A sign of the times?

[BlendsAreMyFriends]

The security setting of the Socal Facebook was changed from closed to secret.

I winder if it was reactive or proactive.

[herbalhippie]

Herbal RVA is still closed.

[whiffypants]

But both their websites are still up, thank God. You both had me worried for a minute.

[herbalhippie]

SITSA gets voted on in the Senate today, right?

[e_poison]

SITSA gets voted on in the Senate today, right?

No, today is the house vote. But it still has to pass the senate. The senate is where the AKA has their lobbying power.

It must pass both places before it can be signed into law. So even if the vote today is not in our favor, it's not the end of the world.

[whiffypants]

I read -- maybe it was Psilocybe Fanaticus? sorry, don't remember -- that it's not likely to pass today, if only because there are enough Dems and Republican holdouts that don't want the FDA to have that much immediate, unchecked power over non-prescription substances. And it's not just kratom: nootropics, legal analogues, "research chemicals", and all kinds of things are in danger as well.

SOOOO many people rely on non-traditional substances just to get through the day, and the fact that we have shit for healthcare insurance in this country doesn't help. They will never be counted because all of this is outside the usual bean-counting of business, not to mention the things we prefer to talk about as a country, but it's huge.

So if SITSA passes, it is not an exaggeration to say that -millions- will suffer for it, in both small and life-altering (perhaps life-ending) ways, not just because of kratom but because of all the millions of things people rely on that are not regulated, prescribed or even prescribable.

And apparently the sole prerequisite for regulating (*cough* banning) a specific substance these days is that it hit somebody powerful in the wallet. The powers that be have already proven beyond any possible doubt that science has jack shit to do with their processes.

So even if SITSA doesn't get knocked down today it's not the end of the world, as you say, but -damn- I'm still hoping it does. To me it's not just a battle for kratom, but one of the last battles we may face as Americans for the very few remaining shreds of decency and humanity we possess as a country. If we can't even care for our own, but also have to rip every last cheap-but-effective panacea out of the hands of the poor for the profit of a few, who the fuck are we anyway?

Okay, rant over. Sorry 'bout that. Carry on.