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Dope-o-Scope

Dope-o-Scope image
Parent Issue
Day
5
Month
October
Year
1972
OCR Text

In past SUNs, Dope-O-Scope Columns usually dealt with one particular drug. In this issue I just want to pass on some general information that I have come various drugs that our people are putting in their bodies.

Every year, particularly during the months of August and September, there is a severe shortage of good reefer available. We also notice this to a lesser degree during the winter months. Much of the weed smoked in America is grown in Mexico and the Mexican harvest seasons are generally during the months of Oct., Nov. and Dec, and then again during the spring around April, May, and June. This is one of the reasons for the general weed shortage we have had during the past couple of months. But now the harvest is beginning to happen so we hope to see a lot more killer reefer soon.

There are a lot of ways by which you can judge the quality of the dope you are acquiring. The best way, of course, is to smoke it, but also when the plant is picked, the method used to cure it, and how it is packaged have a large effect on the quality of the weed. On a good mature plant the tops will be full and colorful. Generally, the darker the seeds, the better the dope. Also seed casings around the seeds and red fibers on the tops are a sign of high quality. The method used to cure the plants is very important. If it is too wet, mold will develop and if it is too dry it will be very powdery and lose potency. As far as packaging, weed kept closest to its original condition is generally better than that which is crushed or pressed.

The twice-yearly droughts are not the only reasons for the shortage of weed. The government is constantly increasing its war on weed through Operation Intercept. According to Zodiac News Service, “The US Customs Department – as it does from time to time – has released its official figures for seizures of illicit drugs during fiscal 1972. The Department reports that it seized a record 292,000 lbs. of marijuana last year and more than 9000 lbs. of hashish. The 292,000 lbs. of grass – equivalent to 146 tons – Is enough to roll approximately 150 million joints.”

In a pamphlet (entitled Garbage: A Report On Street Psychedelics) published by the Do It Now Foundation, who sponsored numerous anti-death-drugs spots on the radio, reveals some interesting information about most of the psychedelics our people are taking across the country. The information is based on extensive drug analysis with some samples dating back as much as three years.

When the taking of psychedelics turned from an isolated phenomenon to where masses of people were turning on, many people, for various reasons, ranging from fear of chromosome damage to trying to be more “natural,” desired to take mescaline or psilocybin. However, during drug analysis it was found that virtually all of the “mescaline” and “psilocybin” was either LSD or LSD-PCP combinations. LSD and PCP are incredibly cheap drugs to manufacture and mescaline and psilocybin are so expensive to manufacture that rip-off chemists filled the demand for mescaline and psilocybin with either poorly manufactured LSD or LSD mixed with PCP.

Chemists whose only interest is to make money don’t care what our people really put in their bodies, just what they think they are putting in their bodies.

The report also stated that contrary to popular myth, there is very little evidence of Strychnine in LSD. Over the past few years, drug centers have developed a fear of strychnine in acid. This fear wasn’t unfounded as there were numerous complaints of symptoms sounding exactly like strychnine poisoning. But, according to LSD and the Market Place (University of the Pacific drugs bulletin), it was found that excessive doses of pure LSD (over 250 micrograms) could in many cases emanate the beginning signs of strychnine poisoning.” It was also found that impurities and faulty manufacturing of the LSD itself could cause the same symptoms. Analysis also showed that reports of LSD cut with speed were greatly exaggerated. Again, impurities and faulty manufacture can cause many speedy reactions.

“The current heroin epidemic in the US and at US bases in Vietnam is the result of political decisions made by our Government in its effort to halt the growth of revolutionary movements in the “Free World.” Almost without exception, it has been governmental bodies and not criminals, whose decisions have made the major changes in the international narcotics trade.” That is the conclusion of Alfred W McCoy in an amazing new book titled, The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia. McCoy, after studying the international heroin trade for several years, documents evidence of a drug alliance on a global scale, involving the collaboration of the CIA, the State Dept. and ultimately the President. McCoy feels that US political and military operations in Europe and Southeast Asia motivated by an inflexible policy of anti-Communism – created the necessary conditions for the post WWII revival of heroin trafficking in Europe and later for the expansion of opium and heroin production in Southeast Asia. The US government in the past few years has frantically tried to convince the American people that the great majority of all heroin in the US comes from Turkish opium fields, but according to McCoy, 70% of the world’s illegal opium comes from the Golden Triangle area of Southeast Asia and is the major supplier of raw materials for America’s booming heroin market. Anyone who doubts the complicity of the US government in heroin plague that is sweeping our communities, should definitely read Alfred W. McCoy’s The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia.

Quaalude: “It’s the perfect drug to knock out a generation. It’s heroin without the needles and the stigma.” The use of Quaaludes, despite a lot of unfavorable publicity about them, is steadily increasing, and more of our people are getting downed out and fucked over than is possible to imagine. We’ve talked a lot about Quaaludes in the past so this time I just want to give out a few facts about Quaaludes that many people don’t know. Methaqualone, the chemical name for Quaaludes, is produced by a number of different drug companies. The drug itself is the same, only the name and the packaging are different. Quaaludes are made by Rorer, Sopars are made by Arnar Stone (these are sometimes called AS’s for Azzies because of the initials on the pill itself). Pararest is made by Parke-Davis and Optimals are made by Wallace. It is very hard to get exact figures about sales or profit, but Rorer does report a steady increase of sales of Quaaludes of 20% every month. A Wall St. firm which did an audit of Rorer’s books, reported that profits from Quaaludes have increased from $2 million in 1969 to $4 million in 1970 and then to $6 or $7 million in 1972, or a 4000% increase in 3 years.

It’s amazing that so many people, even after all the information released, still think that they can cop THC on the streets. Real THC does not exist on the streets and in virtually all cases is PCP or PCP mixed with weak LSD. Remember, the only real THC that you can get is in those joints or bowls of hash that you smoke. We want our people to be strong, healthy, and high. PCP, Quaaludes, Reds, and all downers are meant to put people asleep, and have nothing to do with getting high at all. Only by staying high and together can we build our new alternative rainbow culture to replace the Amerikan madness. LIFE TO THE LIFE CULTURE. DEATH TO THE DEATH CULTURE.

-Mike Minnich
Tribal Council Drugs Committee