I met Dana Beal through Howard Lotsof in the mid-70's when Howard and his wife Norma produced "Rock Against Racism" concerts in New York City that were sponsored by the Yippies. Dana was the de-facto Yippie honcho in NYC and had been a marijuana advocate since the 60's, staging famous "Smoke-Ins" and Marijuana Marches from Washington, DC to Greenwich Village.
Of course, Howard told Dana about his ibogaine discovery early on, but it wasn't until 1983 when Howard formed NDA International (I was its first investor, Senior V.P. and board member) that Dana started taking ibogaine's promise of addiction interruption seriously. This was fortuitous because, after pushing for the legalization of marijuana for over 20 years with little success and waning public interest, Dana refocused his activist energies on bringing public awareness to the cause of ibogaine.
His antics at FDA hearings in support of federal clinical ibogaine studies are the stuff of legend (I know; I was there) and he has dedicated so much of his energy and time that I must speak up for him.
Although the news hit the blogs many days prior, the New York Times picked up the story and has, in its own way, legitimized the very questionable arrest and jailing of Dana. Dana deserves our support and his freedom because he has been working to help others.
Here's an excerpt from the Times article:
"A. J. Weberman, a fellow Yippie who helped to popularize the practice of garbology (searching through trash for journalistic clues), said Mr. Beal had told friends that he was traveling with cash because he was planning to finance a clinic. Mr. Weberman said the clinic was to study ibogaine, a derivative of an African shrub that researchers have said can be used to counter addiction.
Mr. Beal is a longtime advocate of ibogaine, which he says produces a trancelike state when ingested that lasts for hours and can be used to interrupt addiction to heroin, nicotine and alcohol."
Click here for the entire article: A Yippie Veteran Is in Jail Far From the East Village
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Update: Dana Beal was released days after the original post on his arrest. He is fighting the charge, and I believe he has a better than average chance of beating it. Mr. Beal is back in the saddle promoting ibogaine and being his usual pain-in-the-ass as a countercultural fixture. Bless him.
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