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The key is this: Substances such as LSD, psilocybin or DMT can put the brain into a special mode of functioning which can in turn enable capacities which can be

The key is this: Substances such as LSD, psilocybin or DMT can put the brain into a special mode of functioning which can in turn enable capacities which can be described as "psychic" in certain circumstances (this is also linked to the "mystical experience" which is often mentioned by users). These experiences make people aware of the fact that there is a whole invisible world (or spiritual dimension) which has nothing to do with our material experience. This understanding leads to a much higher degree of freedom for the person experiencing all of this. For obvious reasons, such a person can be much less manipulated by negative emotions such as greed, hatred and fear. It leads to less war and less consumerism. But both of these components make up big parts of the US economy, which represents a small percentage of very wealthy people who are afraid of losing their dominance. This is probably the most important reason why these substances which have so much potential have been suppressed for so long, without real and valid justification.

trentnix 9y ago
It also makes you prone to believe in absurd conspiracies, it appears.
- CPLX 9y ago
  I mean I don't buy into the whole other mystical world spiritual plane nonsense myself, but can you think of a more compelling explanation for why psychedelic drugs are illegal?
  - dqpb 9y ago
    Because they impair your ability to function and can lead to long term psychological problems?
    - tcbawo 9y ago
      To play devil's advocate, they clearly have potential for therapeutic use in a medical setting. It's a shame there are so many hurdles in the way.
    - StavrosK 9y ago
      Boy, I sure am glad alcohol is illegal.
      - ams6110 9y ago
        The rejoinder to that argument is "two wrongs don't make a right" or generally that you can't justify allowing some bad thing because some other similar bad thing is allowed. It's a form of whataboutism. Sure, it may make no sense that alcohol and tobacco are legal but weed and mushrooms aren't. They're all natural substances, they are all mood altering, they are all capable of being enjoyed in moderation and also can cause harm if used in excess. But though alcohol and tobacco are legal, for whatever good or not good reasons, that isn't a logical argument for making more intoxicants legal.
        StavrosK 9y ago
        > that isn't a logical argument for making more intoxicants legal. "Alcohol is legal, therefore anything less harmful than that should also be legal" isn't a logical argument?
        jonreem 9y ago
        Not if you believe that alcohol being legal is already wrong but are pragmatic about its pre-existing hold on society making it impossible to change. To be clear I don’t buy this argument since I disagree with the premise, but if you agree with the premise then it does make sense.
        xhedley 9y ago
        Pre-existing hold plus the ingredients required to create ethanol (sugar, water, airborne or fruit or baking yeast, warmth) are legal and ubiquitous.
        StavrosK 9y ago
        There isn't really a clear line that goes "you need to be less than THIS risky to be legal". We're comparing things with each other and kind of classifying them based on that. Alcohol and guns being legal definitely should move that line down, because it shows that, as a society, we're okay with some more risky things because <reasons>.
    - CPLX 9y ago
      That is not a unique attribute however.
  - trentnix 9y ago
    I buy into the spiritual plane stuff easier than the “kept illegal by people who profit from war and consumerism” stuff. If it were the magic the OP implied, those folks would profit off of it too, were they so ingenious. But they aren’t. It’s illegal because it has been illegal and because it’s reasonable to discourage embracing hallucination in civil society.
    - rootw0rm 9y ago
      Why is it reasonable to control (with force) what peaceful, consenting adults experience at home with no detriment to others?
colordrops 9y ago
> there is a whole invisible world (or spiritual dimension) which has nothing to do with our material experience More likely most of us don't understand the connection between the material world and these dimensions, and whether they truly are separate or not.
gboudrias 9y ago
Right off the bat, I don't mean to be overly critical but greed is an attitude not an emotion. Also there's no such thing as a negative emotion. Everything we feel is a necessary (or at least programmed) reaction to our experience. Also emotions aren't things with sentience that can manipulate you. Either you are at peace with them and rational in how you live them out, or you are not. I hope I don't come accross as pedantic or condescending, I truly do think we dramatize certain aspects of our psyches that would otherwise be healthier. (I don't know anything about LSD but I still feel that you're romanticizing it a bit.)
- mantas 9y ago
  This looks like a band-aid solution on problems we created ourselves. I was reading quite a bit on this subject and it looks like humans were much more at peace with death a century or two ago. Without using LSDs or whatever. We as a society have changed so much since then. We either need to undo some changes or work out new ways to get along with death. On the other hand, band-aids may be good as temporary solution. But it's definitely not "the right prescription"...
  - gboudrias 9y ago
    I should do more research on the subject of social attitudes toward death throughout History. I think you may be right that it helps explain a lot of our less healthy (or more controversial*) habits. It's possible though that life itself feels much more oppressive; though it most likely isn't, our subjective experiences are often extremely alienating and their purpose very abstract (compared to say, plowing fields).
    - mantas 9y ago
      The major change is your average citizen no longer sees death. Not so long ago, death was everyday occurrence. Elders or sick ones dying at home. Some of siblings dying at young age. Wars sweeping by and leaving a trail of corpses. Now people not only die less frequently, but they usually die away in hospitals. The other change expectations of continuity. All religions have some sort of explanation for death. Whatever the explanation was, one of the reasons was to comfort people. Meanwhile today's popular explanation is void. Of course people are scared of unknown emptiness. Both the process and what comes after that are totally unknown today, while they were rather clear not so long ago.
andy 9y ago
What do you think schizophrenia is?
Nursie 9y ago
How will the world change when everyone takes acid? I've been trying to get a straight answer to this for years. Now don't get me wrong, I'm very pro legalisation of the less harmful drugs, and decriminalisation and management of the addictive nasties. And I'm not short on psychedelic experience either. But I don't get it. Personal growth I can see, short and long term changes in ones relationship with oneself, absolutely but... what does society look like? It's not like we don't already know the people in charge are crooks and bullies, how does LSD, DMT or psilocybin change this? I know a lot of folks who have indulged at points in their lives and all are fairly successful capitalists these days. (Oh and the whole "spiritual dimension" must have passed me by. I'm pretty sure that these substances can induce a sense of the profound, but I'm a lot less sure there's anything beyond that sense)

trentnix 9y ago

It also makes you prone to believe in absurd conspiracies, it appears.

CPLX 9y ago
I mean I don't buy into the whole other mystical world spiritual plane nonsense myself, but can you think of a more compelling explanation for why psychedelic drugs are illegal?
- dqpb 9y ago
  Because they impair your ability to function and can lead to long term psychological problems?
  - tcbawo 9y ago
    To play devil's advocate, they clearly have potential for therapeutic use in a medical setting. It's a shame there are so many hurdles in the way.
  - StavrosK 9y ago
    Boy, I sure am glad alcohol is illegal.
    - ams6110 9y ago
      The rejoinder to that argument is "two wrongs don't make a right" or generally that you can't justify allowing some bad thing because some other similar bad thing is allowed. It's a form of whataboutism. Sure, it may make no sense that alcohol and tobacco are legal but weed and mushrooms aren't. They're all natural substances, they are all mood altering, they are all capable of being enjoyed in moderation and also can cause harm if used in excess. But though alcohol and tobacco are legal, for whatever good or not good reasons, that isn't a logical argument for making more intoxicants legal.
      - StavrosK 9y ago
        > that isn't a logical argument for making more intoxicants legal. "Alcohol is legal, therefore anything less harmful than that should also be legal" isn't a logical argument?
        jonreem 9y ago
        Not if you believe that alcohol being legal is already wrong but are pragmatic about its pre-existing hold on society making it impossible to change. To be clear I don’t buy this argument since I disagree with the premise, but if you agree with the premise then it does make sense.
        xhedley 9y ago
        Pre-existing hold plus the ingredients required to create ethanol (sugar, water, airborne or fruit or baking yeast, warmth) are legal and ubiquitous.
        StavrosK 9y ago
        There isn't really a clear line that goes "you need to be less than THIS risky to be legal". We're comparing things with each other and kind of classifying them based on that. Alcohol and guns being legal definitely should move that line down, because it shows that, as a society, we're okay with some more risky things because <reasons>.
  - CPLX 9y ago
    That is not a unique attribute however.
- trentnix 9y ago
  I buy into the spiritual plane stuff easier than the “kept illegal by people who profit from war and consumerism” stuff. If it were the magic the OP implied, those folks would profit off of it too, were they so ingenious. But they aren’t. It’s illegal because it has been illegal and because it’s reasonable to discourage embracing hallucination in civil society.
  - rootw0rm 9y ago
    Why is it reasonable to control (with force) what peaceful, consenting adults experience at home with no detriment to others?

colordrops 9y ago

> there is a whole invisible world (or spiritual dimension) which has nothing to do with our material experience More likely most of us don't understand the connection between the material world and these dimensions, and whether they truly are separate or not.

gboudrias 9y ago

Right off the bat, I don't mean to be overly critical but greed is an attitude not an emotion. Also there's no such thing as a negative emotion. Everything we feel is a necessary (or at least programmed) reaction to our experience. Also emotions aren't things with sentience that can manipulate you. Either you are at peace with them and rational in how you live them out, or you are not. I hope I don't come accross as pedantic or condescending, I truly do think we dramatize certain aspects of our psyches that would otherwise be healthier. (I don't know anything about LSD but I still feel that you're romanticizing it a bit.)

mantas 9y ago
This looks like a band-aid solution on problems we created ourselves. I was reading quite a bit on this subject and it looks like humans were much more at peace with death a century or two ago. Without using LSDs or whatever. We as a society have changed so much since then. We either need to undo some changes or work out new ways to get along with death. On the other hand, band-aids may be good as temporary solution. But it's definitely not "the right prescription"...
- gboudrias 9y ago
  I should do more research on the subject of social attitudes toward death throughout History. I think you may be right that it helps explain a lot of our less healthy (or more controversial*) habits. It's possible though that life itself feels much more oppressive; though it most likely isn't, our subjective experiences are often extremely alienating and their purpose very abstract (compared to say, plowing fields).
  - mantas 9y ago
    The major change is your average citizen no longer sees death. Not so long ago, death was everyday occurrence. Elders or sick ones dying at home. Some of siblings dying at young age. Wars sweeping by and leaving a trail of corpses. Now people not only die less frequently, but they usually die away in hospitals. The other change expectations of continuity. All religions have some sort of explanation for death. Whatever the explanation was, one of the reasons was to comfort people. Meanwhile today's popular explanation is void. Of course people are scared of unknown emptiness. Both the process and what comes after that are totally unknown today, while they were rather clear not so long ago.

andy 9y ago

What do you think schizophrenia is?

Nursie 9y ago

How will the world change when everyone takes acid? I've been trying to get a straight answer to this for years. Now don't get me wrong, I'm very pro legalisation of the less harmful drugs, and decriminalisation and management of the addictive nasties. And I'm not short on psychedelic experience either. But I don't get it. Personal growth I can see, short and long term changes in ones relationship with oneself, absolutely but... what does society look like? It's not like we don't already know the people in charge are crooks and bullies, how does LSD, DMT or psilocybin change this? I know a lot of folks who have indulged at points in their lives and all are fairly successful capitalists these days. (Oh and the whole "spiritual dimension" must have passed me by. I'm pretty sure that these substances can induce a sense of the profound, but I'm a lot less sure there's anything beyond that sense)