5 ms·

I'm very positive on LSD in general, but even to me, "a year of regular LSD use", or any kind of "regular" use sounds extreme and dangerous. I guess I take it f

by anonLSD 15y ago

I'm very positive on LSD in general, but even to me, "a year of regular LSD use", or any kind of "regular" use sounds extreme and dangerous. I guess I take it for granted that something so intense should be approached with a great deal of respect and caution. I do find it odd that people naturally "get" this for things like driving a car, hang-gliding, back-country skiing, skateboarding, parkour.... but often shut down mentally when the subject is illegal drugs.

mrleinad 15y ago
Hope you find it odd that people regularly smoke cigarettes as well. Because the point is not whether a drug is made legal or not by your congress of the moment, but whether the benefits of it outweight the health danger.
- anonLSD 15y ago
  People smoke cigarettes primarily because they are profoundly addictive, both chemically and psychologically. That confounds ordinary risk/reward analysis, and so I think it is a red herring here. Also, the "Hope you..." phrasing makes your comment come off as a bit sneering/condescending, just FYI.
  - 1337p337 15y ago
    When I am reading HN, it's almost always during time outside the office in the smoking area, or in front of my house, smoking a cigarette, like now. I would certainly agree that nicotine is profoundly addictive, and the cigarette as a delivery system equally so. It reduces anxiety (especially useful to smooth the effects of caffeine), acts as an apetite suppressant (long nights hacking can be interrupted by a five-minute smoke break rather than a thirty-minute food break), and is a mild stimulant. One issue here, though, is that as you become addicted, most of the anxiety you calm with cigarettes is caused by withdrawal symptoms or even fear of withdrawal symptoms, like headaches, hand tremors, dizziness, blurred vision, all very unpleasant. The pavlovian response is pretty strong: inhaling cigarette smoke gets you the effects within seconds. In the case of withdrawal symptoms, you have this discomfort, and it is relieved almost instantly after you inhale. People with anxiety disorders or depression have a strong tendency to self-medicate with nicotine. Psychologically, it's nice to have something to do with your hands while standing around outside waiting. Like time in the shower, sometimes I have my best ideas outside smoking, thinking about nothing in particular. And an excuse to get up from the computer and go out for a little while is great, too. There are social benefits as well, if you live in a neighborhood or work at a company where there are people coming and going, happy to converse outside. So the addiction goes fairly deep, and is often not understood by non-smokers. The fact that you see, in almost any major metropolitan environment, homeless people smoking is a pretty good indicator. Personally, there are times when I have opted to smoke rather than eat or sleep, and it is confounding but there's a deep urge anyway, as if my body were telling me that I "needed" to smoke, in the same way that it tells me I need to eat or sleep. I've made a number of attempts to quit, and have found the nicotine patches to be the most useful method. (I have a couple of boxes of them at home, waiting for Monday to roll around.)
    - jtheory 15y ago
      I'm grateful fairly frequently that I never went beyond sampling cigarettes as a kid. So a bit by chance, I don't smoke now, and I'm sure as hell not going to start as an adult. It's just profoundly clear to me (from your comments, from similar discussions with lots of other smokers) that there's no going back to a pre-smoking life. Life after quitting smoking (or any other deeply-rooted addition, I suspect) is not at all the same as a life where you never started; that bridge is burned.
      - 1337p337 15y ago
        Well, once you're off, the benefits start to pile up quickly. Food tastes better, you don't cough up strangely colored things early in the morning, your lungs don't burn, etc. It's still an incredibly difficult addiction to quit, much moreso than I expected before I started smoking. When not smoking, I do tend to miss all of the benefits, especially the extra time to think, but I've in the past replaced it with taking brief walks to get some coffee or tea.
      - ajays 15y ago
        I think most smokers start at a young age; if you're not a smoker by age 25, there is little chance of you becoming one after that. This is why a lot of cigarette advertising is subliminally targeted at young folks.
    - guelo 15y ago
      FYI, for me, Chantix is a quit smoking wonder drug, it made it surprisingly easy for me to quit my 15 year pack-a-day addiction.
      - 1337p337 15y ago
        Per the Wikipedia page it looks interesting, although I've been almost successful with the patch in the past, and know essentially what to expect. I had used the gum (the gratification wasn't quite instant enough) and the "e-cigarettes" (nicotine vaporizers) before with neither working for very long. I had also tried (ill-advisedly) Adderall, which is supposed to calm nicotine cravings for some. (It really only made me giddy and scatter-brained. A very fun drug that made me almost entirely useless.) Should my next attempt work out the same as my previous ones, I'll definitely look into Chantix.
kgo 15y ago
Yeah, if 'regular use' is more than once a week for a year, that's a lot of LSD. Psychosis might not be the causal element there, a shitload of lsd might be the causal element.
- gbog 15y ago
  I know of very close people having big and long psycho troubles just with one trip.
- drivebyacct2 15y ago
  LSD isn't effective more than once a week. If you took LSD two days in a row, it simply wouldn't do anything the second day. http://www.quora.com/Is-there-some-sort-of-refractory-period-for-dropping-acid http://www.quora.com/Is-there-some-sort-of-refractory-period... I guess you could take it two, max three times a week.
  - proexploit 15y ago
    Your first sentence and last sentence are contradictory. Additionally, the information you linked to could be a typo but it actually says that "This means that you should be able to dose the same quantity of acid again to achieve similar effects." I don't personally use LSD, but I believe this information to be correct: "There is a short period of tolerance after use. Using LSD two days in a row is likely to lead to a diminished experience the second day, though spaced 3 or more days apart, this effect is nearly non-existent." (via http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_basics.shtml http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_basics.shtml) Yes, using it two days in a row will result in a less powerful effect the second day but most people wouldn't attempt it that soon anyways (I'd assume). I only point this out as this thread makes LSD seem like a wonder drug and I'd want new users to get the correct information.
  - drivebyacct2 15y ago
    Wow, I left the original statement there because I thought it was a week. Corrected with a citation and got slaughtered. Don't mess with HN's LSD, huh!
dooq 15y ago
I would also strongly advise against regular use of LSD. I think LSD trips are highly influenced by your state of mind and intention towards the trip. Sometimes I've tripped looking for a spiritual event or revelations, and they often show up (in some form or another). Other times I've done it more 'just for fun' and there hasn't been as much revelation in it. LSD has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. I now reserve it for special occasions, and combine a bit of ceremony to it. It's a powerful substance, so treat it with the weight it deserves.
- omarchowdhury 15y ago
  Where do you get it?

by anonLSD 15y ago

mrleinad 15y ago

Hope you find it odd that people regularly smoke cigarettes as well. Because the point is not whether a drug is made legal or not by your congress of the moment, but whether the benefits of it outweight the health danger.

anonLSD 15y ago
People smoke cigarettes primarily because they are profoundly addictive, both chemically and psychologically. That confounds ordinary risk/reward analysis, and so I think it is a red herring here. Also, the "Hope you..." phrasing makes your comment come off as a bit sneering/condescending, just FYI.
- 1337p337 15y ago
  When I am reading HN, it's almost always during time outside the office in the smoking area, or in front of my house, smoking a cigarette, like now. I would certainly agree that nicotine is profoundly addictive, and the cigarette as a delivery system equally so. It reduces anxiety (especially useful to smooth the effects of caffeine), acts as an apetite suppressant (long nights hacking can be interrupted by a five-minute smoke break rather than a thirty-minute food break), and is a mild stimulant. One issue here, though, is that as you become addicted, most of the anxiety you calm with cigarettes is caused by withdrawal symptoms or even fear of withdrawal symptoms, like headaches, hand tremors, dizziness, blurred vision, all very unpleasant. The pavlovian response is pretty strong: inhaling cigarette smoke gets you the effects within seconds. In the case of withdrawal symptoms, you have this discomfort, and it is relieved almost instantly after you inhale. People with anxiety disorders or depression have a strong tendency to self-medicate with nicotine. Psychologically, it's nice to have something to do with your hands while standing around outside waiting. Like time in the shower, sometimes I have my best ideas outside smoking, thinking about nothing in particular. And an excuse to get up from the computer and go out for a little while is great, too. There are social benefits as well, if you live in a neighborhood or work at a company where there are people coming and going, happy to converse outside. So the addiction goes fairly deep, and is often not understood by non-smokers. The fact that you see, in almost any major metropolitan environment, homeless people smoking is a pretty good indicator. Personally, there are times when I have opted to smoke rather than eat or sleep, and it is confounding but there's a deep urge anyway, as if my body were telling me that I "needed" to smoke, in the same way that it tells me I need to eat or sleep. I've made a number of attempts to quit, and have found the nicotine patches to be the most useful method. (I have a couple of boxes of them at home, waiting for Monday to roll around.)
  - jtheory 15y ago
    I'm grateful fairly frequently that I never went beyond sampling cigarettes as a kid. So a bit by chance, I don't smoke now, and I'm sure as hell not going to start as an adult. It's just profoundly clear to me (from your comments, from similar discussions with lots of other smokers) that there's no going back to a pre-smoking life. Life after quitting smoking (or any other deeply-rooted addition, I suspect) is not at all the same as a life where you never started; that bridge is burned.
    - 1337p337 15y ago
      Well, once you're off, the benefits start to pile up quickly. Food tastes better, you don't cough up strangely colored things early in the morning, your lungs don't burn, etc. It's still an incredibly difficult addiction to quit, much moreso than I expected before I started smoking. When not smoking, I do tend to miss all of the benefits, especially the extra time to think, but I've in the past replaced it with taking brief walks to get some coffee or tea.
    - ajays 15y ago
      I think most smokers start at a young age; if you're not a smoker by age 25, there is little chance of you becoming one after that. This is why a lot of cigarette advertising is subliminally targeted at young folks.
  - guelo 15y ago
    FYI, for me, Chantix is a quit smoking wonder drug, it made it surprisingly easy for me to quit my 15 year pack-a-day addiction.
    - 1337p337 15y ago
      Per the Wikipedia page it looks interesting, although I've been almost successful with the patch in the past, and know essentially what to expect. I had used the gum (the gratification wasn't quite instant enough) and the "e-cigarettes" (nicotine vaporizers) before with neither working for very long. I had also tried (ill-advisedly) Adderall, which is supposed to calm nicotine cravings for some. (It really only made me giddy and scatter-brained. A very fun drug that made me almost entirely useless.) Should my next attempt work out the same as my previous ones, I'll definitely look into Chantix.

kgo 15y ago

Yeah, if 'regular use' is more than once a week for a year, that's a lot of LSD. Psychosis might not be the causal element there, a shitload of lsd might be the causal element.

gbog 15y ago
I know of very close people having big and long psycho troubles just with one trip.
drivebyacct2 15y ago
LSD isn't effective more than once a week. If you took LSD two days in a row, it simply wouldn't do anything the second day. http://www.quora.com/Is-there-some-sort-of-refractory-period-for-dropping-acid http://www.quora.com/Is-there-some-sort-of-refractory-period... I guess you could take it two, max three times a week.
- proexploit 15y ago
  Your first sentence and last sentence are contradictory. Additionally, the information you linked to could be a typo but it actually says that "This means that you should be able to dose the same quantity of acid again to achieve similar effects." I don't personally use LSD, but I believe this information to be correct: "There is a short period of tolerance after use. Using LSD two days in a row is likely to lead to a diminished experience the second day, though spaced 3 or more days apart, this effect is nearly non-existent." (via http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_basics.shtml http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_basics.shtml) Yes, using it two days in a row will result in a less powerful effect the second day but most people wouldn't attempt it that soon anyways (I'd assume). I only point this out as this thread makes LSD seem like a wonder drug and I'd want new users to get the correct information.
- drivebyacct2 15y ago
  Wow, I left the original statement there because I thought it was a week. Corrected with a citation and got slaughtered. Don't mess with HN's LSD, huh!

dooq 15y ago

I would also strongly advise against regular use of LSD. I think LSD trips are highly influenced by your state of mind and intention towards the trip. Sometimes I've tripped looking for a spiritual event or revelations, and they often show up (in some form or another). Other times I've done it more 'just for fun' and there hasn't been as much revelation in it. LSD has been one of the most profound experiences of my life. I now reserve it for special occasions, and combine a bit of ceremony to it. It's a powerful substance, so treat it with the weight it deserves.

omarchowdhury 15y ago
Where do you get it?