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The type of person who is arrogant enough to read some trip reports on the internet and look at a couple gifs and thinks "yeah I totally get this" is exactly th

The type of person who is arrogant enough to read some trip reports on the internet and look at a couple gifs and thinks "yeah I totally get this" is exactly the type of person a trip will benefit the most.

sho_hn 1y ago
The problem with the whole "tripping has made me wiser and more kind and loving" type stuff is that it's self-serving and doesn't really stand up to Occam's Razor. It's a bit like that xkcd post on homeopathy: If it actually worked at scale, health insurers would be doing it. Experience has taught me to be wary of identity-conferring stuff that's easy and not hard to do. Taking drugs is not difficult.
- Codazoa 1y ago
  That could be down to the fact that homeopathic treatments have largely been legal. The studies have been done and showed that a lot of it doesn't work so it isn't offered in traditional medicine. There were a lot of promising studies into the effects of LSD and Psilocybin before they were made illegal. Now with the loosening of restrictions we are able to get more research into the potential uses of psychedelics and there have been a lot of positive results. The research into MDMA for PTSD is really exciting, as well as Ketamine, LSD, and Psilocybin for different forms of depression for example. They will never be a solution for every problem like some people evangelize but where they work, they give people with these conditions another avenue to try when other "legal" drugs have failed.
  - listenallyall 1y ago
    > more research into the potential uses of psychedelics and there have been a lot of positive results You'd have to agree, the types of people who choose to research psychedelics professionally, are the types of people who want to see, and demonstrate, positive results. These aren't unbiased research outcomes.
    - walletdrainer 1y ago
      It is worth also considering the far stronger bias against psychedelics that exists in society as a whole. LSD is illegal, and in most countries considered one of the most dangerous drugs despite being completely harmless from a physical perspective.
      - otherme123 1y ago
        I don't use drugs, but the LSD situation is crazy: is well down in any rank of harm (both to user and to others). The alleged harm has been proved fabricated (people getting blind for staring at the sun) or incredibly overstated (suicides while tripping). Is way less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, and has next to zero addiction. Their users praise the experience, and some studies show potential medical use. Yet is furiously prohibited, deviled and prosecuted. We were having a debate among friends when a couple of people said they took MDMA once, and some of the most obviously alcoholics (drunk twice a week) went to their yugular calling them junkies and "irresponsible" because drugs fry your brain.
        idiotsecant 1y ago
        Are you telling me you've never met an old LSD abuser whose brain was fried like an egg? LSD can also trigger legitimate lifelong psychotic states in some people. There is a big difference between 'generally not harmful in very small singular doses' and 'all harm is fabricated'.
        walletdrainer 1y ago
        > Are you telling me you've never met an old LSD abuser whose brain was fried like an egg? I’ve known old LSD abusers with fried brains but never seen a LSD abuser go from non-fried to fried brains. Correlation is not causation, but it could be. > LSD can also trigger legitimate lifelong psychotic states in some people. These statements should be accompanied by the necessary caveat that just about anything can trigger psychotic states in people prone to psychosis.
        1y ago
- nothrabannosir 1y ago
  They are. > MDMA has limited approved medical uses in a small number of countries,[32] but is illegal in most jurisdictions.[33] MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is a promising and generally safe treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder when administered in controlled therapeutic settings.[34][35] In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given MDMA breakthrough therapy status (though there no current clinical indications in the US).[36] Canada has allowed limited distribution of MDMA upon application to and approval by Health Canada.[37] In Australia, it may be prescribed in the treatment of PTSD by specifically authorised psychiatrists.[38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA
- bongodongobob 1y ago
  If you don't think an acid trip can be a difficult experience you really don't know what you're taking about. I guess you would think therapy isn't difficult either because you're just sitting on a couch.

sho_hn 1y ago

The problem with the whole "tripping has made me wiser and more kind and loving" type stuff is that it's self-serving and doesn't really stand up to Occam's Razor. It's a bit like that xkcd post on homeopathy: If it actually worked at scale, health insurers would be doing it. Experience has taught me to be wary of identity-conferring stuff that's easy and not hard to do. Taking drugs is not difficult.

Codazoa 1y ago
That could be down to the fact that homeopathic treatments have largely been legal. The studies have been done and showed that a lot of it doesn't work so it isn't offered in traditional medicine. There were a lot of promising studies into the effects of LSD and Psilocybin before they were made illegal. Now with the loosening of restrictions we are able to get more research into the potential uses of psychedelics and there have been a lot of positive results. The research into MDMA for PTSD is really exciting, as well as Ketamine, LSD, and Psilocybin for different forms of depression for example. They will never be a solution for every problem like some people evangelize but where they work, they give people with these conditions another avenue to try when other "legal" drugs have failed.
- listenallyall 1y ago
  > more research into the potential uses of psychedelics and there have been a lot of positive results You'd have to agree, the types of people who choose to research psychedelics professionally, are the types of people who want to see, and demonstrate, positive results. These aren't unbiased research outcomes.
  - walletdrainer 1y ago
    It is worth also considering the far stronger bias against psychedelics that exists in society as a whole. LSD is illegal, and in most countries considered one of the most dangerous drugs despite being completely harmless from a physical perspective.
    - otherme123 1y ago
      I don't use drugs, but the LSD situation is crazy: is well down in any rank of harm (both to user and to others). The alleged harm has been proved fabricated (people getting blind for staring at the sun) or incredibly overstated (suicides while tripping). Is way less dangerous than tobacco or alcohol, and has next to zero addiction. Their users praise the experience, and some studies show potential medical use. Yet is furiously prohibited, deviled and prosecuted. We were having a debate among friends when a couple of people said they took MDMA once, and some of the most obviously alcoholics (drunk twice a week) went to their yugular calling them junkies and "irresponsible" because drugs fry your brain.
      - idiotsecant 1y ago
        Are you telling me you've never met an old LSD abuser whose brain was fried like an egg? LSD can also trigger legitimate lifelong psychotic states in some people. There is a big difference between 'generally not harmful in very small singular doses' and 'all harm is fabricated'.
        walletdrainer 1y ago
        > Are you telling me you've never met an old LSD abuser whose brain was fried like an egg? I’ve known old LSD abusers with fried brains but never seen a LSD abuser go from non-fried to fried brains. Correlation is not causation, but it could be. > LSD can also trigger legitimate lifelong psychotic states in some people. These statements should be accompanied by the necessary caveat that just about anything can trigger psychotic states in people prone to psychosis.
        1y ago
nothrabannosir 1y ago
They are. > MDMA has limited approved medical uses in a small number of countries,[32] but is illegal in most jurisdictions.[33] MDMA-assisted psychotherapy is a promising and generally safe treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder when administered in controlled therapeutic settings.[34][35] In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given MDMA breakthrough therapy status (though there no current clinical indications in the US).[36] Canada has allowed limited distribution of MDMA upon application to and approval by Health Canada.[37] In Australia, it may be prescribed in the treatment of PTSD by specifically authorised psychiatrists.[38] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MDMA
bongodongobob 1y ago
If you don't think an acid trip can be a difficult experience you really don't know what you're taking about. I guess you would think therapy isn't difficult either because you're just sitting on a couch.