Today - I'll be attending a satellite meeting with Howard Lotsof - the man that brought the world IBOGAINE. He has agreed to an interview which we hope to publish in Black Poppy Magazine very soon (perhaps next issue) and it will be fascinating to hear what has been happening with Ibogaine over the last decade. More and more people are using it in the UK and it was interesting when having a chat with Howard that he mentioned he was totally unprepared for the support he has had from drug users themselves. Ibogaine is a (root/vine?) from the Iboga treenand had been used for years to help people overcome addiction. The actual discussion around Ibogaine is that it can 'cure' people of their addiction after just one attempt. Many are sceptical but many have tried it with success. It is a heavy duty 24 hour hallucinatory experience - and afterwards, with the help of a guide who is with you throughout the experience, you will move on and out through your addiction. It sounds too good to be true and I think that is one of the problems they, Howard et al, have faced, however there has also been some suspicious resistance from the pharmaceutical profession - apparently due to the fact that the last thing they want is people giving up drugs - any drugs. They refuse to fund reserach despite the thousands of people who have tried ibogaine - and have been at war with Howard for decades. If my facts are slightly skewed, please forgive me as I will be finding out a lot more about it today - and will bring back the news.
I still havent managed to tell you about the wonderful Jack Cole from LEAP though I will get something down today - and perhaps we will have time to give you a brief update from all the filming we have been doing - a five minute chat to all the user activists from around the world, asking them what are the biggest issues facing drug users in their countries today amongst a few other things. But you know what is consistantly coming up - over and over again? The biggest issue almost everyone faces - is stigma and discrimination. That is at the root cause of all of the problems for all of us - and its one of the hardest ones to change. Till tonite ( I promise to keep trying with uploading the videos).
