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The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert

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Re: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert

#81
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post #74

2019. "A forensic report concluded that the mix of the venom extracted from the toad and the cocaine had a deadly effect on Jose Luis Abad. The photographer suffered a stroke after taking the drug on a shamanic ritual gone wrong and was dead within minutes" https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2020/06/03/spains-mo... https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2023/05/09/court-dro...

Spread across 8 billions and any intense activity will have many associated deaths. Care to know how many people die yearly from ie hiking? Estimates are in low thousands. Some are from heart attacks. And don't get me started with sexual activities...

Thanks for warning about the dangers of hiking or having sex, but just because people can die by multiple reasons does not make this toxin one inch safer.

If the pros are discussed, the cons should be discussed also.

The number of people that has sexual activities repeatedly for three decades without dying is still much bigger than the number of people that licks toads repeatedly for three years without dying. One activity has been much more tested than the other.

Re: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YMMV by person, their neurochemistry, and their living environment. I need a stimulant for my specific biology to adapt to modern expectations.

FYI, you're arguing with a petty psychopath who will threaten your life when she inevidibly loses an argument because the facts and evidence are not on her side.

I’m genuinely interested to know more about this lore you seem to possess.

Also, you’re nerd-famous, this is the highlight of my week.

Re: The Psychedelic Toad of the Sonoran Desert

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love async communication, it makes it a lot harder to leave a room in a huff after saying harmful things and then pretending you did not in fact say those things. “Maybe if I was also on speed” was in fact, a personal attack. You chose to refer to my legally prescribed medication by the name used by drug dealers when selling it illegally for the purpose of drug abuse. The implication being that I am “on speed” bein…

this is the first time I've continued a thread here after saying goodbye, I wouldn't compromise my own integrity unless it was for something worth caring about. lots of other people are gonna think the way I did and I wanted you to hear an honest perspective, that way if a future conversation is absolutely crucial to you, you can be more aware of how critical conciseness is in maintaining conversational momentum. tri…

On reflection of our entire exchange I do see that I failed to adequately acknowledge and address your point in favor of advocating for what I was initially trying to communicate, so I'll do it here:

Yes, absolutely society does cause people to feel the need to rely on medication that otherwise would not be required and has long-term harmful effects on their health. I would assert however that the reliance on medication is not, in itself, the problem, and sidesteps the original discussion, which is that someone claimed "people only need these two specific drugs" and I responded that the needs of the individual vary based on their specific environment and biology, using myself as an example.

Your assertion that society is causing these people to take hard drugs they don't need, or shouldn't need, re-orients the discussion away from the claim I was originally responding to. Personally I would love to not need Adderall, and sure, if I was rich and didn't have to work I wouldn't need to take Adderall. If I grew up in a supportive environment, provided behavioral strategies that fostered better coping skills, and a whole bunch of other favorable conditions were present, I would not need to take medication at all.

But medication is not prescribed because those things didn't happen, it's prescribed because in the life I am living right now, in the conditions I'm experiencing, and with the problems I face every single day, it is what I have found to be the best solution FOR ME.

Finally, on tone: "maybe if I was also on speed I'd be interested in continuing" was not a viewpoint, it was a swipe, and I would point to the site guidelines here ("Be kind. Don't be snarky." and "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says"). I engaged with every substantive point you raised, I would have done the same without the jab, and the conversation would have been better for it.

Thanks for reading!

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