kind of sense? Actually, it does, if they want to: increase control over the population; condition them to expect and pray for a (watch-out TOXIC) vaccine to save them; shoot up pharmaceutical profits; scare the pants off people; induce them to willingly accept greater surveillance wherever they go; step up police and military presence; enact quarantines; hypnotize populations with the idea that they’re lifelong patients under the supervision of the medical cartel; teach “safety and security” above freedom.
Just realize how right and good and true THE AUTHORITIES are, get down on your knees and thank your lucky stars they’re here protecting the health of everyone on the planet. They’re the Church of Biological Mysticism, and they want you as a devoted member.
Amen.
About the Author
Jon Rappoport is the author of three explosive collections, THE MATRIX REVEALED, EXIT FROM THE MATRIX, and POWER OUTSIDE THE MATRIX, Jon was a candidate for a US Congressional seat in the 29thDistrict of California. He maintains a consulting practice for private clients, the purpose of which is the expansion of personal creative power. Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, he has worked as an investigative reporter for 30 years, writing articles on politics, medicine, and health for CBS Healthwatch, LA Weekly, Spin Magazine, Stern, and other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe. Jon has delivered lectures and seminars on global politics, health, logic, and creative power to audiences around the world. You can sign up for his free emails at NoMoreFakeNews.com or OutsideTheRealityMachine.
(To read about Jon’s mega-collection, Exit From The Matrix, click here.)


wakingtimes--2020-01-27--Comedian Dave Chappelle is a Huge Fan of Magic Mushrooms

Fans of Dave Chappelle may know that he is no stranger to psychedelics .
In a stand-up act from 1998 , he joked about taking mushrooms he got at a party and then tripping in a barber shop .
But Dave ’ s escapades on mushrooms aren ’ t just for his comedy , he really does enjoy taking them .
So much so in fact , that his friend Aziz Ansari felt the need to recount an anecdote to a crowd at Kennedy Center Concert Hall , as Chappelle was about to be given the Mark Twain Prize for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ before they announced him as the year ’ s winner , Dave asked his friend , “ what kind of night are you trying to have tonight , Aziz ?
“ I ’ m probably going to take it easy ; we went hard yesterday , and I ’ ve got shows tomorrow.
” “ Well , Aziz , ” Dave retorted , “ no one knows this , but tomorrow they ’ re going to announce that I am the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
” “ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to tell your kids 20 years from now , Aziz ?
Are you going to tell them , I was there the day Dave Chappelle found out he won the Mark Twain award and we ate mushrooms together and had the night of our lives ?
Or are you going to tell them you got some sleep ?
’ ” “ Dave , you ’ ve got a point , let ’ s eat those mushrooms .
To Twain !
” The one and only Joe Rogan , a famous podcaster and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experience they had together involving mushrooms .
“ I ’ m pretty sure he ate mushrooms from a fan the other day , ” he said .
“ We have a private screening of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at one o ’ clock in morning .
Dave is eating mushrooms that some fucking guy gave him in the crowd.
” Maybe eating random mushrooms from strangers isn ’ t the best idea , but these open conversations and generally positive response from the public shows that psychedelics are becoming more mainstream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t cause insanity as portrayed in 1960 ’ s drug hysteria , and they also aren ’ t physically dangerous .
Ironically , the most dangerous part about taking mushrooms is the fact that you can only get them in the black market .
If you ’ re caught with this natural fungus , you could get years of jail time that would completely derail your life in ways far beyond the capabilities of the psychedelic compound .
The overdose threshold for mushrooms is also far beyond the average person ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re a mushroom expert , you won ’ t necessarily have the same quality assurance as you would if they were sold legally .
However , only 0.2 % of nearly 10,000 people needed emergency medical treatment after consuming psilocybin mushrooms according to the 2017 Global Drug Survey .
Just recently , the largest ever study conducted on researching the safety and therapeutic viability of psilocybin mushrooms found them to be entirely safe when taken by healthy individuals in the right setting and much promise is being shown regarding their ability @ @ @ @ @ @ @ depression.
” That is , people who are not seeing recovery in conventional pharmaceutical medicines or standard therapy .
It is also noteworthy that former NAACP President and 2018 gubernatorial candidate for Maryland Ben Jealous credits Dave Chappelle for giving him the idea of legalizing cannabis .
Dave Chappelle isn ’ t just a great stand-up comic who likes to eat mushrooms , he ’ s a the most popular comedian on the planet today with a thoughtful message that changes thousands of people ’ s minds .
Dave ’ s listeners aren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re thinking too .
Phillip Schneider is a student as well as a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times .
If you would like to see more of his work , you can visit his website , or follow him on the free speech social network Minds .
This article ( Comedian Dave Chappelle is a Huge Fan of Magic Mushrooms ) as originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Phillip Schneider and WakingTimes.com .
It may be re-posted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and this copyright statement .
Like Waking Times on Facebook .
Follow Waking Times on Twitter .

Comedian Dave Chappelle is a Huge Fan of Magic Mushrooms
Phillip Schneider, Staff Writer
Waking Times
Fans of Dave Chappelle may know that he is no stranger to psychedelics. In a stand-up act from 1998, he joked about taking mushrooms he got at a party and then tripping in a barber shop.
But Dave’s escapades on mushrooms aren’t just for his comedy, he really does enjoy taking them. So much so in fact, that his friend Aziz Ansari felt the need to recount an anecdote to a crowd at Kennedy Center Concert Hall, as Chappelle was about to be given the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor last year.
The night before they announced him as the year’s winner, Dave asked his friend, “what kind of night are you trying to have tonight, Aziz?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDlAtwbuYDI&feature=emb_title
“I’m probably going to take it easy; we went hard yesterday, and I’ve got shows tomorrow.”
“Well, Aziz,” Dave retorted, “no one knows this, but tomorrow they’re going to announce that I am the winner of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.”
“And he said, ‘what are you going to tell your kids 20 years from now, Aziz? Are you going to tell them, I was there the day Dave Chappelle found out he won the Mark Twain award and we ate mushrooms together and had the night of our lives? Or are you going to tell them you got some sleep?’”
“Dave, you’ve got a point, let’s eat those mushrooms. To Twain!”
The one and only Joe Rogan, a famous podcaster and friend of Chappelle, also recounted an experience they had together involving mushrooms.
“I’m pretty sure he ate mushrooms from a fan the other day,” he said.
“We have a private screening of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at one o’clock in morning. Dave is eating mushrooms that some fucking guy gave him in the crowd.”
Maybe eating random mushrooms from strangers isn’t the best idea, but these open conversations and generally positive response from the public shows that psychedelics are becoming more mainstream and accepted as people realize that they don’t cause insanity as portrayed in 1960’s drug hysteria, and they also aren’t physically dangerous.
Ironically, the most dangerous part about taking mushrooms is the fact that you can only get them in the black market. If you’re caught with this natural fungus, you could get years of jail time that would completely derail your life in ways far beyond the capabilities of the psychedelic compound. The overdose threshold for mushrooms is also far beyond the average person’s capacity for consumption, but unless you’re a mushroom expert, you won’t necessarily have the same quality assurance as you would if they were sold legally.
However, only 0.2% of nearly 10,000 people needed emergency medical treatment after consuming psilocybin mushrooms according to the 2017 Global Drug Survey.
Just recently, the largest ever study conducted on researching the safety and therapeutic viability of psilocybin mushrooms found them to be entirely safe when taken by healthy individuals in the right setting and much promise is being shown regarding their ability to treat patients with “treatment resistant depression.” That is, people who are not seeing recovery in conventional pharmaceutical medicines or standard therapy.
“The results of the study are clinically reassuring and support further development of psilocybin as a treatment for patients with mental health problems that haven’t improved with conventional therapy, such as treatment-resistant depression.” – KCL’s Dr. James Rucker, the study’s lead investigator
It is also noteworthy that former NAACP President and 2018 gubernatorial candidate for Maryland Ben Jealous credits Dave Chappelle for giving him the idea of legalizing cannabis.
“When I was 20 I was known as ‘Dave Chappelle’s bodyguard’. Now that I’m 45, I’m proud to be: ‘Dave Chappelle’s Candidate.’ And, if you’re wondering, yes he was the first person to tell me Cannabis should be legal for adults. I was skeptical then. I agree with him now.” – Ben Jealous
Dave Chappelle isn’t just a great stand-up comic who likes to eat mushrooms, he’s a the most popular comedian on the planet today with a thoughtful message that changes thousands of people’s minds. Dave’s listeners aren’t just laughing, they’re thinking too.
Read more articles from Phillip Schneider.
About the Author
Phillip Schneider is a student as well as a staff writer and assistant editor for Waking Times. If you would like to see more of his work, you can visit his website, or follow him on the free speech social network Minds.
This article (Comedian Dave Chappelle is a Huge Fan of Magic Mushrooms) as originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Phillip Schneider and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this copyright statement.