Lucid Prints Controversial Speed Article

Thursday 30 May 2002

Wellington student magazine Lucid yesterday printed the controversial speed article that this week prompted the Auckland University Students' Association to pull Craccum from distribution. The article was intended for simultaneous release in both publications.

Entitled 'Meth-head or Madness?' the article originally included a recipe for methamphetamine, however after seeking legal advice Lucid decided to cut the recipe from the article before going to print, thus allowing the rest of the article to be published.

"While provocative and obviously of great interest to many students, the recipe was superfluous to the rest of the article, and as such nothing was lost from cutting it", aid Editor Neale Jones.

"Besides, multiple recipes for methamphetamine can be found within minutes by simply typing a string of words into a common search engine such as Google"

Nicholas Keesing, author of the article, describes his article as "an attempt to redress the lack of realistic education on issues surrounding methamphetamine" in an environment where "the information out there ranges from the moderately inaccurate to the downright fallacious".

"Keesing's article is both educational and brutally honest; the mainstream media could learn much from his approach" adds Jones.

The article does not in any way promote drug use. "Developing an addiction to speed is the last thing anyone's going to want to do after actually reading the article," says Jones.

'Meth-head or Madness?' features as the cover story in the June edition of Lucid, which is free and available at Victoria University, Massey Wellington and selected inner-city cafes and drop-off points. It will also be online at www.lucid.net.nz within a few days.

Lucid is New Zealand's only independent student magazine.

Ends

© Scoop Media