It is indeed all speculation at this point, but that doesn't mean we can't use intuition and educated guesses to minimize risk and hopefully build on cultural w

It is indeed all speculation at this point, but that doesn't mean we can't use intuition and educated guesses to minimize risk and hopefully build on cultural wisdom regarding psychedelics until the science catches up (which I expect will take a loooong time given how complex this is). A synopsis of his account: 1. The first time he tripped he took an unknown dose in an unfamiliar setting completely by himself and experienced some expended periods of "panic, anxiety, a lot of bad feelings." Descriptions like he thought he was dead, lost all sense of time, forgot he took mushrooms, felt like everything had gone to hell, etc. Some of his phrasing implies he didn't really even know what to expect from the drug, as in he just took a random dose with no understanding of what it might do to him, and after an initial period of enjoyment had a hellish trip (but came back just fine). 2. The [??, second?] time he tripped, he took an unknown dose in an unfamiliar setting and his mind/body was sending him signals of "don't do this please," which it sounds like the ever insidious peer pressure was ultimately able to override. Some of his phrasing again implies that he did not know what to expect from smoking DMT (as opposed to other psychedelics). He specifically mentions being significantly uncomfortable before and during his consumption of the drug. I think it would be obtuse to pretend we can't see any potential signs in these two stories about where he might have gone wrong, and what he might have done instead to lessen the risks of such an extreme, bad reaction to these powerful drugs. Of course we should not make categorical statements about how to avoid lasting damage from psychedelics, but we can certain spread knowledge about best practices which this person has blatantly ignored on several levels. Not blaming the guy, we all make mistakes and it is unfortunate that sometimes those mistakes have long-lasting or permanent negative effects. But throwing our hands up in the air and spreading the idea "you can't know anything about these drugs except that they randomly might break your brain" is not the correct response to stories like this. It could be true that psychedelics could randomly break anyone's brain at any time, but we just don't know that. There is a lot that we do know in the way of smart steps to take to minimize risk, along the lines of: Know your drug Know and trust your source, and/or test the drug prior to use Know your dose Know your body Know your family history Know your setting Be sure you feel safe in your setting Dose conservatively Have a sober friend Don't be afraid to abort the trip at the last minute If you have a terrible experience and come out of it OK, chalk it up to lesson learned and move on to other life experiences.. don't keep trying psychedelics. * please note that each of these bullet points merit a lot of elaboration, and as always, it behooves people to do extensive research with careful note-taking and planning before undertaking potential risky and life-altering behaviors and activities.