Der in Florida lebende investigative Journalist Hank Albarelli hat in seinem neuen Buch »A Teribble Mistake« ein weiteres Verbrechen der CIA aufgekälrt. Unter dem Namen l’affaire du pain maudit (zu Deutsch: Affäre des verfluchten Brotes) ist eine Massenvergiftung bekannt, die sich am 16 August 1951 in Pont-Saint-Esprit ereignete. Die Ursache war verunreinigtes Brot der örtlichen Bäckerei Roch Briand, welches neben Übelkeit und Erbrechen auch psychotische Symptome hervorrief. Sieben Personen starben bei Panikanfällen, 50 wurden in psychiatrische Kliniken eingewiesen, weitere 250 Personen litten unter mehr oder weniger schweren Vergiftungssymptomen. Die Einwohner der Stadt gerieten in Panik, und es gab langanhaltende und weitreichende Spekulationen über die Ursache der Vergiftungserscheinungen. Wegen der teilweise halluzinatorischen Symptome wurde von den örtlichen Gesundheitsbehörden eine Mutterkornvergiftung (Ergotismus) vermutet, die aber nie bestätigt werden konnte. Weitere Hypothesen machten eine Quecksilberverbindung, die zur Desinfektion von Getreide verwendet wurde.

taz.de

This essay, which tells the story of the inventor of LSD and his ‘problem child's' turbulent history, is taken from Hofmann's Elixir: LSD and the New Eleusis. It first appeared on brainwaving.com

If, as Albert Hofmann believes, it was not he who discovered LSD, but rather LSD that found him, then indeed it chose wisely. For, as those who know him are aware, Albert and his Wunderkind are a very well-matched pair. It is a rare thing in the modern world, or in any world, for a man to live beyond a century. But to live so long with senses so intact and above all with his luminous intellect undimmed, is so exceptional as to suggest a strikingly remarkable individual. He takes pride in the collage, made by an admirer, juxtaposing portraits of Newton, Einstein and Hofmann, three men who have fundamentally transformed the way we conceive reality. Apart from his scientific achievements, it is his personal qualities -- the nobility of his character, the humanity and breadth of his vision, and his humility and awe before the beauty of Creation -- that mark him out as an outstanding natural philosopher.

realitysandwich.com

PARIS: In 1951 a quiet village in southern France was suddenly and mysteriously struck down with mass insanity and hallucinations. At least five people died, dozens were committed to asylums and hundreds afflicted.

For decades it was assumed that the local bread had been unwittingly poisoned with a psychedelic mould. Now an even more extraordinary explanation has emerged, with evidence suggesting the CIA peppered food with the hallucinogenic drug LSD as part of a mind-control experiment at the height of the Cold War.

The mystery of Le Pain Maudit (''The Cursed Bread'') still haunts Pont-Saint-Esprit, in the Gard, south-east France. On August 16, 1951, the inhabitants suddenly suffered frightful hallucinations of terrifying beasts and fire.

smh.com.au
telegraph.co.uk

Der seit 40 Jahren vor allem militärisch geführte Krieg gegen die Drogen hat wenig am Grundproblem geändert

Es war 1969, als Richard Nixon den Begriff erfand. Angelehnt an den von seinem Vorgänger Lyndon B. Johnson kreierten "Krieg gegen die Armut" rief der 37. US-Präsident den "Krieg gegen die Drogen" aus. Im Rahmen der auf 20 Tage angelegten Operation Intercept wurde im September 1969 jedes einzelne Auto, das von Mexiko in die USA unterwegs war, an den Grenzstationen durchsucht. Zusammen mit einer verstärkten Überwachung der Grenzen sollte damit verhindert werden, dass das immer beliebter werdenden Haschisch zur Haupterntezeit in großen Mengen ins noch von Flowerpower beseelte Amerika geschmuggelt wurde.

Aufzählung Grauzone Cannabis: Gestern Rauschgift, heute Medizin

wienerzeitung.at

Kansas is now the first state in the nation to ban the sale and possession of synthetic marijuana.

Gov. Mark Parkinson on Wednesday signed legislation outlawing the substance, which is sold commercially under the brand name K2. It contains chemicals which act on the brain like marijuana.

kansascity.com

4:20 statt Spice

Dutch coffeeshop owner Nol van Schaik is calling all coffeeshop owners for a nationwide strike during the Dutch national parliament election day on June 9. By keeping the doors of coffeeshops closed for one day, he wants to warn visitors that this could become an everyday reality when rightwing parties form a coalition.

azarius.net

Cops sniffed out $10 million worth of marijuana plants, the largest pot-growing bust in New Jersey history, state police said Wednesday.

Officers detected the smell of marijuana wafting from the chimney of a Monroe Township home last month and found a man inside burning unusable parts of pot plants in the fireplace, police said.

nydailynews.com
old zack

A woman's failure to pay her water bill in Plum led to the discovery of $2.7 million worth of marijuana stashed in her unit in Holiday Park Apartments.

The home of Tameicina Lynn Johnson, 38, is believed to be the "distribution hub" of a drug-dealing operation extending from Mexico to New York City, said Plum police Detective Mark Focareta. The suspect, who works for an agency that provides assistance to mentally challenged children, also has a home in Staten Island, N.Y., Focareta said.

pittsburghlive.com