3 ms·

Psychedelics can dissolve more than the mind's conceptual prisons, perhaps much more of the mind than one would like. How did the hippie-era stereotype of the b

Psychedelics can dissolve more than the mind's conceptual prisons, perhaps much more of the mind than one would like. How did the hippie-era stereotype of the burned out acid head disappear so quickly from popular culture?

gchamonlive 2mo ago
Kary Mullis is known to have used a lot of it and discovered PCR while off psychedelics. There's also the famous Hoffman's bycicle day. The stereotype is just that, and might be a result of lack of mental stimulation rather than LSD abuse, which is possibly the safest drug in terms of toxicity.
scarecrowbob 2mo ago
Why? Because it's not a very accurate stereotype. I do first aid at music festivals and volunteer at a free clinic that serves a homeless population. I see a lot of spun folks and folks in varying stages of "burned out" (to use the term from the stereotype). I'm still in EMT school, but I've had to work with a lot of folks having adverse reactions to these substances. Meth and alcohol, simply being poor, childhood trauma, getting into a bad medical situation, losing a job and not finding one; all of those things will put folks into some bad places. But most substance abuse, in my limited experience, comes down to various traumas folks get into and maybe some chemical predispositions. That's not how most of the folks I know who have had very adverse psychedelic experiences have gotten into those states. And it is generally a very transitory state. While there are long-term psychological effects from stuff like acid (and IME, MDMA, Ket, and Nitrous are worse physiologically than things like LSD, C2B, DMT, psilocybin, mescaline, etc), generally psychedelic substances lead people to doing less of those drugs over time and that has a very different effect than, say, alcohol and chronic poverty. Propaganda about these things has a hard time taking hold in the face of most folks lived reality.
- inigyou 2mo ago
  Thank you for your service
Anonbrit 2mo ago
Why has the stereotype of the coked-out stock trader or ketamine addicted delusional billionaire not held the same place in popular culture? Vagely functional coke heads are very, very common in certain circles

gchamonlive 2mo ago

Kary Mullis is known to have used a lot of it and discovered PCR while off psychedelics. There's also the famous Hoffman's bycicle day. The stereotype is just that, and might be a result of lack of mental stimulation rather than LSD abuse, which is possibly the safest drug in terms of toxicity.

scarecrowbob 2mo ago

Why? Because it's not a very accurate stereotype. I do first aid at music festivals and volunteer at a free clinic that serves a homeless population. I see a lot of spun folks and folks in varying stages of "burned out" (to use the term from the stereotype). I'm still in EMT school, but I've had to work with a lot of folks having adverse reactions to these substances. Meth and alcohol, simply being poor, childhood trauma, getting into a bad medical situation, losing a job and not finding one; all of those things will put folks into some bad places. But most substance abuse, in my limited experience, comes down to various traumas folks get into and maybe some chemical predispositions. That's not how most of the folks I know who have had very adverse psychedelic experiences have gotten into those states. And it is generally a very transitory state. While there are long-term psychological effects from stuff like acid (and IME, MDMA, Ket, and Nitrous are worse physiologically than things like LSD, C2B, DMT, psilocybin, mescaline, etc), generally psychedelic substances lead people to doing less of those drugs over time and that has a very different effect than, say, alcohol and chronic poverty. Propaganda about these things has a hard time taking hold in the face of most folks lived reality.

inigyou 2mo ago
Thank you for your service

Anonbrit 2mo ago

Why has the stereotype of the coked-out stock trader or ketamine addicted delusional billionaire not held the same place in popular culture? Vagely functional coke heads are very, very common in certain circles