Scott Bodarky

Scott Bodarky is an independent researcher who has been studying the history of opium for many years. He has worked in a number of different domains, including Internet technology, real estate, book publishing, event production, and the new Cannabis industry. He published a book about cocktails, recently started a recording studio in Oakland called The Dime, is working on a new album, and was Sasha Shulgin’s Go opponent.

Presentation: “Unraveling Opium”

From today’s headlines one might think that the current opiate crisis is unprecedented, but in fact it is merely the latest iteration of a cycle that has been going for hundreds of years. Both extolled as a panacea and reviled as a panapathogen, our culture’s relationship with opium (and its derivatives) is fraught. Unsurpassed at relieving physical and psychic pain, they can also be extremely dangerous, even fatal, if used unwisely. But our understanding of the history of opium is clouded by myths and distortion. This talk laid out how opium developed and revealed the mysteries that still lie at the heart of the matter. Scott described the path that has led us to our present situation in the hope that a better understanding will help to reduce the many forms of suffering which attend our present-day attitudes toward one of the oldest plant medicines.