Erowid in LA Weekly

[daniel]

Erik Davis's long piece on Erowid:

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/04/23/features-davis.php

[Sharpie]

"..one NIDA researcher argued strongly that the two groups (National Institute on Drug Abuse, and Erowid) should not work together. Such collaboration, he said, might ruin Erowid’s reputation."

I find it funny but unfortunate that this should be the case. The very idea that an anti-drug (and government funded ??) organization such as the NIDA couldn't join forces or even be seen to collaborate with Erowid out of fear of damaging Erowid's rep just goes to show the sad state that the anti-drug population's reputation is in. Are they trying to tell us that they don't mind being thought of as "the bad guys" for the pro-drug crowd? Wouldn't they be much more effective if they dispelled their anti-drug attitude in a much more straight-forward, "here are the FACTS" sort of way (such as Erowid is currently doing)? The current scare-tactics approach that the gov't has taken (not only on the issue of drugs) clearly doesn't work, and if anything it has begun to work against itself. Afterall, how effective could any organization trying to preach mainly to youth be if they are considered to be full of false information, propaganda, and have a bad rep?

In my opinion, more of these gov't org.'s should be jumping at the chance to align themselves with sites such as Erowid (providing Erowid remains true to itself). If anything, those gov't orgs would greatly strengthen themselves and maybe wouldn't been seen as the joke they are now. The only catch is that Erowid will have to continue truckin along in the way it is now-- without gov't funding and without straying from it's reputation of providing the most factual information possible.