Caffeinated talks.

“Among those who refute or openly discount the importance of psychoactive substances in the Greco-Roman mystery cults, it is often clear that such opinions have arisen out of ideological presentism. In many instances, errors and oversights are unintentional and entirely understandable, being perhaps the result of an all-too-human nearsightedness which distorts our attempts to experience the texts and material evidence in the way the ancients did. In other instances, these refutations are deliberately construed from a selective misreading of the scholarship to the exclusion the quality of evidence. Refutations of legitimate research have revealed the deep-seated conservative anxieties of certain scholars over drugs. These anxieties are then buoyed by the late 20th century neo-conservative “All drugs are evil!” discourse propagated by public service announcements and news media outlets depicting meth-labs, heroine fiends, crack dens, and inner-city gangs. When the past is used to legitimize the present, to write about drugs beyond the narrow confines of the ‘treat-the-addict’ and ‘incarcerate-the-criminal’ paradigms creates potential risks. Prohibitionist rhetoric, typically demonstrating little understanding of man’s prehistoric relationship with psychoactive substances, has led to the widespread belief that if an individual does not condemn the consumption of illegal substances, then he himself must be an outlaw or addict and therefore incapable of rational inquiry and unbiased research. These denunciations perpetuate a shy, sterilized, and ‘Victorian’ reconstruction of the past while stifling honest historical inquiry. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of hallucinogenic plants have neither dangerous long-term effects nor addictive properties. Whether or not one believes the use of mind-altering substances by moderns or ancients is morally objectionable, it is an irrefutable fact that these substances have had an extensive part to play in the development of human culture and religion, and will likely continue to do so.”

hearing Jenna’s voice again was so great, i just wish it was under better circumstances :(