Friends of Erowid,

Erowid has broadband! It might surprise some of you to know that Earth and Fire have, up until this point, never had access to a broadband connection in their office. But earlier this month the heavens smiled on us and broadband is now ours. What a difference an extra couple-hundred KB per second makes. whew.

Reminder: the deadline for participating in the summer matching donation drive is fast approaching. Join or renew now (at special $33, $50, $100, or $175 levels), and you will trigger an equal matching donation, in effect DOUBLING your support for Erowid! We still have $3,000 in matching funds remaining which we must use by the end of August; any funds not used by then will be lost.

Erowid.org/donations/donations_matching.shtml

We welcome submissions, suggestions, criticisms, or corrections at submissions@erowid.org.

peace,
The Erowid Crew

1. 2005 Erowid Photo Drive Winners
   Erowid.org/general/submissions/submissions_images_drive2005.shtml
   
   We're happy to announce the winners of the Spring Photo Drive as selected by the Erowid crew. We received more than 500 entries during the month of the image drive. Twenty-three images were selected as drive winners, 54 were selected to illustrate the summary cards on substance vaults, and 3 collections were selected as overall winners.
   
   There were many excellent submissions to pick from. Winning images came from at least seven different countries, with many more countries represented among overall submissions. Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who took the time to participate.
   
   
2. The Neuropharmacology of Hallucinogens: A Technical Overview
   Erowid.org/psychoactives/pharmacology/pharmacology_article2.shtml
   
   Based on a previous article by BilZ0r about how psychedelics work in the brain. We are very excited about finally publishing this, as it has been in the review/edit process for almost a year. Thanks to BilZ0r for his patience and great work. This article is quite technical and we are currently working on a much easier to understand outline of these issues.
   
   
3. Wasson's Alternative Candidates for Soma, by Thomas Riedlinger
   Erowid.org/entheogens/entheogens_article2.shtml
   
   An article about Wasson's view of the interesting and confusing debate over what plant or substance may have been the inspiration for the Vedic magical elixir Soma. Originally published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs in 1993.
   
   
4. The Neuropharmacology of Ethyl Alcohol
   Erowid.org/chemicals/alcohol/alcohol_pharmacology1.shtml
   
   An interesting, somewhat technical, overview of the neuropharmacology of ethyl (drinking) alcohol. We are working on a series of articles about pharmacology as well as simplified summaries.
   
   
5. Desfontainia Vault
   Erowid.org/plants/desfontainia/desfontainia.shtml
   
   New vault about this South American shrub; includes an Images Index.
   
   
6. mCPP Vault
   Erowid.org/chemicals/mcpp/
   
   New vault about this lesser-known piperazine that has been found in some tablets of Ecstasy in Europe; includes Law Vault.
   
   
7. Xenon Vault
   Erowid.org/chemicals/xenon/
   
   New vault about this rare and expensive inhalant anesthetic.
   
   
8. Cestrum Vault
   Erowid.org/plants/cestrum/cestrum.shtml
   
   New vault about this Solanaceae used in Central and South America; includes an Images Index.
   
   
9. The Erowid Review
   Two new book reviews were published:
   
   A Review by Lorenzo of "What the Dormouse Said"
   Erowid.org/library/review/review.php?p=163
   
   A review by Midevil of "Hooked on Heroin: Drugs & Drifters in a Globalized World"
   Erowid.org/library/review/review.php?p=159
   
   If you'd like to join the Erowid Review team of book reviewers, email review@erowid.org.
   
   
10. Art Vaults
    Erowid.org/culture/art/
    
    Three new artists have been added to the art vaults in August.
    
    August Featured Artist: Serve Tretiakov
    Erowid.org/culture/art/artists_t/art_tretiakov_serge.shtml
    
    
11. New Image Vault Additions
    Twenty-one new images were added (not including image drive images listed above), including:
    
    Nicotiana rustica flower
    Erowid.org/plants/show_image.php?i=tobacco/nicotiana_rustica_flower3.jpg
    
    Cestrum auriantiacum
    Erowid.org/plants/show_image.php?i=cestrum/cestrum_auriantiacum1.jpg
    
    Brugmansia x insignis
    Erowid.org/plants/show_image.php?i=brugmansia/brugmansia_insignis_flower1.jpg
    
    
12. 100 New Experience Reports
    Erowid.org/experiences/exp.cgi?DateRange&Y1=2005&M1=07&D1=31&M2=08&D2=13
    
    

For a more complete listing of What's New at Erowid go to:
Erowid.org/new.php



Conducts laboratory testing of street Ecstasy tablets.

As of August 1st, the EcstasyData testing project is out of money and will not be accepting pills sent in for testing.

We are currently seeking grants to support this important project. We are looking for professional grant writers with experience and knowledge of how to write grants for medical and health related projects. Although we have only non-profit level funding, this could be paid work for the right person.



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