14 ms·

For Brilliant Color: Packaging the First LSD Blotter

226 points by anarbadalov 3y ago

grubbs 3y ago
Reminded me of this article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7b7kv4/mark-mccloud-collects-acid-as-artwork https://www.vice.com/en/article/7b7kv4/mark-mccloud-collects... Mark McCloud has about 30,000 tabs of LSD. He collects them, frames them, and catalogues them in his San Francisco home, which is why Mark gets periodically arrested by the DEA.
- anarbadalov 3y ago
  He's a fascinating character. Erik Davis (author of this piece) collaborated with McCloud's Institute of Illegal Images to produce his new book on Blotter tabs: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048507/blotter/ https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048507/blotter/ (full disclosure: i work for the MIT Press)
- gbjw 3y ago
  > Should everyone take acid? > No, because you have to ask the right question to take it. Do you want a one-on-one with your maker?
  - int_19h 3y ago
    This right there is why pagans get a lot more fun out of it. ~
- Scrounger 3y ago
  > Mark McCloud has about 30,000 tabs of LSD. Hopefully he won't take all of them like these guys: https://notsoprofound.com/the-unforeseen-lsd-overdose-of-1972/ https://notsoprofound.com/the-unforeseen-lsd-overdose-of-197...
  - Kailhus 3y ago
    Indeed, no thanks!
- tsukurimashou 3y ago
  too bad images links are broken
  - Kailhus 3y ago
    Abracadabra! https://web.archive.org/web/20201111164844/https://www.vice.com/en/article/7b7kv4/mark-mccloud-collects-acid-as-artwork https://web.archive.org/web/20201111164844/https://www.vice....
aredox 3y ago
Funny to see so much admiration for psychedelics from universities such as MIT. Has there ever been any objective -strong emphasis- of the efficiency of LSD to improve cognition, creativity or consciousness? Because I definitely never see LSD listed in the category of "doping" substances. The main advocates are users themselves who think they had a revelation - but how much of it is self-delusion? I'd hasard it's a lot - if not all there is to it. (I would be fun to imagine a plant of fungus whose evolutionary niche would be to seduce animals/humans they need it - leading to it being cultivated)
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- piva00 3y ago
  Research around substances like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT, and so many others have been absolutely hampered by the War on Drugs the USA started. Hard to get objective results from something that couldn't be studied without putting researchers' careers to death.
  - rabbits77 3y ago
    Ah, yes, the argument which ignores the fact that medical research also happens everywhere else in the world. If there was any medical value to any of this nonsense it’d already be well known in Europe, China, Russia, or India.
    - reactordev 3y ago
      [flagged]
    - piva00 3y ago
      The Single Convention on Narcotics [0] (heavily influenced by US's policies) and the later Convention on Psychotropic Substances [1] extended the same bullshit to all signatories, so no, no other countries could research either. I'd advise learning some history before berating me with bullshit. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Sub... Edit: the repercussions of these conventions extend to this day even when countries attempt to legalise just cannabis, like Germany's case when moving forward with their legalisation which infringes on EU law against illicit drug trafficking [2], procedure 2001/0114/CNS is a direct side-effect of the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances [3] started... By US's policies against drugs in the 60s-70s. It's a direct link creating issues to this day by puritan American values. Decades of potential research worldwide blocked because a politician in the US needed to get a weapon against minorities, fun, huh? [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32004F0757 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=celex%3A... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Against_Illicit_Traffic_in_Narcotic_Drugs_and_Psychotropic_Substances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Agai...
helsinkiandrew 3y ago
He was also a psychedelic jazz musician - his Secret Sauce album from 1975 was rereleased recently: https://ericghost.bandcamp.com/album/secret-sauce https://ericghost.bandcamp.com/album/secret-sauce
- dclowd9901 3y ago
  This is fantastic, one of my favorite jazz forms. Thanks for sharing it!
- cracoucax 3y ago
  Wow that's very nice
- Scrounger 3y ago
  Sounds awesome!
kingofthehill98 3y ago
If you ever get the chance of taking LSD on a good set and setting (don't even try otherwise) and your family has no history of mental ilness, go ahead and take it. It's gonna be one of the most interesting experiences in your life, to say the least. There's nothing like a psychedelic experience, I can't even put it to words.
- hughw 3y ago
  I would bet most people who have used it would wish its use were more universal, say by politicians or corporate executives -- anyone with power.
  - jorvi 3y ago
    I feel like LSD is way more visual (basically a fun rollercoaster ride) and the actual introspection happens on stuff like shrooms. Obviously when you start taking high doses and reality kind of breaks down the distinction becomes moot, but at regular doses it does matter.
    - criddell 3y ago
      The visual aspect makes me wonder if the LSD experience in people with aphantasia is substantially different? I'm 53 now and hope that before I die (which I hope isn't anytime soon) there's a safe and legal way for me to try LSD.
      - basil-rash 3y ago
        We phantage, but not to the extent as others. That said, I must highly recommend not using in attempt to “fix” one’s aphantasia. Edit: I recommend to stick to shrooms if you can.
      - acidwash 3y ago
        > The visual aspect makes me wonder if the LSD experience in people with aphantasia is substantially different? I'd love to tell you, but I don't know how people without aphantasia experience LSD. What I do know is that my inner experience is only (mostly) blind; it has fully developed senses of hearing, touch, smell and taste. I get visual distortions, apparently within normal parameters. Thus far in the few experiences I've had with synesthesia, it's never involved my sense of sight.
optimalsolver 3y ago
Reminder. Psychedelics can also lead to extremely traumatic experiences: https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=23788 https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=23788 This doesn’t get mentioned in the current “psychedelics as a cure-all” hype wave.
- mtalantikite 3y ago
  Aren't people always talking about set and setting, after-trip integration, not taking them if there is a history of mental illness, not being on SSRIs, etc? If anyone at any time is telling people that something doesn't come with some sort of risk, they're either lying or ignorant. Especially true when it comes with the mind. Also, reading this linked person's comment, they were on DMT and it sounds like they have some strong ideas about how the universe works (they mention having been to "heaven" before and keep mentioning hell and evil and devils as if they are real). Yes, people should be careful, especially when they have issues with mental health.
  - LoganDark 3y ago
    DMT is related to LSD (they're both tryptamines). I think DMT made them hallucinate those things which is why they talk "as if they are real" - that's something they felt like they genuinely experienced, which is what made it so traumatic. As for the heaven thing, I do not know if they were particularly susceptible to delusions before ever taking anything, but if they were, then it was probably not the right choice, yeah. It's hard to be self-aware about delusions if you don't know they're delusions. It's definitely possible though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8VmJsX6-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8VmJsX6-s
    - mtalantikite 3y ago
      Oh for sure, I'm well aware of what DMT is like and I know it's very easy to get confused by things that come up during those trips since they are so vivid, which is why integration is important. He also took 60mg, which is on the high end of a strong dose afaik. I've wondered if it would be useful to approach psychedelics similar to the way that meditation is taught in vajrayana lineages, where you have to do preliminary mind trainings before you start advancing to other practices. If you encounter "hell" in a bad trip, like the person in the post, but have no way to understand it, it's easy to believe in it literally. I just watched a few minutes of that video you linked and I'll definitely watch it later, he seems very lucid about his delusions, thanks!
krylon 3y ago
Psychedelicatessen is an awesome name for a headshop. :-)
- ribs 3y ago
  Agreed. Inspired by your comment, I did a Google map search, and there appear to be no places currently sporting that name, though there was a bagel shop in Troy NY with it, closed down in 2019. So, you know, there is a vacuum waiting to be filled. Could be filled by a head shop, could be by anything…
  - pastrami_panda 3y ago
    > could be by anything… A JS framework is probably nabbing it as we speak
    - accrual 3y ago
      "Just call the dropTab() function and watch as your webpage transforms into a brilliant galaxy of colors and sounds!"
    - int_19h 3y ago
      These days, cool kids are into LLMs. https://github.com/EGjoni/DRUGS https://github.com/EGjoni/DRUGS
  - forthisonepost 3y ago
    And it was a fantastic bagel shop, at that! The community was very sad when it closed doors. You'd think there'd be many more with a great name like that.
  - krylon 3y ago
    It's funny to me that there are two cities in New York named Troy and Ithaca.
    - smolder 3y ago
gamepsys 3y ago
That's pretty neat packaging, but it is unclear if the text about LSD would be visible from the outside. I imagine it would have to be completely invisible to be considered any sort of stealth. It's neat that the 5x20 design implies that it was rectangular, probably designed to mirror the size and shape of film. Each package shipped with 1,000,000 micrograms. Finally, it's pretty incredible that something like this survived. Most people follow a "dispose of the evidence" protocol when it comes illicit drug packaging.
- billyt555 3y ago
  I think it was inside based on this excerpt: “Opening Ghost’s package, purchasers would discover a handy information sheet that today gives us a sense of how some underground purveyors understood and promoted their wares.”
- __MatrixMan__ 3y ago
  > Each package shipped with 1,000,000 micrograms Woah there buddy. 100 droplets at 1,000 μg each = 100,000 μg. I was a little surprised to learn that they didn't just dilute it a bit more and soak the entire sheet.
  - superb_dev 3y ago
    If you soak the entire sheet, I don't think you can be certain how much active product a single blotter absorbed
    - __MatrixMan__ 3y ago
      But with the make-100-droplets technique, how can you be sure that each droplet contains the same amount? You're still relying on diffusion of solutes to achieve some degree of uniformity across several fixed volumes.
      - nicd 3y ago
        Diffusion in liquid is relatively consistent. When paper is soaked and allowed to dry, it can produce uneven concentrations as regions evaporate at different rates, and solutes move along with the flow of solvent. A good example of this is water color painting: if you mix paint into water and then apply it to the paper, the resulting patterns may be less uniform than when applied.
klyrs 3y ago
> It has been cited as a specific cure for frigidity, impotence and homosexuality Startup concept: a conversion camp where you take religious peoples' money and host LSD retreats for queer kids
- diggan 3y ago
  Might have the reverse effect, I'd consider psychedelics (LSD specifically) one of the reason I no longer suffer from homophobia.
  - klyrs 3y ago
    So you're saying that at the end of camp, we should require the parents to partake in a final session?
    - hackable_sand 3y ago
      Although I know you're joking about the scenario, I fear that non-therapeutic psychedelic experiences have equal or more likelihood to compound bigoted predisposition or - given intense societal pressure - trigger repression mechanisms when confronted with honest reality.
      - klyrs 3y ago
        My immediate concern would be acid-tripping parents calling the police to report that we'd groomed their children and roofied the adults. But, sure, if I survived the local goon squad raid, I might also regret your thing
  - spoiler 3y ago
    You might be aware already, but your post reminds me of an old running gag on forums that "LSD turning homies into homos" because of a rumor LSD can make people gay. Aside: I'm sure psychedelics helped many people come to terms with their speciality, or the altered headspace helped them come out to friends
  - 3y ago
everythingbagel 3y ago
Wow, is this what the Paul Simon song called Kodachrome is actually about? (Please don't make fun of me if this was already a known thing.)
- deleted 3y ago
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- pvg 3y ago
  That's a great folkexplanation but the wikipedia page makes it sound unlikely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome_(song)#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome_(song)#Development
  - pohl 3y ago
    That song is the first thing that went through my mind, too. It's an interesting re-framing of the song, even if there's nothing to it. There's nothing in the Wikipedia entry that contradicts the possibility, though. Both could be true, with illicit details elided from the official telling. Still I'm choosing to believe in innocent origins.
  - m463 3y ago
    and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is unlikely too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds you can't help wondering though...
    - pvg 3y ago
      you can't help wondering though... That's true but at least we have a bit more to go on there (if not specifically about Lucy in the Sky) - I can't dig up the original reference but it's a famous enough story to paste from a random google search result: John told Derek Taylor that when he and Paul dropped acid together they “just stared into each other’s eyes saying ‘I know, man’ and laughing”
Alex3917 3y ago
Great article, makes me want to finally read the author’s Techgnosis book which has been on my shelf forever.
- solomonb 3y ago
  Erik Davis is awesome. I took a class taught by him in the early 2000s. It was inspiring.
- mistrial9 3y ago
  TechGnosis took three tries, but in the end it was worth it IMO.
Jasmine209 3y ago
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Jasmine209 3y ago
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tivert 3y ago
> Opening Ghost’s package, purchasers would discover a handy information sheet that today gives us a sense of how some underground purveyors understood and promoted their wares. Rather than hippie mysticism or revolutionary cant, Ghost’s text presents LSD as a scientific product of a modern research lab run by a pharmaceutical corporation. Without more information, that conclusion seems to be going too far. The package is a parody of a commercial product, and it would be totally unsurprising to me that the parody extended to the attitude of the text. Kodak almost certainly presented its contemporary film as "a scientific product of a modern research lab" in a similar way.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  Albert Hoffman was working for Sandoz: https://houseofswitzerland.org/swissstories/history/swiss-beginnings-lsd https://houseofswitzerland.org/swissstories/history/swiss-be...
  - tivert 3y ago
    Oh, I know. I'm just saying that fact doesn't have any particular bearing on "how some underground purveyors understood and promoted their wares," and you cannot really unpack the non-parody aspects of a parody with only access to the parody itself.
swayvil 3y ago
LSD doesn't show up on piss test. It's somewhat unique in that. Something to keep in mind.
- bongodongobob 3y ago
  More like it's just not tested for, I don't think a urine test exists for LSD.
  - swayvil 3y ago
    It is active in extremely tiny doses. Micrograms. That's why.
    - bongodongobob 3y ago
      Right but that may not preclude testing via auxiliary indicators. It could prompt other changes that you could test for, but, you're right, I'm assuming that's just not possible.
  - tsukurimashou 3y ago
    nah, I don't think there are reliable ways to detect it from urine / saliva, which is why they do it with blood tests instead
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  People with light iris colours may not wish to rely on that.
  - swayvil 3y ago
    Why?
    - whatindaheck 3y ago
      Dilates your pupils to the size of dimes. Much more than the eye drops at the optometrist do.
mannyv 3y ago
In general, LSD is something that I wouldn't recommend to just anyone because the outcome of a trip depends on your mental strength. You can definitely rewire your brain, which can be a good or bad thing depending. There are plenty of tips online, but two that have stuck with me are: * remember that it will end * have something with you that you've had for a long time, because it'll be an anchor. Neither of those thoughts/things may matter until they do.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  The Reed College (IIRC) student handbook had some good advice, including something along the lines of: * remember that you will be extremely tempted to answer complex questions like What Is Love? and Who Is God? * when you are actually unable to answer simple questions like What Is Toothpaste? and Where Is My Left Foot?
  - LoganDark 3y ago
    Man, I wish I could find something that made me unable to answer those questions. That sounds fun. I dissociate a lot even without drugs, but have never quite gotten that far.
- denton-scratch 3y ago
  > remember that it will end > have something with you that you've had for a long time, because it'll be an anchor. * Have some Librium or Valium to hand.
tosser0001 3y ago
If I never saw another psychedelic-related link on Hacker News again it would be too soon (just my opinion)
- 082349872349872 3y ago
  It beats AI/Musk/Passive Income!/etc. (my opinion)
- willy_k 3y ago
  To each their own, but it’s a fascinating topic that has considerable implications for religion, culture, history, art, science, and health. Worth reading about IMO
samstave 3y ago
Never forget the articles about the impact of LSD on early Cisco/Networking... See previous thread here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38970587 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38970587 (and the menlo park studies... LSD is intrinsically linked to the development of silicon valley)
- Scrounger 3y ago
  Thanks for that! Super interesting!
fennecbutt 3y ago
"cited as a cure for homosexuality" Always a bit hurtful to be reminded of stuff like that.

226 points by anarbadalov 3y ago

Reminded me of this article: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7b7kv4/mark-mccloud-collects-acid-as-artwork https://www.vice.com/en/article/7b7kv4/mark-mccloud-collects... Mark McCloud has about 30,000 tabs of LSD. He collects them, frames them, and catalogues them in his San Francisco home, which is why Mark gets periodically arrested by the DEA.

anarbadalov 3y ago
He's a fascinating character. Erik Davis (author of this piece) collaborated with McCloud's Institute of Illegal Images to produce his new book on Blotter tabs: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048507/blotter/ https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262048507/blotter/ (full disclosure: i work for the MIT Press)
gbjw 3y ago
> Should everyone take acid? > No, because you have to ask the right question to take it. Do you want a one-on-one with your maker?
- int_19h 3y ago
  This right there is why pagans get a lot more fun out of it. ~
Scrounger 3y ago
> Mark McCloud has about 30,000 tabs of LSD. Hopefully he won't take all of them like these guys: https://notsoprofound.com/the-unforeseen-lsd-overdose-of-1972/ https://notsoprofound.com/the-unforeseen-lsd-overdose-of-197...
- Kailhus 3y ago
  Indeed, no thanks!
tsukurimashou 3y ago
too bad images links are broken
- Kailhus 3y ago
  Abracadabra! https://web.archive.org/web/20201111164844/https://www.vice.com/en/article/7b7kv4/mark-mccloud-collects-acid-as-artwork https://web.archive.org/web/20201111164844/https://www.vice....

aredox 3y ago

Funny to see so much admiration for psychedelics from universities such as MIT. Has there ever been any objective -strong emphasis- of the efficiency of LSD to improve cognition, creativity or consciousness? Because I definitely never see LSD listed in the category of "doping" substances. The main advocates are users themselves who think they had a revelation - but how much of it is self-delusion? I'd hasard it's a lot - if not all there is to it. (I would be fun to imagine a plant of fungus whose evolutionary niche would be to seduce animals/humans they need it - leading to it being cultivated)

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
piva00 3y ago
Research around substances like LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT, and so many others have been absolutely hampered by the War on Drugs the USA started. Hard to get objective results from something that couldn't be studied without putting researchers' careers to death.
- rabbits77 3y ago
  Ah, yes, the argument which ignores the fact that medical research also happens everywhere else in the world. If there was any medical value to any of this nonsense it’d already be well known in Europe, China, Russia, or India.
  - reactordev 3y ago
    [flagged]
  - piva00 3y ago
    The Single Convention on Narcotics [0] (heavily influenced by US's policies) and the later Convention on Psychotropic Substances [1] extended the same bullshit to all signatories, so no, no other countries could research either. I'd advise learning some history before berating me with bullshit. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Substances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_Psychotropic_Sub... Edit: the repercussions of these conventions extend to this day even when countries attempt to legalise just cannabis, like Germany's case when moving forward with their legalisation which infringes on EU law against illicit drug trafficking [2], procedure 2001/0114/CNS is a direct side-effect of the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances [3] started... By US's policies against drugs in the 60s-70s. It's a direct link creating issues to this day by puritan American values. Decades of potential research worldwide blocked because a politician in the US needed to get a weapon against minorities, fun, huh? [2] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=celex%3A32004F0757 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=celex%3A... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Against_Illicit_Traffic_in_Narcotic_Drugs_and_Psychotropic_Substances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Agai...

helsinkiandrew 3y ago

He was also a psychedelic jazz musician - his Secret Sauce album from 1975 was rereleased recently: https://ericghost.bandcamp.com/album/secret-sauce https://ericghost.bandcamp.com/album/secret-sauce

dclowd9901 3y ago
This is fantastic, one of my favorite jazz forms. Thanks for sharing it!
cracoucax 3y ago
Wow that's very nice
Scrounger 3y ago
Sounds awesome!

kingofthehill98 3y ago

If you ever get the chance of taking LSD on a good set and setting (don't even try otherwise) and your family has no history of mental ilness, go ahead and take it. It's gonna be one of the most interesting experiences in your life, to say the least. There's nothing like a psychedelic experience, I can't even put it to words.

hughw 3y ago
I would bet most people who have used it would wish its use were more universal, say by politicians or corporate executives -- anyone with power.
- jorvi 3y ago
  I feel like LSD is way more visual (basically a fun rollercoaster ride) and the actual introspection happens on stuff like shrooms. Obviously when you start taking high doses and reality kind of breaks down the distinction becomes moot, but at regular doses it does matter.
  - criddell 3y ago
    The visual aspect makes me wonder if the LSD experience in people with aphantasia is substantially different? I'm 53 now and hope that before I die (which I hope isn't anytime soon) there's a safe and legal way for me to try LSD.
    - basil-rash 3y ago
      We phantage, but not to the extent as others. That said, I must highly recommend not using in attempt to “fix” one’s aphantasia. Edit: I recommend to stick to shrooms if you can.
    - acidwash 3y ago
      > The visual aspect makes me wonder if the LSD experience in people with aphantasia is substantially different? I'd love to tell you, but I don't know how people without aphantasia experience LSD. What I do know is that my inner experience is only (mostly) blind; it has fully developed senses of hearing, touch, smell and taste. I get visual distortions, apparently within normal parameters. Thus far in the few experiences I've had with synesthesia, it's never involved my sense of sight.

optimalsolver 3y ago

Reminder. Psychedelics can also lead to extremely traumatic experiences: https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=23788 https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=23788 This doesn’t get mentioned in the current “psychedelics as a cure-all” hype wave.

mtalantikite 3y ago
Aren't people always talking about set and setting, after-trip integration, not taking them if there is a history of mental illness, not being on SSRIs, etc? If anyone at any time is telling people that something doesn't come with some sort of risk, they're either lying or ignorant. Especially true when it comes with the mind. Also, reading this linked person's comment, they were on DMT and it sounds like they have some strong ideas about how the universe works (they mention having been to "heaven" before and keep mentioning hell and evil and devils as if they are real). Yes, people should be careful, especially when they have issues with mental health.
- LoganDark 3y ago
  DMT is related to LSD (they're both tryptamines). I think DMT made them hallucinate those things which is why they talk "as if they are real" - that's something they felt like they genuinely experienced, which is what made it so traumatic. As for the heaven thing, I do not know if they were particularly susceptible to delusions before ever taking anything, but if they were, then it was probably not the right choice, yeah. It's hard to be self-aware about delusions if you don't know they're delusions. It's definitely possible though: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8VmJsX6-s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GU8VmJsX6-s
  - mtalantikite 3y ago
    Oh for sure, I'm well aware of what DMT is like and I know it's very easy to get confused by things that come up during those trips since they are so vivid, which is why integration is important. He also took 60mg, which is on the high end of a strong dose afaik. I've wondered if it would be useful to approach psychedelics similar to the way that meditation is taught in vajrayana lineages, where you have to do preliminary mind trainings before you start advancing to other practices. If you encounter "hell" in a bad trip, like the person in the post, but have no way to understand it, it's easy to believe in it literally. I just watched a few minutes of that video you linked and I'll definitely watch it later, he seems very lucid about his delusions, thanks!

krylon 3y ago

Psychedelicatessen is an awesome name for a headshop. :-)

ribs 3y ago
Agreed. Inspired by your comment, I did a Google map search, and there appear to be no places currently sporting that name, though there was a bagel shop in Troy NY with it, closed down in 2019. So, you know, there is a vacuum waiting to be filled. Could be filled by a head shop, could be by anything…
- pastrami_panda 3y ago
  > could be by anything… A JS framework is probably nabbing it as we speak
  - accrual 3y ago
    "Just call the dropTab() function and watch as your webpage transforms into a brilliant galaxy of colors and sounds!"
  - int_19h 3y ago
    These days, cool kids are into LLMs. https://github.com/EGjoni/DRUGS https://github.com/EGjoni/DRUGS
- forthisonepost 3y ago
  And it was a fantastic bagel shop, at that! The community was very sad when it closed doors. You'd think there'd be many more with a great name like that.
- krylon 3y ago
  It's funny to me that there are two cities in New York named Troy and Ithaca.
  - smolder 3y ago

gamepsys 3y ago

That's pretty neat packaging, but it is unclear if the text about LSD would be visible from the outside. I imagine it would have to be completely invisible to be considered any sort of stealth. It's neat that the 5x20 design implies that it was rectangular, probably designed to mirror the size and shape of film. Each package shipped with 1,000,000 micrograms. Finally, it's pretty incredible that something like this survived. Most people follow a "dispose of the evidence" protocol when it comes illicit drug packaging.

billyt555 3y ago
I think it was inside based on this excerpt: “Opening Ghost’s package, purchasers would discover a handy information sheet that today gives us a sense of how some underground purveyors understood and promoted their wares.”
__MatrixMan__ 3y ago
> Each package shipped with 1,000,000 micrograms Woah there buddy. 100 droplets at 1,000 μg each = 100,000 μg. I was a little surprised to learn that they didn't just dilute it a bit more and soak the entire sheet.
- superb_dev 3y ago
  If you soak the entire sheet, I don't think you can be certain how much active product a single blotter absorbed
  - __MatrixMan__ 3y ago
    But with the make-100-droplets technique, how can you be sure that each droplet contains the same amount? You're still relying on diffusion of solutes to achieve some degree of uniformity across several fixed volumes.
    - nicd 3y ago
      Diffusion in liquid is relatively consistent. When paper is soaked and allowed to dry, it can produce uneven concentrations as regions evaporate at different rates, and solutes move along with the flow of solvent. A good example of this is water color painting: if you mix paint into water and then apply it to the paper, the resulting patterns may be less uniform than when applied.

klyrs 3y ago

> It has been cited as a specific cure for frigidity, impotence and homosexuality Startup concept: a conversion camp where you take religious peoples' money and host LSD retreats for queer kids

diggan 3y ago
Might have the reverse effect, I'd consider psychedelics (LSD specifically) one of the reason I no longer suffer from homophobia.
- klyrs 3y ago
  So you're saying that at the end of camp, we should require the parents to partake in a final session?
  - hackable_sand 3y ago
    Although I know you're joking about the scenario, I fear that non-therapeutic psychedelic experiences have equal or more likelihood to compound bigoted predisposition or - given intense societal pressure - trigger repression mechanisms when confronted with honest reality.
    - klyrs 3y ago
      My immediate concern would be acid-tripping parents calling the police to report that we'd groomed their children and roofied the adults. But, sure, if I survived the local goon squad raid, I might also regret your thing
- spoiler 3y ago
  You might be aware already, but your post reminds me of an old running gag on forums that "LSD turning homies into homos" because of a rumor LSD can make people gay. Aside: I'm sure psychedelics helped many people come to terms with their speciality, or the altered headspace helped them come out to friends
- 3y ago

everythingbagel 3y ago

Wow, is this what the Paul Simon song called Kodachrome is actually about? (Please don't make fun of me if this was already a known thing.)

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pvg 3y ago
That's a great folkexplanation but the wikipedia page makes it sound unlikely: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome_(song)#Development https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome_(song)#Development
- pohl 3y ago
  That song is the first thing that went through my mind, too. It's an interesting re-framing of the song, even if there's nothing to it. There's nothing in the Wikipedia entry that contradicts the possibility, though. Both could be true, with illicit details elided from the official telling. Still I'm choosing to believe in innocent origins.
- m463 3y ago
  and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is unlikely too: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds you can't help wondering though...
  - pvg 3y ago
    you can't help wondering though... That's true but at least we have a bit more to go on there (if not specifically about Lucy in the Sky) - I can't dig up the original reference but it's a famous enough story to paste from a random google search result: John told Derek Taylor that when he and Paul dropped acid together they “just stared into each other’s eyes saying ‘I know, man’ and laughing”

Alex3917 3y ago

Great article, makes me want to finally read the author’s Techgnosis book which has been on my shelf forever.

solomonb 3y ago
Erik Davis is awesome. I took a class taught by him in the early 2000s. It was inspiring.
mistrial9 3y ago
TechGnosis took three tries, but in the end it was worth it IMO.

Jasmine209 3y ago

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Jasmine209 3y ago

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tivert 3y ago

> Opening Ghost’s package, purchasers would discover a handy information sheet that today gives us a sense of how some underground purveyors understood and promoted their wares. Rather than hippie mysticism or revolutionary cant, Ghost’s text presents LSD as a scientific product of a modern research lab run by a pharmaceutical corporation. Without more information, that conclusion seems to be going too far. The package is a parody of a commercial product, and it would be totally unsurprising to me that the parody extended to the attitude of the text. Kodak almost certainly presented its contemporary film as "a scientific product of a modern research lab" in a similar way.

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082349872349872 3y ago
Albert Hoffman was working for Sandoz: https://houseofswitzerland.org/swissstories/history/swiss-beginnings-lsd https://houseofswitzerland.org/swissstories/history/swiss-be...
- tivert 3y ago
  Oh, I know. I'm just saying that fact doesn't have any particular bearing on "how some underground purveyors understood and promoted their wares," and you cannot really unpack the non-parody aspects of a parody with only access to the parody itself.

swayvil 3y ago

LSD doesn't show up on piss test. It's somewhat unique in that. Something to keep in mind.

bongodongobob 3y ago
More like it's just not tested for, I don't think a urine test exists for LSD.
- swayvil 3y ago
  It is active in extremely tiny doses. Micrograms. That's why.
  - bongodongobob 3y ago
    Right but that may not preclude testing via auxiliary indicators. It could prompt other changes that you could test for, but, you're right, I'm assuming that's just not possible.
- tsukurimashou 3y ago
  nah, I don't think there are reliable ways to detect it from urine / saliva, which is why they do it with blood tests instead
082349872349872 3y ago
People with light iris colours may not wish to rely on that.
- swayvil 3y ago
  Why?
  - whatindaheck 3y ago
    Dilates your pupils to the size of dimes. Much more than the eye drops at the optometrist do.

mannyv 3y ago

In general, LSD is something that I wouldn't recommend to just anyone because the outcome of a trip depends on your mental strength. You can definitely rewire your brain, which can be a good or bad thing depending. There are plenty of tips online, but two that have stuck with me are: * remember that it will end * have something with you that you've had for a long time, because it'll be an anchor. Neither of those thoughts/things may matter until they do.

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082349872349872 3y ago
The Reed College (IIRC) student handbook had some good advice, including something along the lines of: * remember that you will be extremely tempted to answer complex questions like What Is Love? and Who Is God? * when you are actually unable to answer simple questions like What Is Toothpaste? and Where Is My Left Foot?
- LoganDark 3y ago
  Man, I wish I could find something that made me unable to answer those questions. That sounds fun. I dissociate a lot even without drugs, but have never quite gotten that far.
denton-scratch 3y ago
> remember that it will end > have something with you that you've had for a long time, because it'll be an anchor. * Have some Librium or Valium to hand.

tosser0001 3y ago

If I never saw another psychedelic-related link on Hacker News again it would be too soon (just my opinion)

082349872349872 3y ago
It beats AI/Musk/Passive Income!/etc. (my opinion)
willy_k 3y ago
To each their own, but it’s a fascinating topic that has considerable implications for religion, culture, history, art, science, and health. Worth reading about IMO

samstave 3y ago

Never forget the articles about the impact of LSD on early Cisco/Networking... See previous thread here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38970587 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38970587 (and the menlo park studies... LSD is intrinsically linked to the development of silicon valley)

Scrounger 3y ago
Thanks for that! Super interesting!

fennecbutt 3y ago

"cited as a cure for homosexuality" Always a bit hurtful to be reminded of stuff like that.