Stories on the news are only good if they can scare people. I know for a fact that many news reports are so far from accurate that it makes the tabloids look more trustworthy. Sensationalism is the news these days. I do think that soon the ability to make the spice will be comprimised considerably and new resources will need to be utilized that cannot be so easily controlled. The issue now is that DMT has become too well known. Too many people who shouldnt be taking on this journey are doing so and as a result things go badly for them with the news distorting it even further then you can see how society will revolt against it's use.

Personally I do not believe a 17 year old has the ability to deal with the spice. I know I didnt at 17. It is something you need to have some experience under your belt to put it into context and deal with it. It is a powerful compound that alternates your reality in a way that for the first time used is hard to deal with.

Hey Snozzle, please don't be offended, I was just expressing an opinion, albeit a bit of an impulsive one admitedly.
Don't forget that I also said I would love to be wrong and asked to be corrected!
No reason to be offended.
And thanks for sharing your healing stories, I appreciate that...
And please pardon my deviance from the thread's theme, even though related, the observation/opinions are suited more for another thread-- I agree.

Even if it does get blown out of proportion, there are definitely things that can be done.

First, the media is not in and of itself against us. Mass media is a heavy weapon, but NOT a heavy weapon held in the hands of the sensationalist few. It is a heavy weapon available to anyone who has a good news story. This means that it is a heavy weapon available to the people who write up this girl's death, but it is ALSO available to those who want to refute the claim that DMT had anything to do with it.

If DMT is proclaimed to be the next "evil drug killing our wee children", then I bet newspapers and magazine would pay good money for a well-written and scientifically-backed article on why DMT is NOT evil, and why that girl's death was probably not caused by DMT.

If said shitstorm happens, a good move would be to put together a kick-ass article revealing DMT's inherent harmlessness when used correctly, and send it off to everyone who will run it. Given the powers of the Nexus, that's probably well possible. And let me be the first to say that I will gladly "come out of the closet" to my folks and friends in order to preserve the truth about DMT, if that truth becomes endangered.

Fight fire with fire, fellows.

definitely sad news

DMT is becoming surprisingly popular though, not so weird and obscure anymore here in the uk
When I first found this place no-one had even heard of it, now a fair few people had tried it at some party or another, know people who can get it...

My chief hope is that DMT is so incredibly wild that it should encourage some respect,
Avoid this kind of thing happening... but it did happen I guess.

I think we should all face the fact that even if the toxicology results don't directly implicate DMT this time there will in all likelihood be someone somewhere that messes up somehow in the future, and its gonna make news.

Bananaforeskin wrote:



that's what I'm talking about! Great idea BF. At the very least it could be an editorial in some major publications.

JBArk

That didn't help keep salvia under the radar. Salvia can be as wild as DMT, if not more so.

Some teens will do almost anything that is psychoactive, from sniffing glue, to binge drinking. Teens die all the time from these kings of dangerous acts. And yet you can still buy alcohol, and still buy glue. The drug laws make no sense at all.

I don’t believe the drug in question was really DMT though, but something more toxic being passed off as DMT. I’ve never heard of a shaman dying from snorting DMT. Virola calophylla resin contains mostly DMT and it is used by shamans as snuff, and it’s not known to be dangerous.

some teens will put vodka in their eyes

Some teens are semi-respectable, Transcendental-Object-fearing psychedelics users and extractors with a healthy sense of why not to put vodka in their eyes.

Seems a lot of people have missed that she drowned in a pond; this could be nothing to do with the dmt whatsoever, it could be a suicide that could have been precipitated by dmt, it could be a mistake while under the influence of it (although this seems doubtful due to the short duration and the fact that she was sober enough to communicate with people when leaving), but of course it will be passed off in the media as 'death from dmt'.

Side note:

'News' like this is a good reminder that the majority of 'news' reporting is flawed and incomplete. When we have an iota of knowledge about the subject matter, we are quick to shoot it down. Remember that lesson when considering ALL news that is presented to you regardless of subject matter and your familiarity with it. Question and research everything before accepting it.

I don't think anyone's missed that, the vast majority of responses have acknowledged the fact that dmt does not cause death and that there are a plethora of suspicious circumstances surrounding this story that point to dmt being the scapegoat, not the culprit.

Plumsmooth...ok I admit that was some hyperbole, I'm not actually offended, I've got nothing but love for ya . I just don't like hearing that ayahuasca users are more respectful or more aimed towards healing than people who smoke dmt as it does not fit with my experienced reality. I would more than emphatically agree that DMT freebase is abused more than ayahuasca, but that stems out of the fact that the types of people who abuse psychedelics (festy-raver-druggie kids, w/e you wanna call them, you know who I mean) are much more likely to find dmt freebase and do whatever with it than they are to actually take the time to research and brew their own ayahuasca.

Personally, I think that any 22-year old who's giving dmt to high school kids (or anyone under 18 ) is asking for trouble. Yea, they've made him out as some hardcore monster, but he himself either sent or had a text on his phone taking responsibility for her death as a result of him giving her DMT. This is a case where the guy gave the media more than enough ammo to start a firestorm, even if that firestorm is entirely without basis. As the primary suspect, if he says dmt killed her, that's what the news media is gonna run with; a poor 17-year old girl was given some wild exotic drug that killed her, regardless of what the facts (or 2 minutes of legitimate research) say.

In the first place let me apologize if my remarks sound cynical. I KNOW how media works, I know what makes journalists tick, what is news worthy and what is not. Having in my acquaintances the director of one of the leading newspapers in my country also helps...



That's right, the media is not against us. They are on their side always and their side is the side that sells.

This is news and it sells newspapers and has a chance to appear on TV:



This is not news and would never appear on TV


If mentalities change we may have a chance. For now we are at the mercy of a frightened public fed continuously by a fear mongered media. This has been the story of the ban of all psychedelic substances, from morphine to marijuana to LSD to everything else. Our society drugs have been decided and numbered. Among those you can find ethanol, nicotine, benzodiazepines and other related substances. Anything different will sound threatening, and threatening things do sell news.

I moved this thread to the nursery so that everyone in the forum can discuss this event...leave no man behind...or woman either

Agreed that that particular headline might never sell... but say there is this media sensation: "Teen Found Dead: Death Caused By New Drug". The potential evil of DMT is proclaimed all across the media. THEN the headline "Experts Say DMT Is Not Dangerous" could probably sell in response.

File a foya request for the coroners report

Any death from whatever cause is regrettable. By making certain drugs illegal, then the accompanying knowledge that would a) help determine whether or not the individual had an allergy or intolerance to specific of those drugs, and b) knowledge and experiences to guide those who could commune with their chosen one, is also buried. I think the media and the politicians have created a cyclic argument against drugs by the removal of the knowledge and experience available by the same legislation that bans certain drugs. Sounds like the Pygmalion effect in action.

Perhaps we can use the Pygmalion effect to our benefit by continuing to believe and expect the best positives that are generated by our chosen associations that have led us to this, and for some, other forums.

I can't help wondering if the main reason behind outlawing substances is more to do with tribalism. That is to say, what brings people together separate from the "In crowd" is a bad thing - at least perceived as bad by those who consider themselves the "In Crowd". I agree with all the comments that relate to love replacing fear. What we focus on with emotion sends a message to that part of our mind that deals with such "instructions" (called unconscious, subconscious or even the prover) and then it finds a way with the vast storehouse of resources, experiences, etc., to carry out what it thinks is a command. In some hypnosis circles, the expression "Where attention goes, energy flows" is used.

I wonder, if those carrying out their sacraments, journeys and other experiences related to our common ground, were to say their prayer, affirmation, or just focus their intent on asking their allies to provide the answers we need, before they took the journey, then someone, somewhere might just become connected directly with what we can do to positively help this situation?

It may not come overnight, it may not come wholly from one individual (or it might!). Isn't this one of the reasons we are together in this forum, to help?

It will probably be that it could just all blow over. But perhaps it can serve a great purpose. It has already been hinted at in posts here and shamans I am sure have and are doing it. I apologise in advance if it has already been directly suggested in posts I haven't yet read, but using our experiences to find unique solutions and benefits - just by asking in the right way before entering Hyperspace - seems a fantastic opportunity to grow in our separate directions together, not just by combining our own vast individual resources, but by being able to properly and respectfully tap into that limitless and amazing resource of Hyperspace.

Well, I hope I haven't gone on for too long!

Peace, Love and continued positive and progressive growth.

trancenut

Although I agree that the average 17 year old is probably not equipped to handle the DMT experience, that doesn't mean they can't do it. Personally I think that age is totally irrelevant. I've know older people who are not equipped to handle the something as commonplace as cannabis. I've know 16 year olds who love and respect DMT as a medicine. I think its all in intention, and setting. If smoke DMT for your first time at a party, have been drinking, and are doing it with someone you just meet, I'd say the chances are that you'd have a pretty rough journey. It IS a powerful compound and should not be taken lightly, however how do we know if this honor student took DMT, she wouldn't have come back with the answer to save us all? We don't.

Also even if she did ingest DMT how could they prove that? I was under the impression it completely leaves you system after around 30 minutes. Not counting what is there endogenously.

I missed that. I didn't read the whole thing.

Its quite obvious from the article that the dmt wasnt connected to the death but it really does look that way to the ill informed.

What could the repercussions of this be? Would they make MHRB illegal? would they make MHRB illegal?

picking up a little steam this story, but doesn't seem to have broken beyond the local area yet:

Here's an example of the sort of lazy journalism and sensationalist headlines you woudl expect:

Headline says 'DMT found in Teen's Body' - which, as we all know is clearly bullshit. It doesn't even refer to it in the body of the text. Other articles say the toxicology report is nto yet in, and of course dmt wouldn't show up anyway.

And some more scaremongering misinformation here.

This report seems well researched and accurate, though - but no less scary to those who would be afraid: