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Azarius closed today. Weekend prolonged.
How fair is it that the weekend is only 2 days while the work week consists of a whopping 5 days? It's not fair, we tell you. Not fair at all! So today we're closed out of protest. Coincidentally today is also (yet another) national holiday here in Holland. Our diabolical lunar base of operations is closed, but tomorrow we're back in action. Have a good long weekend everyone! To our customers...
Read moreEmail & order delay [update 10-5]
![Email & order delay [update 10-5]](/images/resize/news/technical-difficulties.jpg)
Update 2 (10-5) So we thought we fixed everything and the email delay was gone - everyone lived happily ever after! But in an ironic turn of events, Wednesday late in the evening we discovered that our website contact form was dutifully sending emails but it wasn't actually arriving in our inbox. So hundreds of burning questions remained unanswered and only the ones sent directly actually...
Read moreLady Salvia is back
Lady Salvia is a demanding temptress. Like most women you have to treat her with respect, handle her delicately and whisper sweet flattery to get anywhere. Unlike most women, you have to keep her moist at all times. (pause for uncomfortable silence) Did we mention we’re talking about a plant? After having disappeared from our website for over a year, Salvia Divinorum cuttings are back in...
Read moreAscension Day
Tomorrow is the Feast of the Ascension, or Ascension Day, a holiday in the Netherlands as well as many other countries. This means our secret Lunar base will be closed, but don't let that stop you from you ordering your own stuff with which to reach a higher plane of existence. Our store in Amsterdam is open as well. Friday we'll be back to shower you with our unique brand of Azarius love....
Read moreHail to the King, baby!
So you may have noticed the huge orange banner on our front page, with something about hailing a king. You see, the Netherlands is crowning their new king on Tuesday April 30th. In order to maximise the confusion for foreigners, we're still calling that day Queensday. It's a day off from work though, so you won't hear us complain (much). And being kind hearted spirits, we're sharing some of...
Read moreAzarius @ AMS420 festival
Some of our intrepid Azarius crew will be attending the AMS420 festival this Saturday in The Sand, Amsterdam. We'll be bringing a small stand with us, including various vaporizers you can touch & feel if you're so inclined (but please don't touch & feel the Azarius crew, unless they're okay with it). The festivities will commence at 6 pm, Saturday 20 April. Prior to the festival, there'll be...
Read moreNow accepting Bitcoins
We're delighted to inform you that we now accept Bitcoins as payment method. What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a peer to peer decentralized currency that enables instant payments to anyone located anywhere in the world. It has no central authority, so managing transactions and issuing money are carried out collectively by the P2P network. For more information on Bitcoin, you can visit...
Read moreBehind the shrooms - a return trip
A study on the studies of psychedelics; what sounds like a psychonaut version of Inception turns out to be a brief but interesting look at the world of hallucinogens in podcast format. Nick Langlitz is an assistant professor of anthropology at The New School for Social Research (New York, USA) and has spent most of his academic career studying those who study drugs. In the 2-part podcast...
Read moreNEW: DHL Express
Good news: we’ve got a brand new express service! All of your packets with final destination Europe can now also be shipped with DHL Express. You have to pay a little bit more compared to a Priority shipment, but you are offered a super fast door-to-door delivery with real-time end-to-end tracking. (fancy speak for: it is quite reliable and fast). Transit times vary depending on the country of...
Read moreNew incense fragrances
Check out our renewed incense category . We provide a wide range of exquisite Indian incense fragrances, whether you just want to try something new or are looking for a deeply relaxing or mystical ambiance. Newly added incense sticks: Aastha Aroma Therapy Ayurveda Chakra Dream Catcher Natural Agarbatti Ritual Spiritual Balance Tree of Life And don't...
Read moreVaporized cannabis is proven painkiller, says new research
Researchers at the University of Davis, California, looked at the effects of vaporized cannabis on pain and found that it can cause a reduction in pain in patients with neuropathy. The results of the study were published online in the Journal of Pain . The study was conducted as a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, where the analgesic effects of cannabis inhaled with a...
Read moreHappy New Year!
Azarius wishes everyone a joyful and healthy 2013! Last year we’ve made some big changes, not the least of which would be our spiffy and colourful new website. But we’re not standing still this year; we’ve got all kinds of exciting new products and website features planned. Traditionally we take this time to turn to our customers to ask: what would you like to see in 2013? Are there...
Read moreRavi Shankar “godfather of world music” dies aged 92
Ravi Shankar, the virtuoso sitar maestro who introduced Indian classical music to the world and inspired the Sixties 'psychedelic' sound through his collaboration with the Beatles, passed away at the age of 92. The prime minister's office confirmed his death and called him a "national treasure." Labelled "the godfather of world music" by George Harrison, Shankar helped millions of...
Read moreHoliday order information
December is a very busy month for all postal services. If you absolutely need to get a package before the end of the year (or world, whichever comes first), please order as early as possible. Our distribution centre will also be closed between 28 December and 2 January. 27 December is the last shipping day before New Year. All orders made or paid just before New Year and in the first days of...
Read moreLatin America looks to Europe for drug fighting models
Latin American countries such as Brazil and Guatemala are turning to Europe for lessons on fighting narcotics abuse. Until recently, most Latin American countries had zero-tolerance rules on drugs inspired by the United States. Various South American countries are now exploring more relaxed laws for personal use of small amounts of drugs, following examples such as Spain and Portugal -...
Read moreTwo US States legalized marijuana. Now what?
In a historic move, two states in the USA recently passed laws to legalize and regulate marijuana for recreational use. The successful ballot initiatives in Colorado and Washington, backed by numerous law enforcement officials, signal exasperation with the failed War on Drugs, and a willingness to better tailor the legal system to states’ public safety and public health goals. Both laws...
Read more-- Contest over -- Azarius bug hunt
The contest is over and the winners are: € 250: N1k994 (Azarius Forum), € 100: Eagle (Azarius forum) and € 50 W. Woondirts . (Facebook)! Congratulations and thank you for all the help! We were so overwhelmed with all the great support that we’ve decided to give every Bug Hunt participant a little gift. Please contact us via Facebook or forum private message with your address...
Read moreAmsterdam will not ban tourists from coffee shops
Good news for those who visit the Dutch capital not only for its beautiful canals and famous museums, but also to visit one - or more - of its many coffeeshops. Amsterdam's mayor Eberhard van der Laan stated in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that despite new regulation, coffeeshops will remain open for tourists. The new cabinet is pressing ahead with banning non-residents from the country's...
Read moreMushrooms, LSD and Ecstasy for psychotherapy
Until recently, a psychiatrist prescribing ecstasy, mescaline or mushrooms was guaranteed to lose his license to practice. But now, scientists are beginning to wonder if such illegal substances might be the key to treating certain psychological disorders, from post-traumatic stress to depression. Prescribing known psychedelics was frowned upon in psychiatric research. But habits begin to...
Read moreThe cannabis debate that hasn't taken place
Decriminalization both for philosophical reasons and public health and to fight against trafficking. The French debate was opened by Vincent Peillon (Minister of Education) but quickly ended by Jean-Marc Ayrault (Prime Minister) who admonished the Minister of Education: "there will be no cannabis decriminalization". Cécile Duflot has spoken in favour of a debate on the decriminalization. But...
Read moreCredit card payment option unavailable
We are very sorry, but we are having problems processing credit card payments at this moment. This is why this option is currently unavailable as a payment method during checkout. We are working really hard to solve these problems, but we are expecting this is going to be a project of several weeks. Most credit card companies are situated in the USA and they prefer not to have relationships...
Read moreFormer British MP takes ecstasy for TV-show
Evan Harris, former MP of Great Britain, said the show, criticised by some experts, was a "valuable opportunity" to discuss issues surrounding the drug and that he wanted to help finding a dose that might help treating depression without giving patients a high. Dr Harris, is among a group of public figures who have taken MDMA, the pure form of ecstasy, or a placebo for a programme entitled...
Read moreAfrican Dream Root - back in stock
The African Dream Root ( Silene capensis ) is an obscure plant considered sacred by Xhosa diviners. It's so obscure it's been out of stock for over a year. But at long last we've managed to obtain a fresh batch from South Africa. Effects As the name implies African Dream Root is known for its ability to induce very clear dreams, with excellent dream recall (keep that notepad ready!)....
Read morePsychedemia: a conference on psychedelics
"Psychedemia" is an interdisciplinary conference on psychedelic art, culture, and science that will take place in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania between September 27th and September 30th, 2012. More and more people are interested in the psychedelic world. Not necessarily in a practical way, but also in a theoretical way. It is important to consider the impact of altered states...
Read moreThe first International Cannabis Social Forum
Cannabis. The mere mention of this plant unleashes fears and passions. To get ride of the usual clichés, a few companies and associations hosted the first International Cannabis Social Forum in Irun (Spain). It was impossible to host in France, but the organizers wanted to take place as close as possible to France. They settled on a Spanish city just over the south western border of France....
Read moreTraditional Chinese medicine mushroom treating canine cancer
A compound derived from the Coriolus versicolor mushroom allows dogs with hemangiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, to live longer. This is interesting because it be developed into another method of fighting treating cancer, as an alternative to chemotherapy. This mushroom is commonly known as Yunzhi mushroom. It was used for over 2000 years in traditional Chinese medicine. The...
Read moreColorado and Cannabis
More than 100 college professors across the nation signed an open letter to legalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol. This open letter endorses the Colorado ballot that would permit adults over the age of 21 to possess one ounce of marijuana or six marijuana plants. It doesn't propose any changes that would affect employee drug testing or laws prohibiting driving while intoxicated....
Read moreInterdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research (Amsterdam, 6-7 October 2012)
After a succesful first edition in 2010, Dutch OPEN Foundation ( Stichting Open ) will once again host a congres with a programme filled with all the latest in cutting edge scientific research into a wide array of psychotropic substances such as psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, ibogaine, DMT, ketamine, MDMA, Salvia divinorum and even nitrous oxide. The Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic...
Read moreBurning Man 2012
The Burning Man Festival is a great artistic meeting that takes place every year in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, during the last week of August. This tradition is the brainchild of Larry Harvey, who proposed the festive cremation of giant dummy in Baker Beach, San Francisco. Since 1990 this event takes place in the Nevada. The Burning Man brings more than 50 000 people (called “Burners”)...
Read moreAzarius at VuuV Festival in Germany
Come join the Azarius crew at Vuuv Festival in Germany this weekend! Yesterday morning a big bus filled with camping equipment and Azarius crew members left Amsterdam for a fantastic weekend in Germany. The crew members that were selected for this trip were so exited that they haven't slept or eaten for days. VuuV Festival unites the international trance tribe of people, who’s passion is...
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