13 ms·

The Acid Farmers

114 points by Hooke 7y ago

pstuart 7y ago
It's a pity that such a powerful drug has been demonized.
- lacampbell 7y ago
  Eh, I think it's pretty good that it's only really taken by enthusiasts. It's not really a party drug, IME it's for drug nerds who want to 'expand their mind' etc. If everyone and their dog was taking it on a friday night to have fun, the world would be a much worse place IMO.
  - __MatrixMan__ 7y ago
    As one of those enthusiasts, I don't think that's a situation you really have to worry about. It takes a little while to reconstruct oneself to the point where you'd want another deconstruction. For most people, it's not going to be every day or even every month. Only once have I run across somebody who wanted to trip twice in the same week, and I think he was just following habits ingrained in him by his previous cocaine problem. Still, there would be outliers. If availability were higher, I would be worried about the few for which this isn't the case. They might cause some significant harm to their sanity.
    - chimi 7y ago
      > They might cause some significant harm to their sanity. Is that possible? The drug counselor at my college, when asked by someone in the audience at a presentation he was giving about drug history, which drug would be the least harmful to use if someone wanted to, said immediately, "LSD." A collective gasp was let out by the crowd, especially considering he'd just said earlier it would take smoking 15 pounds of marijuana in 30 minutes to OD on it. That seemed pretty darn safe.
      - nyolfen 7y ago
        it's nearly impossible to cause physical harm with lsd, but not difficult to inflict psychological harm, especially in people who would are already vulnerable or predisposed to mental illness
        pstuart 7y ago
        Yep. I did it over 100 times including a couple bad trips. A friend of mine was more fragile started abusing it as well and didn't do as well.
        xkcd-sucks 7y ago
        Well shit, we should make dating and work illegal too
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
      - stef25 7y ago
        Yes it can absolutely affect your sanity. A few friends of mine developed schizophrenia (which they may have anyway later in life without psychs). I've had a few bad trips. It's a bit like being seasick. At first you worry you're going to die, then you worry you're not going to die. Psychedelics are amazing and life changing but they can also put you through mental torture in ways you can't imagine until you've experienced it.
    - lacampbell 7y ago
      You're probably the kind of person who researches LSD, maybe you were on erowid, you knew how long it would last, what rough dosage to take, what to expect etc etc. You'd know you need to be in a good 'setting' to have a good time. That is not the way 99% of people drug-taking people approach drugs. They get offered it and they go 'yeah ok!'. Bad trips would happen all the time if it was as popular as weed or booze.
    - tayo42 7y ago
      How much do you take? 100ug is fairly mild, really doesn't seem to deconstruct you
      - tmpaccount43 7y ago
        Be aware that most (more than 50%) of the 100ug tabs are actually not even 50ug according to recent studies, especially the one found in western countries. Usually, "real" 100ug shakes your world.
        tayo42 7y ago
        I've heard that. The online/market ones seem pretty legit though...
      - __MatrixMan__ 7y ago
        Set and setting play a huge part. I've gone pretty hard, dosage wise, and still felt like the same ol' me after. I've also had a pretty life-changing ego death experience that lasted a few days after a pretty low dose. Several fellow psychonauts agreed that a certain friend could reap great benefits from it but after he tried it he was like, "meh". Over the following four years we did it together six times and on the last one he was like "woah, ok, now I respect this chemical". Similar dosage each time. Different trips take you different places.
    - 01100011 7y ago
      As a former enthusiast, I know many people who used it frequently until the "psychic harm" caught up with them. I've had binges where I was doing it every week... sometimes more if I'm at a music festival. Same with mushrooms. I'm not trying to demonize the drug, just saying that there are definitely people who can and do abuse it, and those people are a not-insignificant portion of users. Just go talk to any OG deadhead if you don't think people used LSD as a party drug.
      - __MatrixMan__ 7y ago
        Oh it definitely happens. I think it would happen less if there was less of a taboo. We vilify drugs similarly, so people who just want to get messed up start to see them as all the same. I've been approached by people at raves who seemed like they would take anything I was willing to sell. But drugs are so remarkably different from each other. I wish we treated them as such. If there wasn't already the drug <-> party association I don't think a first time LSD user would be very likely to rediscover it.
  - pstuart 7y ago
    I didn't specify context because it wasn't necessary. Why don't you warn the readers of the chance of dying on it because you think you can fly? Or acid-flashbacks? They're scary! Giant insects are everywhere. Whhooooooo! I said "powerful", because it is. The means that it should be approached in a thoughtful and respectful manner, just like other powerful things.
    - senorjazz 7y ago
      > why don't you warn the readers of the chance of dying on it because you think you can fly? If people think they can fly on acid, I would suggest they try it out and take off from the ground first
      - DonHopkins 7y ago
        I flew on acid once. I had a window seat. It was amazing.
    - lacampbell 7y ago
      I didn't specify context because it wasn't necessary. Getting flashbacks to that SP episode where the San Fran people smell their own farts with that sentence. The means that it should be approached in a thoughtful and respectful manner, just like other powerful things. Cars are incredibly powerful too, and used by the masses. The result is endless suburbia and drivers killing people because they are distracted or reckless or impaired. Best to keep it to the enthusiasts. It's good that acid has avoided success at all costs.
      - pstuart 7y ago
        Clearly you've dodged a bullet.
    - kerkeslager 7y ago
      > Why don't you warn the readers of the chance of dying on it because you think you can fly? Or acid-flashbacks? I'm not disagreeing with your larger point, but I wanted to point out that neither of the "risks" you're talking about are real. 1. The "LSD makes you think you can fly" story originates with the story of Diane Linkletter[1], who jumped to her death from her kitchen window. Her father, Art Linkletter, was a famous radio/TV personality, and he spread the story that she had died due to LSD. But she had a history of depression and there's no evidence she was on LSD when she jumped, let alone evidence she thought she could fly. So it's more likely her death was an ordinary suicide. 2. Acid flashbacks--where LSD is stored somewhere in the body and released unexpectedly at a later date--don't even make sense. LSD is an unstable molecule which decomposes easily, and cannot survive in the human body long-term. HPPD[2] is a real risk of LSD, but doesn't exhibit the symptoms people usually attribute to an LSD flashback. Additionally, flashbacks are a diagnostic criteria for PTSD, acute stress disorder, or OCD[3]. [1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-scarlet-linkletter/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-scarlet-linkletter/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_perception_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_percep... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(psychology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(psychology)
  - 0xdeadb00f 7y ago
    IME It's not a "party drug" either. But it sure as hell _is_ used as a party drug by many.
    - pstuart 7y ago
      In Aldous Huxley's "Island", he uses guided psychedelic journeys as a rite of passage into adulthood (among many other sensible lifestyle adjustments). That would make the world a much better place if done correctly.
    - mayniac 7y ago
      Worth keeping in mind that Shulgin, the guy who popularised MDMA, strongly believed it should only be used for therapeutic purposes. In his view, MDMA wasn't a party drug. I can't remember the quote in PiHKAL but he had a mini-rant about hippies "ruining" the drug by taking it recreationally. To be fair, he was right that it led to MDMA being criminalised, but I remember thinking his view was incredibly close-minded. What is or is not a party drug is really down to the individual (and the party...)
  - rollulus 7y ago
    If LSD would replace alcohol as a way to have fun on Friday nights, I think the world would be a way better place.
  - jeff_vader 7y ago
    Funnily enough myself and friends find LSD a great party drug when in low doses. 1/8th of a tab - you stay up longer, feel more energetic, slight barely noticeable buzz. 1/4th - fairly noticeable buzz, slight vividness of vision, excitement, silly laughing, no need for alcohol. Half tab - quite strong change in vividness of vision, many other changes, but still very controllable. But we rarely do that, while full tab or more is left for safe environments instead of partying. Alcohol hangovers are not getting better with age and I don't enjoy weed at all. LSD in small doses is safe, controllable and, for myself, replaces alcohol. Get 10 tabs - test+try in advance and it will last for a long time when used like this.
swayvil 7y ago
I have had fabulous times on LSD. Kind, beautiful, full of light. Educational too. I highly recommend it.
jamiek88 7y ago
I've always wanted to try LSD, everything I can find though is either a 'research chemical' that is LSD-like or is of dubious origin. I've thought about mushrooms/psylobicin instead but I really would like my first 'journey' to be proper old school 60's LSD not your modern china-made 'one molecule off' RC. A wise old head once told me the drug would find me once I am ready.
- IIAOPSW 7y ago
  You should absolutely do it. Here is my playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIYRqpIFecr00pZcfWM44Q5OsGJrsKZh https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIYRqpIFecr00pZcfWM4... Don't worry too much about the 60's. What you really want is an aesthetic which overlaps a lot (but isn't identically equal to) the 60's. Try and find a tree swaying in the wind, or something which moves at similar speeds with difficult to track shapes. Fireworks are also nice. Your sense of time is wrong. Set yourself a deadman switch. Use your phone to set a 20 min timer, and when it goes off acknowledge it and then reset it. Stare at a bright spot or a lightbulb for a few seconds then close your eyes. The after image will look like it got chopped up in frequency space. Do it with a friend. Give yourself 8 hours. This is a whole day affair. Ignore the old head and get on the darknet or find an in person broker.
  - GhettoMaestro 7y ago
    Interesting perspective. I have heard of much success regarding shrooms and LSD in curbing alcoholism. Perhaps it spawns a deep introspective process for the person.
    - wavefunction 7y ago
      >spawns a deep introspective process for the person It can for some. It can terrorize others. And some people just giggle a lot.
  - jeswin 7y ago
    This is good advice. The swaying trees are etched into my memory from events well more than a decade back. Also be watchful not to straddle the line between explorative and habit-forming.
carapace 7y ago
In re: LSD, > Of course, the drug dose does not produce the transcendent experience. It merely acts as a chemical key — it opens the mind, frees the nervous system of its ordinary patterns and structures. The nature of the experience depends almost entirely on set and setting. Set denotes the preparation of the individual, including his personality structure and his mood at the time. Setting is physical — the weather, the room's atmosphere; social — feelings of persons present towards one another; and cultural — prevailing views as to what is real. It is for this reason that manuals or guide-books are necessary. Their purpose is to enable a person to understand the new realities of the expanded consciousness, to serve as road maps for new interior territories which modern science has made accessible. — Timothy Leary, The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting LSD merely gets you "high as a Lord". Leonard Orr used to help people have very profound healing "trips" using set and setting and oxygen (hyperventilation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirthing_(breathwork) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirthing_(breathwork) If you want to explore your inner world in a responsible way, a few LSD trips with deliberate set and setting might be educational, but it's much safer and easier to just use hypnosis and/or meditation.
- neonate 7y ago
  Leonard has since gone in for immortality. Stan Grof of course (one of the original LSD psychotherapists) has developed breathwork into a substitute for psychedelic work over many years.
crimsonalucard 7y ago
Anybody have some legitimate technical or scientific insights while on LSD? I'm talking along the lines of something like discovering General Relativity or figuring out a solution to a technical problem because you tripped on LSD.
- fancyPantsZero 7y ago
  Kary Mullis claimed that LSD helped him discover the PCR process for which he won the Nobel Prize: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinogens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinoge...
- zelly 7y ago
  Francis Crick reportedly visualized the helical structure of DNA while on LSD. He was known to use it heavily at the time and freely admitted to it. Kary Mullis was on acid[1] when he invented PCR, which is responsible for the field of modern genetics. Probably a lot, lot more from people who wouldn't admit to it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinogens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinoge...
  - dekhn 7y ago
    Kary Mullis took a bunch of acid and ended up writing this paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/218663b0 https://www.nature.com/articles/218663b0 I don't think he was on acid at the moment of the conceptualization of PCR, though- the origin story most people tell involves him driving a car at night to a conference (I guess that doesn't preclude being on LSD). When I met him in person, I couldn't get him to give a straight answer to any question I asked (I think he was suffering from dementia). TBH I'd be really surprised if academics were taking LSD in '52-53, although there was definitely a long period where basically anybody could order it in quantity from Sandoz. Of course, from MK-Ultra we know the CIA was giving it to people around that time (including dosing agents), and by the early 60s, universities like Stanford were giving it to research study participants (Ken Kesey, Robert Hunter, etc).
    - 7y ago
pierrec 7y ago
I love this kind of information-packed article, especially on topics that usually yield fluff/opinion/anecdote pieces. The author seems to have written a lot of visionary-related texts and I'm curious to look at these.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
LocalH 7y ago
I think psychedelics have untapped potential for ADHD. A significant DMT experience I had greatly helped lessen my ADHD symptoms. I've also found that threshold doses of LSD increase my ability to focus as well as provide several other micro-benefits. I also suffered from anablephobia (fear of looking up into the sky), and after a particularly intense 100mcg LSD experience, that pretty much faded away and now I can look up in the sky with impunity.
- stared 7y ago
  It is an interesting observation. As a person with ADHD, I also saw that it makes my thoughts calmer (relaxed, dreamy, not rushed) and "flowing" rather than "jumping". Or in other words, the transitions were smoother and continuous rather than discrete.
- oarabbus_ 7y ago
  Glad it worked for you, but that’s far from typical. Psychedelics resulted in a great time and newfound perspectives, but I’d be reaching to claim it had any kind of lasting effect with my ADHD symptoms.
epiphanitus 7y ago
Honest question: Is there anybody here who regrets taking LSD? Is it really safe or are we dealing with a self-selection problem of the people who would regret taking LSD not being sane enough to bother being on internet forums? I'm no puritan but it just seems to me like a taking acid is a huge risk to take with one's mental health.
- trippythrowaway 7y ago
  I have tried LSD a few times and had nothing but positive experiences. My wife, however, tried it once and had a bad trip. She was convinced I was going to murder her (obviously everything I did further proved that point) and everything was scary for her. She was afraid of large trees in a kind of "raises my anxiety baseline" kind of way for about a year after the trip. But, the experience wore off, and she's fine now. She believes that it's possible that the experience contributed to her being a more anxious person now, but that's conflated with all kinds of things like marrying me and changing careers and having greater responsibility for those around her. I don't think it's as big a risk as you seem to think. The people who I have met who have had bad trips did not see lasting side effects, though they did take a while to wear off. I'm sure someone else will post it, but if this is something you genuinely want to know more about, read "How to Change Your Mind".
  - abacadaba 7y ago
    Safe is a relative term.. Only one who can make that decision is you, or the cia. Used responsibly in moderation most people will find it a pretty f'n positive aspect of life. But ya freakouts do happens and acid casualties are most definitely a thing.
  - xzel 7y ago
    I think when taking mind altering drugs you have to be self-confident, otherwise you should avoid them since that/anxiety is what normally leads to a bad trip. Having a benzo, ex. xanax, around as a backup plan can help _sort of_ stop a trip.
    - 7y ago

The Acid Farmers

114 points by Hooke 7y ago

pstuart 7y ago

It's a pity that such a powerful drug has been demonized.

lacampbell 7y ago
Eh, I think it's pretty good that it's only really taken by enthusiasts. It's not really a party drug, IME it's for drug nerds who want to 'expand their mind' etc. If everyone and their dog was taking it on a friday night to have fun, the world would be a much worse place IMO.
- __MatrixMan__ 7y ago
  As one of those enthusiasts, I don't think that's a situation you really have to worry about. It takes a little while to reconstruct oneself to the point where you'd want another deconstruction. For most people, it's not going to be every day or even every month. Only once have I run across somebody who wanted to trip twice in the same week, and I think he was just following habits ingrained in him by his previous cocaine problem. Still, there would be outliers. If availability were higher, I would be worried about the few for which this isn't the case. They might cause some significant harm to their sanity.
  - chimi 7y ago
    > They might cause some significant harm to their sanity. Is that possible? The drug counselor at my college, when asked by someone in the audience at a presentation he was giving about drug history, which drug would be the least harmful to use if someone wanted to, said immediately, "LSD." A collective gasp was let out by the crowd, especially considering he'd just said earlier it would take smoking 15 pounds of marijuana in 30 minutes to OD on it. That seemed pretty darn safe.
    - nyolfen 7y ago
      it's nearly impossible to cause physical harm with lsd, but not difficult to inflict psychological harm, especially in people who would are already vulnerable or predisposed to mental illness
      - pstuart 7y ago
        Yep. I did it over 100 times including a couple bad trips. A friend of mine was more fragile started abusing it as well and didn't do as well.
      - xkcd-sucks 7y ago
        Well shit, we should make dating and work illegal too
        deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - stef25 7y ago
      Yes it can absolutely affect your sanity. A few friends of mine developed schizophrenia (which they may have anyway later in life without psychs). I've had a few bad trips. It's a bit like being seasick. At first you worry you're going to die, then you worry you're not going to die. Psychedelics are amazing and life changing but they can also put you through mental torture in ways you can't imagine until you've experienced it.
  - lacampbell 7y ago
    You're probably the kind of person who researches LSD, maybe you were on erowid, you knew how long it would last, what rough dosage to take, what to expect etc etc. You'd know you need to be in a good 'setting' to have a good time. That is not the way 99% of people drug-taking people approach drugs. They get offered it and they go 'yeah ok!'. Bad trips would happen all the time if it was as popular as weed or booze.
  - tayo42 7y ago
    How much do you take? 100ug is fairly mild, really doesn't seem to deconstruct you
    - tmpaccount43 7y ago
      Be aware that most (more than 50%) of the 100ug tabs are actually not even 50ug according to recent studies, especially the one found in western countries. Usually, "real" 100ug shakes your world.
      - tayo42 7y ago
        I've heard that. The online/market ones seem pretty legit though...
    - __MatrixMan__ 7y ago
      Set and setting play a huge part. I've gone pretty hard, dosage wise, and still felt like the same ol' me after. I've also had a pretty life-changing ego death experience that lasted a few days after a pretty low dose. Several fellow psychonauts agreed that a certain friend could reap great benefits from it but after he tried it he was like, "meh". Over the following four years we did it together six times and on the last one he was like "woah, ok, now I respect this chemical". Similar dosage each time. Different trips take you different places.
  - 01100011 7y ago
    As a former enthusiast, I know many people who used it frequently until the "psychic harm" caught up with them. I've had binges where I was doing it every week... sometimes more if I'm at a music festival. Same with mushrooms. I'm not trying to demonize the drug, just saying that there are definitely people who can and do abuse it, and those people are a not-insignificant portion of users. Just go talk to any OG deadhead if you don't think people used LSD as a party drug.
    - __MatrixMan__ 7y ago
      Oh it definitely happens. I think it would happen less if there was less of a taboo. We vilify drugs similarly, so people who just want to get messed up start to see them as all the same. I've been approached by people at raves who seemed like they would take anything I was willing to sell. But drugs are so remarkably different from each other. I wish we treated them as such. If there wasn't already the drug <-> party association I don't think a first time LSD user would be very likely to rediscover it.
- pstuart 7y ago
  I didn't specify context because it wasn't necessary. Why don't you warn the readers of the chance of dying on it because you think you can fly? Or acid-flashbacks? They're scary! Giant insects are everywhere. Whhooooooo! I said "powerful", because it is. The means that it should be approached in a thoughtful and respectful manner, just like other powerful things.
  - senorjazz 7y ago
    > why don't you warn the readers of the chance of dying on it because you think you can fly? If people think they can fly on acid, I would suggest they try it out and take off from the ground first
    - DonHopkins 7y ago
      I flew on acid once. I had a window seat. It was amazing.
  - lacampbell 7y ago
    I didn't specify context because it wasn't necessary. Getting flashbacks to that SP episode where the San Fran people smell their own farts with that sentence. The means that it should be approached in a thoughtful and respectful manner, just like other powerful things. Cars are incredibly powerful too, and used by the masses. The result is endless suburbia and drivers killing people because they are distracted or reckless or impaired. Best to keep it to the enthusiasts. It's good that acid has avoided success at all costs.
    - pstuart 7y ago
      Clearly you've dodged a bullet.
  - kerkeslager 7y ago
    > Why don't you warn the readers of the chance of dying on it because you think you can fly? Or acid-flashbacks? I'm not disagreeing with your larger point, but I wanted to point out that neither of the "risks" you're talking about are real. 1. The "LSD makes you think you can fly" story originates with the story of Diane Linkletter[1], who jumped to her death from her kitchen window. Her father, Art Linkletter, was a famous radio/TV personality, and he spread the story that she had died due to LSD. But she had a history of depression and there's no evidence she was on LSD when she jumped, let alone evidence she thought she could fly. So it's more likely her death was an ordinary suicide. 2. Acid flashbacks--where LSD is stored somewhere in the body and released unexpectedly at a later date--don't even make sense. LSD is an unstable molecule which decomposes easily, and cannot survive in the human body long-term. HPPD[2] is a real risk of LSD, but doesn't exhibit the symptoms people usually attribute to an LSD flashback. Additionally, flashbacks are a diagnostic criteria for PTSD, acute stress disorder, or OCD[3]. [1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-scarlet-linkletter/ https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-scarlet-linkletter/ [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_perception_disorder https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen_persisting_percep... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(psychology) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashback_(psychology)
- 0xdeadb00f 7y ago
  IME It's not a "party drug" either. But it sure as hell _is_ used as a party drug by many.
  - pstuart 7y ago
    In Aldous Huxley's "Island", he uses guided psychedelic journeys as a rite of passage into adulthood (among many other sensible lifestyle adjustments). That would make the world a much better place if done correctly.
  - mayniac 7y ago
    Worth keeping in mind that Shulgin, the guy who popularised MDMA, strongly believed it should only be used for therapeutic purposes. In his view, MDMA wasn't a party drug. I can't remember the quote in PiHKAL but he had a mini-rant about hippies "ruining" the drug by taking it recreationally. To be fair, he was right that it led to MDMA being criminalised, but I remember thinking his view was incredibly close-minded. What is or is not a party drug is really down to the individual (and the party...)
- rollulus 7y ago
  If LSD would replace alcohol as a way to have fun on Friday nights, I think the world would be a way better place.
- jeff_vader 7y ago
  Funnily enough myself and friends find LSD a great party drug when in low doses. 1/8th of a tab - you stay up longer, feel more energetic, slight barely noticeable buzz. 1/4th - fairly noticeable buzz, slight vividness of vision, excitement, silly laughing, no need for alcohol. Half tab - quite strong change in vividness of vision, many other changes, but still very controllable. But we rarely do that, while full tab or more is left for safe environments instead of partying. Alcohol hangovers are not getting better with age and I don't enjoy weed at all. LSD in small doses is safe, controllable and, for myself, replaces alcohol. Get 10 tabs - test+try in advance and it will last for a long time when used like this.

swayvil 7y ago

I have had fabulous times on LSD. Kind, beautiful, full of light. Educational too. I highly recommend it.

jamiek88 7y ago

I've always wanted to try LSD, everything I can find though is either a 'research chemical' that is LSD-like or is of dubious origin. I've thought about mushrooms/psylobicin instead but I really would like my first 'journey' to be proper old school 60's LSD not your modern china-made 'one molecule off' RC. A wise old head once told me the drug would find me once I am ready.

IIAOPSW 7y ago
You should absolutely do it. Here is my playlist. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIYRqpIFecr00pZcfWM44Q5OsGJrsKZh https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjIYRqpIFecr00pZcfWM4... Don't worry too much about the 60's. What you really want is an aesthetic which overlaps a lot (but isn't identically equal to) the 60's. Try and find a tree swaying in the wind, or something which moves at similar speeds with difficult to track shapes. Fireworks are also nice. Your sense of time is wrong. Set yourself a deadman switch. Use your phone to set a 20 min timer, and when it goes off acknowledge it and then reset it. Stare at a bright spot or a lightbulb for a few seconds then close your eyes. The after image will look like it got chopped up in frequency space. Do it with a friend. Give yourself 8 hours. This is a whole day affair. Ignore the old head and get on the darknet or find an in person broker.
- GhettoMaestro 7y ago
  Interesting perspective. I have heard of much success regarding shrooms and LSD in curbing alcoholism. Perhaps it spawns a deep introspective process for the person.
  - wavefunction 7y ago
    >spawns a deep introspective process for the person It can for some. It can terrorize others. And some people just giggle a lot.
- jeswin 7y ago
  This is good advice. The swaying trees are etched into my memory from events well more than a decade back. Also be watchful not to straddle the line between explorative and habit-forming.

carapace 7y ago

In re: LSD, > Of course, the drug dose does not produce the transcendent experience. It merely acts as a chemical key — it opens the mind, frees the nervous system of its ordinary patterns and structures. The nature of the experience depends almost entirely on set and setting. Set denotes the preparation of the individual, including his personality structure and his mood at the time. Setting is physical — the weather, the room's atmosphere; social — feelings of persons present towards one another; and cultural — prevailing views as to what is real. It is for this reason that manuals or guide-books are necessary. Their purpose is to enable a person to understand the new realities of the expanded consciousness, to serve as road maps for new interior territories which modern science has made accessible. — Timothy Leary, The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_and_setting LSD merely gets you "high as a Lord". Leonard Orr used to help people have very profound healing "trips" using set and setting and oxygen (hyperventilation) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirthing_(breathwork) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebirthing_(breathwork) If you want to explore your inner world in a responsible way, a few LSD trips with deliberate set and setting might be educational, but it's much safer and easier to just use hypnosis and/or meditation.

neonate 7y ago
Leonard has since gone in for immortality. Stan Grof of course (one of the original LSD psychotherapists) has developed breathwork into a substitute for psychedelic work over many years.

crimsonalucard 7y ago

Anybody have some legitimate technical or scientific insights while on LSD? I'm talking along the lines of something like discovering General Relativity or figuring out a solution to a technical problem because you tripped on LSD.

fancyPantsZero 7y ago
Kary Mullis claimed that LSD helped him discover the PCR process for which he won the Nobel Prize: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinogens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinoge...
zelly 7y ago
Francis Crick reportedly visualized the helical structure of DNA while on LSD. He was known to use it heavily at the time and freely admitted to it. Kary Mullis was on acid[1] when he invented PCR, which is responsible for the field of modern genetics. Probably a lot, lot more from people who wouldn't admit to it. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinogens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary_Mullis#Use_of_hallucinoge...
- dekhn 7y ago
  Kary Mullis took a bunch of acid and ended up writing this paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/218663b0 https://www.nature.com/articles/218663b0 I don't think he was on acid at the moment of the conceptualization of PCR, though- the origin story most people tell involves him driving a car at night to a conference (I guess that doesn't preclude being on LSD). When I met him in person, I couldn't get him to give a straight answer to any question I asked (I think he was suffering from dementia). TBH I'd be really surprised if academics were taking LSD in '52-53, although there was definitely a long period where basically anybody could order it in quantity from Sandoz. Of course, from MK-Ultra we know the CIA was giving it to people around that time (including dosing agents), and by the early 60s, universities like Stanford were giving it to research study participants (Ken Kesey, Robert Hunter, etc).
  - 7y ago

pierrec 7y ago

I love this kind of information-packed article, especially on topics that usually yield fluff/opinion/anecdote pieces. The author seems to have written a lot of visionary-related texts and I'm curious to look at these.

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LocalH 7y ago

I think psychedelics have untapped potential for ADHD. A significant DMT experience I had greatly helped lessen my ADHD symptoms. I've also found that threshold doses of LSD increase my ability to focus as well as provide several other micro-benefits. I also suffered from anablephobia (fear of looking up into the sky), and after a particularly intense 100mcg LSD experience, that pretty much faded away and now I can look up in the sky with impunity.

stared 7y ago
It is an interesting observation. As a person with ADHD, I also saw that it makes my thoughts calmer (relaxed, dreamy, not rushed) and "flowing" rather than "jumping". Or in other words, the transitions were smoother and continuous rather than discrete.
oarabbus_ 7y ago
Glad it worked for you, but that’s far from typical. Psychedelics resulted in a great time and newfound perspectives, but I’d be reaching to claim it had any kind of lasting effect with my ADHD symptoms.

epiphanitus 7y ago

Honest question: Is there anybody here who regrets taking LSD? Is it really safe or are we dealing with a self-selection problem of the people who would regret taking LSD not being sane enough to bother being on internet forums? I'm no puritan but it just seems to me like a taking acid is a huge risk to take with one's mental health.

trippythrowaway 7y ago
I have tried LSD a few times and had nothing but positive experiences. My wife, however, tried it once and had a bad trip. She was convinced I was going to murder her (obviously everything I did further proved that point) and everything was scary for her. She was afraid of large trees in a kind of "raises my anxiety baseline" kind of way for about a year after the trip. But, the experience wore off, and she's fine now. She believes that it's possible that the experience contributed to her being a more anxious person now, but that's conflated with all kinds of things like marrying me and changing careers and having greater responsibility for those around her. I don't think it's as big a risk as you seem to think. The people who I have met who have had bad trips did not see lasting side effects, though they did take a while to wear off. I'm sure someone else will post it, but if this is something you genuinely want to know more about, read "How to Change Your Mind".
- abacadaba 7y ago
  Safe is a relative term.. Only one who can make that decision is you, or the cia. Used responsibly in moderation most people will find it a pretty f'n positive aspect of life. But ya freakouts do happens and acid casualties are most definitely a thing.
- xzel 7y ago
  I think when taking mind altering drugs you have to be self-confident, otherwise you should avoid them since that/anxiety is what normally leads to a bad trip. Having a benzo, ex. xanax, around as a backup plan can help _sort of_ stop a trip.
  - 7y ago