Erowid, also called
The Vaults of Erowid, is an online
libraryIn a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of information about
psychoactive plants and chemicalsA psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
and other topics on
altered states of consciousnessAn altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
such as
meditationMeditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
and
lucid dreamingA lucid dream is a dream in which one is aware that one is dreaming. The term was coined by the Dutch psychiatrist and writer Frederik van Eeden . In a lucid dream, the dreamer can actively participate in and manipulate imaginary experiences in the dream environment. Lucid dreams can seem real and...
. It provides information about legal and illegal substances, including their desired and adverse effects. The site is organized by substance, ranging from common substances like
alcoholAn alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
, to unusual ones such as
Bromo-DragonFLYBromo-DragonFLY is a psychedelic hallucinogenic drug related to the phenethylamine family. Bromo-DragonFLY is considered an extremely potent hallucinogen, only slightly less potent than LSD with a normal dose in the region of 200 μg to 800 μg, and it has an extremely long duration of action up to...
.
The information on the site is gathered from diverse sources including published literature, experts in related fields, and the experiences of the general public. Erowid acts as a publisher of new information as well as a library for the collection of documents and images published elsewhere.
Organizational history
Erowid was founded in April 1995; the Erowid.org website appeared six months later. The name "Erowid" was chosen to reflect the organization's stated philosophy of education. Using Proto-Indo-European linguistic roots, "Erowid" roughly translates into "Earth Wisdom" (
er meaning 'earth,' 'exist,' and 'be born' and
wid meaning 'knowledge' / 'wisdom' or 'to see'). Since January 1, 2008, it has operated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization under the name Erowid Center.
The organization is supported by donations, and its
websiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
is free of advertisements. Although its primary focus is on the website, Erowid also provides research and data for other
harm reductionHarm reduction refers to a range of public health policies designed to reduce the harmful consequences associated with recreational drug use and other high risk activities...
, health, and
educationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
al organizations.
Fire Erowid and Earth Erowid are the
pseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s of the two creators of the site. Both work full-time on the project, along with speaking at conferences, producing original research, and contributing to
entheogenAn entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
ic research.
According to the site, the creators' vision includes creating a "world where people treat psychoactives with respect and awareness; where people work together to collect and share knowledge in ways that strengthen their understanding of themselves and provide insight into the complex choices faced by individuals and societies alike" Erowid Center's mission is to archive and disseminate independent accurate information. According to one study, this mission has largely been successful.
The organization is based in
northern CaliforniaNorthern California is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The San Francisco Bay Area , and Sacramento as well as its metropolitan area are the main population centers...
and the main servers are located in San Francisco.
Online library
The library contains over 50,000 documents related to psychoactives, including images, research summaries and abstracts,
faqsFrequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
,
mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
articles, experience reports, information on
chemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, dosage, effects,
lawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
,
healthHealth is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
, traditional and
spiritual useAn entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
, and drug testing. Over 55,000 people visit the site each day (Nov 2008).
The site generally contains more detail in the pages listed under plants and chemicals than other sections. It does not have comprehensive information about the specific effects of most pharmaceuticals. Such information may appear elsewhere on the site, where one can read about people's individual reactions to various drugs.
Erowid allows visitors to submit their own personal experiences with psychoactive substances for review and possible publication. The site states that they welcome all perspectives regarding personal psychoactive experience, including positive, negative and neutral.
Experience Vaults
Erowid allows site visitors to submit descriptions of their own personal experiences with psychoactive substances for review and possible publication. The site states that they welcome all perspectives regarding personal psychoactive experience, including positive, negative and neutral.
Their collection consists of more than 20,000 edited, reviewed, and published reports, as well as stating that they have another 40,000 unpublished reports undergoing review.
EcstasyData
Erowid also co-sponsors and manages
EcstasyData.org, an American street-ecstasy testing project. Tablets of street ecstasy can be anonymously submitted to a DEA licensed laboratory for testing and then photos of the tablets and GC/MS test results are published on the project's website. EcstasyData has published testing results for more than 1,000 tablets. Testing costs have sometimes been covered by project funding (when available) and at other times are covered by those who submit tablets for testing. Erowid took over management of this project in July 2001 and co-sponsors it along with
MAPSThe Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies is a membership-based 501 non-profit research and educational organization working to develop psychedelics and marijuana into legal prescription drugs...
and
DanceSafeDanceSafe is a nonprofit organization, with 3 local chapters in the US and Canada.DanceSafe youth volunteers set up tables at raves and other events to distribute educational literature containing information describing the effects and risks associated with the use of various drugs and sell testing...
.
Erowid Extracts
Erowid Extracts, the bi-annual members newsletter of Erowid, has been published each year since 2001. It provides updates on the organization's activities, results of surveys conducted on Erowid.org, experience reports, new articles on various aspects of psychedelic and psychoactive plants and drugs, and information about psychedelic culture and events. New issues of Erowid Extracts are sent to members, but past issues are available on the Erowid website.
Criticisms and controversies
Due to the controversial subject matter presented on Erowid.org, the site has drawn praise and criticism from both the media and medical officials. American physician and broadcaster
Dean EdellDoctor Dean Edell is an American physician and broadcaster who hosted the Dr. Dean Edell radio program, a syndicated radio talk show which aired live from 1979 until December 10, 2010.- Private life :...
often recommends Erowid to listeners interested in learning about drugs and drug use. On the other hand, Edward Boyer, an emergency-room physician and toxicologist, while admitting that Erowid has a plethora of useful information, argued the site may cause more harm than good to potential drug users. "Though Boyer has since come to cautiously admire Earth and Fire, and no longer refers to their site as 'partisan,' he still argues that Erowid minimizes adverse effects and includes too much dodgy — and potentially harmful — data in its quest to present all sides. 'Erowid is so comprehensive, and so much of the information is correct, that unless you're an expert in medical toxicology you may miss the dangerous information that's close to the surface.'" In the context of this debate, anthropologist Nicolas Langlitz argued that Erowid also serves as a mechanism of postmarket surveillance or
pharmacovigilancePharmacovigilance is the pharmacological science relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects, particularly long term and short term side effects of medicines...
in the realm of illicit and experimental substances.
Erowid.org is currently blocked by
WebsenseWebsense is a San Diego-based company specializing in Web security gateway software. It enables clients to block access to chosen categories of websites.-History:Websense was founded by Phil Trubey in 1994...
filters as "Abused Drugs." It is also blocked by school web-filters
BessSecure Web SmartFilter EDU, formerly known as Bess, is a brand of content-control software made by Secure Computing Corporation, which acquired maker N2H2 in 2003; it is usually used in libraries and schools...
, iPrism, Lightspeed, and SmartFilter as "Drugs".
See also
- Empathogen-entactogen
The terms empathogen and entactogen are used to describe a class of psychoactive drugs that produce distinctive emotional and social effects similar to those of MDMA. Putative members of this class include 2C-B, 2C-I, MDMA, MDA, MDEA, MBDB, 2C-T-7, and 2C-T-2, among others...
- Entheogen
An entheogen , in the strict sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious, shamanic, or spiritual context. Historically, entheogens were mostly derived from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious contexts...
- Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants
This general group of pharmacological agents can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness...
- Responsible drug use
Responsible drug use is a harm reduction strategy based on a belief that illegal recreational drug use can be responsible in terms of reduced or eliminated risk of negative impact on the lives of both the user and others....
External links