Getting an in...
I have come to the Breaking Convention 2015 for one reason – I want to meet with leading researchers in the field of medical cannabis and psychedelic therapy.
Through a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, I ended up in London, at the Breaking Convention, but without a ticket for admission and without recourse to obtain such a ticket.
As such, I snuck into the event, and decided to hide away in a little side-room with a big arched window, until the initial process of participant registration subsided. Then, I hypothesized, I would be able to mingle comfortably in the crowd without having event staff notice the fact that I wasn’t wearing a conference lanyard.
Through a series of fortunate and unfortunate events, I ended up in London, at the Breaking Convention, but without a ticket for admission and without recourse to obtain such a ticket.
As such, I snuck into the event, and decided to hide away in a little side-room with a big arched window, until the initial process of participant registration subsided. Then, I hypothesized, I would be able to mingle comfortably in the crowd without having event staff notice the fact that I wasn’t wearing a conference lanyard.
So there I sat in the side-room, trying to mind my own business, when a gentleman entered, apparently also looking for a place to enjoy some restful quiet; but having found me seated here already, he introduced himself.
Allan Badiner.
Allan thought he had come a long way to be here, and indeed he had, having travelled from California to be in attendance. He was thus impressed when he learned that I had come all the way from Australia!
“Nowhere is as far away as Australia!” – he rightly pointed out.
Turns out, Allan is the author of a book called Zig, Zag, Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, and will be speaking on the final day of the conference.
It also just so happens that Allan is well connected among those involved in psychedelic research.
He mentioned that at a promotional event held for his book last night, he was joined by Rick Doblin.
Rick is the one person I have been most eager to meet with because, as a result of listening to many of his presentations and interviews, and reading detailed accounts about him in Tom Schroder’s book Acid Test, I already feel a sense that he and I are kindred spirits. Furthermore, as founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Rick is also very well connected in the medical cannabis and psychedelic therapy research fields. In fact, much of the resurgence in psychedelic research can be credited directly to Rick’s determined efforts for the past thirty years.
As such, I was very happy when Allan said that he would introduce me to Rick later this evening.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for, and though I don’t yet know what, if anything, will come of my meeting with Rick, I am already glad just to have met, completely unexpectedly, with Allan.
We got on well and chatted for more than an hour.
He told me the interesting and little known history of cannabis use in the Western world...
Though cannabis had been used medicinally for millennia in the East, it wasn’t until British contact with India that the Western world discovered the cannabis plant and its medicinal value.
In America, pharmaceutical companies of all shapes and sizes began producing cannabis-based medicines for a wide range of conditions. Due to the fact that it worked so well, cannabis quickly became one of the most wide-spread and highest selling medicines in the United States.
To illustrate his point, he showed me some images from Google:
Allan Badiner.
Allan thought he had come a long way to be here, and indeed he had, having travelled from California to be in attendance. He was thus impressed when he learned that I had come all the way from Australia!
“Nowhere is as far away as Australia!” – he rightly pointed out.
Turns out, Allan is the author of a book called Zig, Zag, Zen: Buddhism and Psychedelics, and will be speaking on the final day of the conference.
It also just so happens that Allan is well connected among those involved in psychedelic research.
He mentioned that at a promotional event held for his book last night, he was joined by Rick Doblin.
Rick is the one person I have been most eager to meet with because, as a result of listening to many of his presentations and interviews, and reading detailed accounts about him in Tom Schroder’s book Acid Test, I already feel a sense that he and I are kindred spirits. Furthermore, as founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Rick is also very well connected in the medical cannabis and psychedelic therapy research fields. In fact, much of the resurgence in psychedelic research can be credited directly to Rick’s determined efforts for the past thirty years.
As such, I was very happy when Allan said that he would introduce me to Rick later this evening.
This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping for, and though I don’t yet know what, if anything, will come of my meeting with Rick, I am already glad just to have met, completely unexpectedly, with Allan.
We got on well and chatted for more than an hour.
He told me the interesting and little known history of cannabis use in the Western world...
Though cannabis had been used medicinally for millennia in the East, it wasn’t until British contact with India that the Western world discovered the cannabis plant and its medicinal value.
In America, pharmaceutical companies of all shapes and sizes began producing cannabis-based medicines for a wide range of conditions. Due to the fact that it worked so well, cannabis quickly became one of the most wide-spread and highest selling medicines in the United States.
To illustrate his point, he showed me some images from Google:
It's one thing to hear about how cannabis has been used as a medicine in times gone by, but it seems a lot more real when you can actually see the physical remnants of those past days.
In any case, I had a good start to the conference, despite not having a ticket, and now could look forward with peace of mind, knowing I would soon get my chance to speak with Rick.
(Note: later on in the conference, I was able to come to an agreement with the event organizers so that I didn't have to keep sneaking in!)
In any case, I had a good start to the conference, despite not having a ticket, and now could look forward with peace of mind, knowing I would soon get my chance to speak with Rick.
(Note: later on in the conference, I was able to come to an agreement with the event organizers so that I didn't have to keep sneaking in!)