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Cancer Anxiety Study - Easing the Anxiety of Death
NEW STUDY SEEKING PARTICIPANTS (click link above for details)

The following information will provide a brief overview of the historical context in which this study is being conducted.

Medical Possibilities for Psychedelic Drugs . . . U.S. Food and Drug Administration
In a study of 31 cancer patients suffering from anxiety, depression and uncontrollable pain, 71 percent showed improvement in their physical and emotional status after each LSD session. . . . scientists say psychedelic research may serve as a way to learn more about the human brain. Writing in a 1994 National Institute on Drug Abuse report, Stephen Sz‡ra, M.D., D.Sc., former chief of the institute's biomedical research branch, said, "Recent advances in the neurosciences and cognitive sciences have created opportunities for using hallucinogens as tools in attacking the supreme mystery: How does the brain work?" . . . NIDA's Vocci believes that this time around, scientists may have a better chance to find the answer to this and other psychedelic research questions. . . . "The investigators are very serious, dedicated professionals," he said. "They're truly interested in trying to evaluate what these drugs can do."

Magic Mushrooms & Vascular Headaches
Certain species of mushrooms have long been used to treat vascular headaches. This dates back to witch doctors and medicine men. The author Lewis Carrol was known to suffer from migraine and is also suspected of using magic mushrooms. . . . In recent times, some people occasionally using either LSD or magic mushrooms recreationally have noticed a correlation between the use of these substances and a remarkable improvement in their condition. In fact a mysterious absence of headaches. However, there is also anecdotal evidence from frequent abusers of both substances citing the exact opposite, that these substances have worsened their condition. . . . What is clear is that these substances certainly have an effect on vascular headaches. It would also appear that occasional consumption of relatively low doses may bring about a remission, whereas regular consumption at higher doses may exacerbate the condition. This is not an altogether unusual occurrence among conventional treatments. For instance, radiation can both cure and cause cancer.

The History of Psychedelic Therapy with the Dying by Stanislav Grof & Joan Halifax
Although this treatment is a direct outgrowth of modern pharmacological and clinical research, it has close parallels in various contemporary non-Western cultures and its roots reach back to prehistory and the shamanic rituals and healing ceremonies of many ancient civilizations. . . . The first suggestion that psychedelic substances could be useful in the therapy of individuals dying of incurable diseases came from pediatrician Valentina Pavlovna Wasson. . . . The Wassons were deeply impressed by the powerful effect of the mushrooms that they ingested in this ceremony. Roger Heim, the French mycologist whose aid the Wassons sought, identified the mushrooms botanically as Psilocybe mexicana and its congeners; he then sent samples to the laboratories of the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Sandoz, for chemical analysis. In 1957 Valentina Pavlovna Wasson gave an interview in This Week magazine about the history of this discovery and her own experience after the ingestion of the Mexican sacred mushrooms. She expressed the opinion that if the active agent could be isolated and a sufficient supply assured, it might become a vital tool in the study of psychic processes. She also stated that as the drug would become better known, medical uses would be found for it, perhaps in the treatment of alcoholism, narcotic addiction, mental disorders, and terminal diseases associated with severe pain. . . . The beneficial influence of a single administration of 100 micrograms of LSD on physical pain, mood, and sleep patterns was similar to the preceding studies. In addition, Kast described a variety of changes in the patients that made their situation more tolerable. He noticed improved communication both between the observer and the patients and among the patients themselves; this enhanced their morale and self-respect and created a sense of cohesion and community among them. Quite significant, also, was the occurrence of "happy, oceanic feelings" lasting up to twelve days following the administration of LSD. Kast stated explicitly that a certain change in philosophical and religious attitudes in relationship to dying took place that were not reflected in his numerical data and graphs.

Heffter Research Institute Announcement

posted by Lorenzo 12:54 PM

 

STUNNING! Mars Fullscreen panoramic image in Quicktime Virtual Reality
Before NASA lost the main signal from its Mars rover, a magnificent series of photos were sent back to Earth that reveal a complete 360 degree panorama of the landing site. You can take control of this display and pan, zoom, even move your point of view. If you are in the proper mood, the link above can lead you to a truly mystical experience.

posted by Lorenzo 9:45 AM

 

Wireless Hacking is EASY
(Practically Wireless Newsletter, January 2004)
Armchair Wi-Fi installations have made a mess of wireless security and hackers have never had so much fun! SOHO and many medium and even some large businesses have cheaped out on wireless installation costs by not deploying adequate wireless security. Saving on security by installing their own Wi-Fi hardware has already been expensive for many, but they’re paying for it quietly. After all, would you tell anyone if you didn’t setup adequate Wi-Fi security and then your customer database was stolen as a result? . . . Wi-Fi hacking is EASY. Protecting a wireless network requires much more skill and creativity. In short, it’s not for the armchair wireless types. Keeping data safe on wireless networks may not be easy, but it can be done. It requires a thorough knowledge of all technologies involved and more importantly, the ability to think like a hacker. . . . The complete mess that wireless security is in right now is because it appears easy. Just setup an access point, turn on WEP (or more often, not) and away you go! Wrong! WEP, mac address filtering and personal firewall software is no match for even a moderately good hacker with motivation. The tools we used in class made Swiss cheese of everything that was available at the time to protect SOHO users. Some of the enterprise class wireless stuff also has subtle flaws in it that allows hackers to slip in unnoticed too. . . . On a recent war drive through San Diego business districts, I found up to 70% of wireless deployments didn’t even have WEP turned on. . . . Wireless hackers think this is better than the best video game on earth. They can hack your network from down the block, steal credit card numbers, social security info that could be used to steal your data or, gulp… your customers identity and credit info and have only the remotest chances of being caught. The slight chance of being caught adds a thrill to the operation that they couldn’t get with online video gaming and the possible rewards make it, irresistible. . . . It’s a target rich environment for hackers. But hackers have lots of time.

posted by Lorenzo 2:56 PM

 

What It Costs Drug Companies To Produce Some of the More Popular Prescriptions
Do you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company to obtain the active ingredient in a prescription medication? Life Extension did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA . . . These exorbitant profit margins also provide incentive for drug companies to get their patented molecules approved by the FDA, whether they kill people or not. . . . Take the cholesterol-lowering drug Baychol®, for example, which was removed from the market after killing 100 people. . . . The problem is that no life was saved because of Baychol®. Anyone who may have benefited from Baychol could have obtained the same results from other statin drugs. So when drug companies justify the high price of drugs because of research costs, remember that most of the so-called novel compounds they develop will not save a single life, as they are no different than what is already available. . . . Now that you know the outrageous profit margins on prescription drugs, you can understand why drug companies do almost anything to prevent competition from developing. Large drug companies intensely lobby Congress to pass laws that give them extra time of exclusivity, file lawsuits to delay generic competition, petition the FDA to stop the importation of lower cost medications, and go as far as to pay off generic companies to not compete. . . . Drug companies spend big dollars protecting their illicit monopoly, all of which is reflected in the price consumers pay for their prescription drugs.

Celebrex® 100 mg  $130.27     $0.60          21,712%

Claritin® 10 mg   $215.17     $0.71           30,306%

Keflex® 250 mg    $157.39     $1.88            8,372%

Lipitor® 20 mg    $272.37     $5.80            4,696%

Norvasc® 10 mg    $188.29     $0.14          134,493%

Paxil® 20 mg      $220.27     $7.60            2,898%

Prevacid® 30 mg   $344.77     $1.01           34,136%

Prilosec® 20 mg   $360.97     $0.52           69,417%

Prozac® 20 mg     $247.47     $0.11          224,973%

Tenormin® 50 mg   $104.47     $0.13           80,362%

Vasotec® 10 mg    $102.37     $0.20           51,185%

Xanax® 1mg        $136.79     $0.024         569,958%

Zestril® 20 mg    $89.89     $3.20            2,809%

Zithromax® 600mg 1,482.19     $18.78           7,892%

Zocor® 40mg       $350.27     $8.63           4,059%

Zoloft® 50mg      $206.87     $1.75          11,821%

posted by Lorenzo 7:29 PM

 

Major Bribery Scandal at National Institutes of Health
When you see the terms "secret consultancy fees" and "drug companies" mentioned in the same article, you know it's time to fasten your seat belts. But this time it goes way beyond fees paid to individual doctors. This time the fee recipients are highly placed officials with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). . . . Hats off to David Willman, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning reporter for the Los Angeles Times, who recently concluded a five-year investigation of the inner workings of the NIH. Mr. Willman's article reveals that hundreds of thousands of dollars of drug company consulting fees have been paid to top NIH officials who oversee the clinical trials of drugs. . . . more than 90 percent of NIH officials are allowed to keep their consulting income confidential. In addition, many of them sign confidentiality agreements with the companies from whom they receive fees and corporate stock options. . . . If there were ever a situation tailor-made for conflict of interest, this would be it. . . . In an NIH study of a drug to treat kidney inflammation related to lupus, one of the subjects receiving the drug died of a complication that was believed to be related to the drug. But the senior NIH official connected to the study didn't stop the study, nor did he attempt to warn the medical community of the potential danger of the drug. . . . That official was a paid consultant for the company that produced the drug. And in the past 10 years, he received well over half a million dollars in consulting fees from various drug companies and biomedical firms. . . . And he wasn't alone. According to the LA Times article, among his many colleagues who provided consulting services, one of them has accepted almost $1.5 million in fees. . . . In 2003 the NIH comprises 27 individual institutes, more than 18,000 employees, an annual budget of almost $28 billion this fiscal year, and a very protective bureaucracy. . . . And last month, NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni announced that he would study the situation by forming a committee. . . . Well, well, well... a committee! Now that IS impressive! What next? A memo?

[LINK TO LA TIMES STORY: D. Willman, “Stealth merger: Drug companies and government medical research,” Los Angeles Times, December 7, 2003. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nih7dec07 ... of course, the LA TIMES has no concept of the Spirit of the Internet and charges for access to this article. If anyone has a link to this story that is freely accessible, we ask that you post it in the COMMENT section. Thank you.]

posted by Lorenzo 2:12 PM