19 ms·

There is no evidence that LSD is toxic to humans. It is, physically, one of the safest drugs you can take. Mentally is a different story, but at micro doses, yo

There is no evidence that LSD is toxic to humans. It is, physically, one of the safest drugs you can take. Mentally is a different story, but at micro doses, you're hardly feeling the normal psychedelic effects that occur at recreational doses, so there's hardly potential for "bad trips". I'm guessing that micro dosing is perfectly healthy. The only problems are A) knowing what you're taking is LSD and B) knowing what dose you're taking, as you're dealing with an active dose of millionths of grams.

Mo3 11y ago
I am not talking about toxicity or bad trips, I am talking about your neurotransmitter systems. Permanent exposure to chemically altered levels and heavy fluctuations can and will change in you very negative ways and cause tons of problems nevermind the dose. I speak from experience.
- burnte 11y ago
  You may speak from experience, but your data conflicts with tens of millions of people who have taken various psychoactive medications for a myriad of psychological conditions for decades, myself included.
  - Mo3 11y ago
    I'm sorry but you're comparing apples and bananas here, friend. I'm pretty sure you're not being prescribed psychedelics or tripping off of your adderall. The mechanisms behind psychedelics are very poorly understood, as are most behind therapeutic psychoactive drugs but I am fairly certain that they are not the same.
    - jhobag 11y ago
      burnte might be speaking of marijuana, as it is psychoactive
    - pazimzadeh 11y ago
      Your reasoning seems to be based entirely on the assumption that there "being a chemical component involved that acts on several neurotransmitter systems" translates to not being healthy. I am not sure that that follows.
- SirensOfTitan 11y ago
  Your anecdote isn't data here. What do you mean by permanent exposure? Regular? If so, do you have any sources to back up your claim? The right perspective here is that LSD is well tolerated by the human body, but we do not know what its effects are like when taken over a long period of time.
  - jhobag 11y ago
    In general, serotonergic agonists at regular dosages definitely increase susceptibility to serotonin syndrome.
    - stevedekorte 11y ago
      Aren't most anti-depressants" serotonergic agonists taken at regular dosages"?
      - coldtea 11y ago
        Most anti-depressants are harmful too (and there are tons of studies about this). Just because a doctor prescribes them doesn't make them magically healthy long-term.
- uououuttt 11y ago
  I took average-to-high doses of LSD and/or other tryptamines nearly every day for 3-4 months. It did make me less able to function in my circumstances at the time (surprise surprise!), but I don't count the experience as negative overall, and given a different set of circumstances with fewer obligations to meet, it could have been wholly positive.
  - abrookewood 11y ago
    Jesus! Daily doses for months? How long ago? What do you mean by 'less able to function'? Any long-lasting effects?
    - uououuttt 11y ago
      It was 22 at the time, so about 5 years ago. As far as my mental state, it's hard to say what was from what, since I consumed a lot of marijuana and cocaine at the time too, but I did have psychedelic-like visual distortions that persisted for many months after. Tryptamine tolerance builds very quickly so by the end I was taking a lot. It was not the happiest time of my life, but not the worst either. I became pretty reclusive, and spent of lot of late, late nights walking around Minneapolis, sitting on the Stone Arch Bridge[1], watching insane late-night American TV / infomercials / televangelists, playing the guitar, and reading Hacker News. I maintained or even strengthened my interests in technology, but probably absorbed very little concrete knowledge at the time. By less able to function, I mean I would've been utterly useless to an employer, or as a student, etc. I wouldn't have had the focus to complete any sort of complex project, software or otherwise. I did, however, manage to make some money ;) So while I was not terribly productive, it did (I think) make me a more empathetic, positive, and less materialistic person and pushed me to make decisions that were ultimately very positive, like selling most of my stuff and moving to Cambodia! Still, I wouldn't recommend it and no doubt some of my behaviour could have incurred terrible legal consequences. My parents were definitely worried too. [1] http://www.waynemoran.com/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sab_007sm.jpg http://www.waynemoran.com/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/s...

Mo3 11y ago

I am not talking about toxicity or bad trips, I am talking about your neurotransmitter systems. Permanent exposure to chemically altered levels and heavy fluctuations can and will change in you very negative ways and cause tons of problems nevermind the dose. I speak from experience.

burnte 11y ago
You may speak from experience, but your data conflicts with tens of millions of people who have taken various psychoactive medications for a myriad of psychological conditions for decades, myself included.
- Mo3 11y ago
  I'm sorry but you're comparing apples and bananas here, friend. I'm pretty sure you're not being prescribed psychedelics or tripping off of your adderall. The mechanisms behind psychedelics are very poorly understood, as are most behind therapeutic psychoactive drugs but I am fairly certain that they are not the same.
  - jhobag 11y ago
    burnte might be speaking of marijuana, as it is psychoactive
  - pazimzadeh 11y ago
    Your reasoning seems to be based entirely on the assumption that there "being a chemical component involved that acts on several neurotransmitter systems" translates to not being healthy. I am not sure that that follows.
SirensOfTitan 11y ago
Your anecdote isn't data here. What do you mean by permanent exposure? Regular? If so, do you have any sources to back up your claim? The right perspective here is that LSD is well tolerated by the human body, but we do not know what its effects are like when taken over a long period of time.
- jhobag 11y ago
  In general, serotonergic agonists at regular dosages definitely increase susceptibility to serotonin syndrome.
  - stevedekorte 11y ago
    Aren't most anti-depressants" serotonergic agonists taken at regular dosages"?
    - coldtea 11y ago
      Most anti-depressants are harmful too (and there are tons of studies about this). Just because a doctor prescribes them doesn't make them magically healthy long-term.
uououuttt 11y ago
I took average-to-high doses of LSD and/or other tryptamines nearly every day for 3-4 months. It did make me less able to function in my circumstances at the time (surprise surprise!), but I don't count the experience as negative overall, and given a different set of circumstances with fewer obligations to meet, it could have been wholly positive.
- abrookewood 11y ago
  Jesus! Daily doses for months? How long ago? What do you mean by 'less able to function'? Any long-lasting effects?
  - uououuttt 11y ago
    It was 22 at the time, so about 5 years ago. As far as my mental state, it's hard to say what was from what, since I consumed a lot of marijuana and cocaine at the time too, but I did have psychedelic-like visual distortions that persisted for many months after. Tryptamine tolerance builds very quickly so by the end I was taking a lot. It was not the happiest time of my life, but not the worst either. I became pretty reclusive, and spent of lot of late, late nights walking around Minneapolis, sitting on the Stone Arch Bridge[1], watching insane late-night American TV / infomercials / televangelists, playing the guitar, and reading Hacker News. I maintained or even strengthened my interests in technology, but probably absorbed very little concrete knowledge at the time. By less able to function, I mean I would've been utterly useless to an employer, or as a student, etc. I wouldn't have had the focus to complete any sort of complex project, software or otherwise. I did, however, manage to make some money ;) So while I was not terribly productive, it did (I think) make me a more empathetic, positive, and less materialistic person and pushed me to make decisions that were ultimately very positive, like selling most of my stuff and moving to Cambodia! Still, I wouldn't recommend it and no doubt some of my behaviour could have incurred terrible legal consequences. My parents were definitely worried too. [1] http://www.waynemoran.com/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/sab_007sm.jpg http://www.waynemoran.com/blog2/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/s...