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"Drugs and alcohol", letter in June 2011 Parachutist

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Does anyone know anything about the letter in the June 2011 Parachutist, titled "Drugs and alcohol"?

A woman writes "... I had an unfortunate and involuntary taste of DZ drug use when I are a laced cookie off a community table."

Is this (hopefully) a mistake, a misunderstanding, or what? People making food items like that would surely be careful enough not to leave them lying around wouldn't they?

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Does anyone know anything about the letter in the June 2011 Parachutist, titled "Drugs and alcohol"?

A woman writes "... I had an unfortunate and involuntary taste of DZ drug use when I are a laced cookie off a community table."

Is this (hopefully) a mistake, a misunderstanding, or what? People making food items like that would surely be careful enough not to leave them lying around wouldn't they?



Did she also smoke some marijuana that was laced with PCP? And maybe she had a friend who took so much LSD he thought he was a glass of orange juice.
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It is not entirely impossible that the laced food did not come from the dz.

We've had some rather impressive customer parties that brought all sorts of stuff with them.

When they left, the leftovers went to the dz table.

Now, I never heard that anybody ever left us any "special" brownies or anything like that.

I'm just saying that not everything that ends up at the dz table came from the dz.

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Does anyone know anything about the letter in the June 2011 Parachutist, titled "Drugs and alcohol"?

A woman writes "... I had an unfortunate and involuntary taste of DZ drug use when I are a laced cookie off a community table."

Is this (hopefully) a mistake, a misunderstanding, or what? People making food items like that would surely be careful enough not to leave them lying around wouldn't they?



sounds like the paranoid delusions of a person who has lost all sense of reality. perhaps it was nancy reagan

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Does anyone know anything about the letter in the June 2011 Parachutist, titled "Drugs and alcohol"?

A woman writes "... I had an unfortunate and involuntary taste of DZ drug use when I are a laced cookie off a community table."

Is this (hopefully) a mistake, a misunderstanding, or what? People making food items like that would surely be careful enough not to leave them lying around wouldn't they?



Did she also smoke some marijuana that was laced with PCP? And maybe she had a friend who took so much LSD he thought he was a glass of orange juice.


I hope he doesn't tip over; he might spill!!

I brought some cookies to the dropzone, and after explaining what all was in the cookies, I was asked specifically if there was pot in them. I made sure to label my batches very well, and didn't bring the "laced" cookies to the DZ with me until after last load. Mmm, double-stuf oreos baked into chocolate chip cookie dough with a marshmellow baked into the top... with weed... MMMmmm. :D

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Does anyone know anything about the letter in the June 2011 Parachutist, titled "Drugs and alcohol"?

A woman writes "... I had an unfortunate and involuntary taste of DZ drug use when I are a laced cookie off a community table."

Is this (hopefully) a mistake, a misunderstanding, or what? People making food items like that would surely be careful enough not to leave them lying around wouldn't they?



Did she also smoke some marijuana that was laced with PCP? And maybe she had a friend who took so much LSD he thought he was a glass of orange juice.


I hope he doesn't tip over; he might spill!!

I brought some cookies to the dropzone, and after explaining what all was in the cookies, I was asked specifically if there was pot in them. I made sure to label my batches very well, and didn't bring the "laced" cookies to the DZ with me until after last load. Mmm, double-stuf oreos baked into chocolate chip cookie dough with a marshmellow baked into the top... with weed... MMMmmm. :D


getting stoned and taking care of the munchies all in one go - PRICELESS!!! :D:D:D
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

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Please send ,,,, ASAP,,,
the name of the dz in question !!!
and the current schedule for
EXACTLY When they host their pot luck suppers!!!!!!B|;):)
i 'll have to get them on my list
of places to visit!!!!!:o:P

jmy



OK well i got the issue just yesterday in the mail and DID read the letter to the editor..
The person who wrote it,,, WAS doing so, in a concerned and sensible way... and i DO see her point...
so I write this morning,,, to apologize for my previous lighthearted response.... [:/]
sometimes the temptation to be a wise-guy.... is just toooo great...;)B|
carry ON

jmy

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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.

I am a foreigner and don't want to end up in gitmo cause I get to the airport stonedB|

Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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As for the chick that wrote the artical...what a dork! grow up



I'm hoping you are not serious. Someone that uses a drug without their knowledge is going to think they are getting sick. That would be scary. And what if their job required drug testing and they failed a test because of an accident like that? That would be awful too.

My point in making the original post was that I would hope that people would be very careful with their drugs when in that form.

(BTW, I am not anti-drug. That would make me a bit of a hypocrite considering my earlier years.)

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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.

I am a foreigner and don't want to end up in gitmo cause I get to the airport stonedB|



Been watching too much Harold and Kumar?
"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.

I am a foreigner and don't want to end up in gitmo cause I get to the airport stonedB|



Been watching too much Harold and Kumar?


There is just something about TSA and US immigration that makes me very nervous. I get the distinct feeling that if you catch the wrong person on a bad day things could go very badly. Gitmo was a joke, but seriously my life would be pretty fucked up if I got myself banned from entering the US on business.

But on topic - so long as people are informed of the risks I am happy, just no surprises.
Experienced jumper - someone who has made mistakes more often than I have and lived.

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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.

I am a foreigner and don't want to end up in gitmo cause I get to the airport stonedB|



Nah, you'd have to have drugs on you to get in trouble. I've flown a LOT for travel, and have been to an airport sober once. That was enough for me to not want to do it again. They're so boring. Besides, it's not like you have to drive anywhere. :P

EDIT: I should add that I agree; nobody should be surprised by drugs or alcohol they didn't intentionally ingest. I've been "surprised" before, and it is not okay, ever.

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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.



I feel the same way regardless of whether I'm a local or a foreigner. Let me make informed decisions.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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Ok, for starters....telling the person to grow up? She is a good friend of mine and not an idiot. What was done is criminal. How would you have reacted if it was done to you?

The DZ was NOT in Oregon but in Washington...southern washington (state). I will not say what DZ, I'm sure that will come out eventually. She is an awesome person that jumps at many DZ's, but obviously not this one anymore.

This was directed to all the nay-sayers (not the op). And for those of you that feel your reputation was tarnished by her letter, you really need to grow up and be more concerned about a fellow jumpers well being and not how others will view you or your company (you know who I'm talking about).
my pics & stuff!

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All very good points. Let's also not forget that *every* dropzone most likely has at least one recovering alcoholic/addict whose very *life* may be jeopardized by this type of action. If you think that tricking someone into relapsing is a joke, then I don't ever want to be anywhere near you. That would make you the lowest lifeform on the planet, in my opinion.

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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.



I feel the same way regardless of whether I'm a local or a foreigner. Let me make informed decisions.

I'm a recovering Drug addict and Alchie, with near 21 year CnS you fuck me up without my say so, and i promise i will endevour to do everything i can to fuck you up when i come down.>:(

I'm serious I will resort to busting a bat over your knees, if i catch the lowlifes that would do that sort of shit to me. I would also have ZERO issue reporting you to the cops should i find you doing it in general.
You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

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It is impossible to say exactly what happened, unless the woman from the letter speaks up. It is my guess that it was an honest accident, who knows exactly how communal the community table was.

The thing about the letter that bothered me, was the author's attitude regarding positive drug tests for dead jumpers. Just because you test positive, does NOT mean you were high while you were jumping. I do not think high/drunk skydivers are a major issue, at least I cannot say I have ever seen someone noticeably impaired on the plane before.

About getting someone high against their wishes as a joke (unless you know them well and they would think it is funny) is NOT cool. Agree 100% with the major ass kicking statements.

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I have nothing against drug use, but please don't surprise me.



I feel the same way regardless of whether I'm a local or a foreigner. Let me make informed decisions.

I'm a recovering Drug addict and Alchie, with near 21 year CnS you fuck me up without my say so, and i promise i will endevour to do everything i can to fuck you up when i come down.>:(

I'm serious I will resort to busting a bat over your knees, if i catch the lowlifes that would do that sort of shit to me. I would also have ZERO issue reporting you to the cops should i find you doing it in general.


i highly oppose to resort to violence..

however, getting someone high on purpose without their knowledge, like by fucking with their drinks or feeding them something laced would be one of the very few reasons.. that is bodily injury!

someone might have a condition where they could end up in hospital or worse. and it's just pure bad form! you just dont do that! :|
“Some may never live, but the crazy never die.”
-Hunter S. Thompson
"No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try."
-Yoda

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It is impossible to say exactly what happened, unless the woman from the letter speaks up. It is my guess that it was an honest accident, who knows exactly how communal the community table was.

The thing about the letter that bothered me, was the author's attitude regarding positive drug tests for dead jumpers. Just because you test positive, does NOT mean you were high while you were jumping. I do not think high/drunk skydivers are a major issue, at least I cannot say I have ever seen someone noticeably impaired on the plane before.

About getting someone high against their wishes as a joke (unless you know them well and they would think it is funny) is NOT cool. Agree 100% with the major ass kicking statements.



I took it a slightly different way:

Uncool to dose someone when they don't know its coming.

Skydiving has plenty of inherent risk, with pretty limited margin of error. Jumping when at all under the influence shrinks the margin of error even more. Why put yourself in that situation? Why put others in that situation. Given all the canopy collisions the last thing we need is people flying while impaired.

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Hi from Meryl in Portland, OR.

I'm the person who wrote the letter so will attempt to answer all questions.


First of all, the cookie was laced (officially) with Salvia and Melatonin, though my doc suspects maybe LSD. it was brought by a jumper who uses. He says he brought the wrong batch to the DZ and did not mean to use drugs while jumping... (I'm just sayin that's what he said). The DZ is responding in a grassroots way, whcih is the only way things ever change anyway.

Second, quoting the fatality report. 1/7 is a lot. And this is going to be another big year for skydiving deaths, as everyone on this forum surely followed what happened in Perris, Australia, Cross Keys, etc... for those who find that irrelevant, may I point out that the May Parachutist reported a death by hard landing, a man with 3000jumps who had smoked weed within 3 hrs of his last jump (toxicology report).

Drugs have always been a part of our sport, but with people flying tiny canopies, more traffic in the landing pattern, etc... it is especially critcal now that people be on their game.

I am not anti-drug. I grew up in LA in the music business and live in medical marijuana lovin' Oregon. Personally, I favor legalization and taxation. I don't use and certainly would never choose to skydive - or even drive - under the influence of any drug (including alcohol). Though I will proudly own the title "Dork," I am actually very smart in my commitment to safety. I simply don't want to lose my life (or end up in a wheelchair) or lose any friends because some dipstick decided to smoke a bowl and go jump. Smoke your bowl after the sun sets, for Christ's sake.

Additionally, my mother died last year after many years of neurological issues. When I got home, still tripping, I called my doc, who was like, "Get to the ER, we want to do EEG, CT, etc..." He was afraid I was having a stroke or seizure. I do not get tested for work, but this hit me quite close to home.

Finally, there has been a lot of talk about this letter in the bigger community (national, international) and I am thrilled. A couple of DZOs have written me to express alarm, and one asserted that he drug tests all his instructors (but alas, no DZO can taste test his fun jumpers' food). Another local DZO was defensive b/c people were wondering if it happened at his place - which it didn't - and feared it would damage his rep. (He also placed a freaked out call to Ed Scott.) I (hopefully gently) encouraged him to use the questions to open a bigger discussion of finding solutions; this conversation is referenced in this thread by a jumper friend of mine.

People from the offending DZ are all over my Facebook page and they are promising to watchdog the issue. And THIS is why I wrote the letter and referenced my personal experience, as opposed to just pontificating. So that people could begin to talk about something that is going on at many DZs, and poses a great danger, but that is also quite hidden.

Hope that makes sense to the folks on this thread.

Blue skies,
Meryl Lipman

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PS: Indeed have seen people get on the plane high as a kite or stoned out of their minds. I have smelled alcohol on people too- though it could have been from the night before. But, and probably the clean addicts on here can attest to this, true addicts hide it quite well. The inebriated state becomes their "normal" and they are, for the most part, functional... except maybe when it comes to flaring out of a hook turn/swoop on an 89SF canopy...

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