7 ms·

When I see videos like this, or read other experiences of LSD, I wonder if I'm not missing out on something. LSD, uniquely amongst mainstream recreational drug

When I see videos like this, or read other experiences of LSD, I wonder if I'm not missing out on something. LSD, uniquely amongst mainstream recreational drugs, seems to have the promise of an outright transcendental upside, with supposedly little downside. It saddens me that there is no safe and legal way for me to try it.

eljojo 12y ago
I totally feel you (no pun intended). same thing here.
skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
Is there really little downside? Anecdotally, I've heard from friends in the jamband scene about friends who did LSD who came back "completely changed , and not in a good way."
- ugexe 12y ago
  There is really little downside. Anecdotally i've heard people say marijuana will get you addicted to harder drugs, will turn you into a melted couch blob, etc.
  - skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
    Straw man argument is made of straw. I'm speaking of word of mouth from informed, trusted friends, not what I heard from those who have an agenda have to say on fox news.
    - ugexe 12y ago
      Ironically you are straw manning my own argument which was also from experienced drug users
- toolz 12y ago
  I imagine there is a lot of confirmation bias going on with stories like that. Drugs are seen almost universally as taboo, so people want to see the bad things that may happen and when people want to see something, exaggerations tend to happen. I'm not saying your friends weren't changed for the worse, but I do know I've never met someone who was proud to be an LSD user. As such I have to conclude that people choose to speak poorly about LSD, which in turn means we all hear more horror stories than feel good endings.
  - skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
    Maybe my friends did have some sort of confirmation bias, I don't know. I would describe them as "pro" drug users though, definitely not the type to stigmatize drugs. Regardless, why would a rational person risk their body and mind, of which they only have one, on that assumption? Especially on a drug without a reliable source (assuming you are not a chemist) ...
  - intopieces 12y ago
    >I do know I've never met someone who was proud to be an LSD user I am proud to be an LSD user. For a few of my friends who struggle with depression, they take LSD once every few months. They report that it acts as an emotional 'reset.'
    - toolz 12y ago
      Are you proud to be an LSD user in the context of everyday society? Do you tell your employer? Have you recommended LSD to all of your close family members? I don't know you or where you're from, but that's unheard of inside the circle of people I know.
      - maroonblazer 12y ago
        >Are you proud to be an LSD user in the context of everyday society? Not really a fair question, given the taboo still surrounding the drug. Imagine asking a homosexual in the 1950's "Are you proud to be gay in the context of everyday society?" Of course the answer is going to be "No." But in certain circles - namely those that don't give in to the notion that such experiences are unspeakable - the answer is surely "Yes." That said, I agree with zafka that being "proud" to have taken LSD is effectively a category error.
- tzamora 12y ago
  LSD itself is harmless, nevertheless, try not to jump from a balcon while high on it.
  - skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
    Sure, which is why erowid recommends having a "trip sitter" https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_death.shtml https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_death.shtml
  - watty 12y ago
    LSD isn't heroin but it's certainly not "harmless".
    - aroman 12y ago
      IANAS/D but it seems that it is, in fact, effectively harmless (in people without severe pre-existing mental disorders, which is to say most people). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide#Potential_adverse_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide#Pote...
- almost_usual 12y ago
  If the LSD isn't contaminated or fake and the portion you consume is moderate you should be OK. Psyocibin is slightly less risky and more spiritual from what I hear. I've witnessed friends suffer permanent negative personality changes from bad LSD.
- colordrops 12y ago
  While rare, LSD trips can result in a psychological meltdown. A rough guideline for reducing the chances of a bad trip down to almost zero is to make sure your mindset is good, and your setting is good. This is what people mean when they say "set and setting". If you are severely depressed or paranoid, or you have schizophrenia, you will probably want to avoid LSD, as it could amplify these characteristics. Even if you are not, being with an experienced individual who has a positive mindset will bolster your own trip. Regarding setting, find an open, comfortable, and safe environment. Avoid dirty, cramped locations like small unkempt apartments, or overly crowded clubs. Daytime in nature with a few good friends is ideal.
- kirsebaer 12y ago
  Psychedelics have not been demonstrated to have long-term negative effects. Important to consider that 2% of the general population will have a psychotic disorder and many more will have anxiety, depression, other mental problems at some point. Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study. PLOS ONE 2013. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0063972 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjourna...
- bigbugbag 12y ago
  Psychoactive drugs are no joke. The psychedelic kind hold the potential of a life changing experience, LSD is one of those. LSD is quite safe relatively to others psychoactive but this is not to be confused with the effects from the psychedelic experience. When you get to perceive things differently, be exposed to different views of the world and yourself, get a different outlook on things. Well yes, change can occur and last, sometimes for a lifetime. And frequent abusers of LSD are known to develop a sort of holier than you personality as they develop the illusion of having superior knowledge and understanding.
elif 12y ago
It's not that you're missing out on something... more like you've been too distracted your whole life to see what's been in front of you all along. There's no way to describe what you will experience because what you are experiencing is merely the present moment, not in the abstract form you experience it now, but in a real way. If you are near a mirror maybe you'll become focused on the shallowness of appearances, or if you are near trash you will commune with the molecules making up that trash and realize that you and the trash are really the same thing.. usually the revelations you make will sound obvious or nonsensical to a stranger, because what you're describing is /what/ you experienced when what is really amazing is /how/ you experienced it. It is really a shame that there is no legal avenue to experience this, unless you are very good at meditating or happen to have a near death experience. Safety is not much of a concern... There are chemical tests you can use to determine if something is LSD or not. They are available on amazon for a few dollars. Beyond that, all you need is a sober person who knows what you're going through, that you trust to keep up with you for 6 hours. Of the people I have met who have "acid-head", they have uniformly tripped many dozens of times, sometimes for 48+ hour periods on 10+ doses, and all of them had also used hard drugs. It is beautiful at the time, to see the world without your own bias. but after the fact it can be a bit depressing when you later find yourself caring about things which you've already realized don't actually matter... running the same rat race whose mere existence earlier made you erupt in a hysterical fit of laughter. I know i rambled. It's hard to speak in technicolor.
- chadrs 12y ago
  > Safety is not much of a concern... If you're getting pure LSD, safety is not much of a concern. I would love to do acid again (did it by mistake once), but my concern is that because it's illegal, there's no way to know what you're getting is pure LSD. Sketchy dealers or bad chemists can result in a product that gives you a bad trip.
  - pantalaimon 12y ago
    Well people won't cut LSD, they would just sell blotter with a smaller dose on it. And since LSD doses are very small to begin with, any byproduct would be such a small amount that it hardly could have any effect. What you might get though is NBOMe (and less common DOB) instead of LSD. They don't feel as profound and have more risks associated with them, but that can be alleviated by buying from a trusted dark net vendor/buying a test kit.
palosanto 12y ago
Are you missing out on something? Yes. Is there "little downside"? Not necessarily. Compared to other drugs, sure. You're not going to become addicted and it's not going to make your teeth fall out. But let's be real. This is the most potent psychoactive substance ever made by many orders of magnitude. It can connect you to parts of yourself that are deeply buried in your subconscious. This is what brings about the blissful feelings of transcendence, wholeness, oneness, etc. It can also be absolutely terrifying to confront your subconscious, especially if 1) you're not in a good place psychologically and 2) you're not in the presence of someone you trust. What happens is you start to experience fear as the scary things come up or as you start to experience ego death (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_death). You don't realize that the fear is all in your head and you start to project it out onto the external world with paranoid thoughts. Kind of like you're having a nightmare, except that it's happening while you're conscious. This is known as a bad trip. It can leave lasting psychological damage if you don't know how to process the experience. Another potential downside is that an LSD trip could trigger a midlife (or quarter-life) crisis. You might come back from the transcendental experience and realize that your life is meaningless, that all of your friends are assholes who don't really know you, etc. You might be inspired to make some big changes. From the perspective of your asshole friends, you will have changed "and not in a good way" ;) But this short-term downside is an upside if you take the long view. If you get your midlife crisis out of the way in your twenties, you can spend the rest of your life doing something meaningful. There's no way to experience the transcendental upside without the potential downside. But if you're willing to face your own demons, and you take precautions by having a trusted + sober guide, you'll be fine.
hendler 12y ago
For a documentary covering history and current research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14WtwJTwuWg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14WtwJTwuWg
waterlesscloud 12y ago
It's been at least 15 years since my last trip, but they do make a lasting impression. It wasn't something I did a lot, but it maybe totaled 20 times over about 10 years. Having said that, it's not always a grand magical experience. I had one semi-bad trip, which in retrospect I unconsciously but intentionally set myself up for. You've got to watch that carefully, and be aware of it, what your mindset is going in. I saw others do much the same thing on a number of occasions, so it's something that happens. If I'm completely honest about the experiences, most of the time whatever I was doing was incredibly fascinating at the time, but utterly banal in retrospect. Becoming really fascinated with small variations of light and shadow on a wall, for example. Which is pretty cool while you're doing, but not exactly a mystical experience. The way I always talked about tripping was that it removed the filters from your perception. There's a lot of information coming in that your brain just filters out. That's desirable on a lot of levels, but it's worth reminding yourself that it's happening. Once you've had that experience a few times, it becomes possible to turn it on and off if you work at it. You still won't, most of the time, but it's nice to have the ability when you want it.
- foobarian 12y ago
  Similar experience here. I spent about 30 minutes staring at a Windows NT 4 wallpaper[1] in college, and saw many objects such as skulls, bodies, etc. in it which cognition under normal circumstances filters out. Our cognitive filters must be really good at preventing us from seeing false positives in the patterns out in the visual field. The way the setting made a difference for me were perceived risks. In the same way my cognitive filter was disabled for visual patterns, it must have been disabled for danger too; seeing a candle on the coffee table made me panic about a fire so I put it out, and seeing a friend go out on the balcony of our second floor apartment made me terrified that he would try to "fly" or hurt himself, so I made him come in and locked the balcony door. I can definitely see how a more adverse setting could lead to a really scary trip.
ffzero 12y ago
My parents are religious, and I was raised religious. When I took LSD, I was agnostic, but I had a conversation with God. I'm still agnostic, by the way. You're missing an experience for sure, but you shouldn't approach it thinking it's just a fun drug. Do your research first, understand how to fight off bad trips, be in the correct set and setting, and don't take more than 100 micrograms the first time you do it. LSD will open up doors you didn't even know existed, and then you'll walk through those doors and find out even more. Until you actually do that, you'll never understand what it's like. Oh yeah, stay away from mirrors too. "Deliberate provocation of mystical experience, particularly by LSD and related hallucinogens, in contrast to spontaneous visionary experiences, entails dangers that must not be underestimated. Practitioners must take into account the peculiar effects of these substances, namely their ability to influence our consciousness, the innermost essence of our being. The history of LSD to date amply demonstrates the catastrophic consequences that can ensue when its profound effect is misjudged and the substance is mistaken for a pleasure drug. Special internal and external advance preparations are required; with them, an LSD experiment can become a meaningful experience. Wrong and inappropriate use has caused LSD to become my problem child." - Albert Hofmann

eljojo 12y ago

I totally feel you (no pun intended). same thing here.

skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago

Is there really little downside? Anecdotally, I've heard from friends in the jamband scene about friends who did LSD who came back "completely changed , and not in a good way."

ugexe 12y ago
There is really little downside. Anecdotally i've heard people say marijuana will get you addicted to harder drugs, will turn you into a melted couch blob, etc.
- skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
  Straw man argument is made of straw. I'm speaking of word of mouth from informed, trusted friends, not what I heard from those who have an agenda have to say on fox news.
  - ugexe 12y ago
    Ironically you are straw manning my own argument which was also from experienced drug users
toolz 12y ago
I imagine there is a lot of confirmation bias going on with stories like that. Drugs are seen almost universally as taboo, so people want to see the bad things that may happen and when people want to see something, exaggerations tend to happen. I'm not saying your friends weren't changed for the worse, but I do know I've never met someone who was proud to be an LSD user. As such I have to conclude that people choose to speak poorly about LSD, which in turn means we all hear more horror stories than feel good endings.
- skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
  Maybe my friends did have some sort of confirmation bias, I don't know. I would describe them as "pro" drug users though, definitely not the type to stigmatize drugs. Regardless, why would a rational person risk their body and mind, of which they only have one, on that assumption? Especially on a drug without a reliable source (assuming you are not a chemist) ...
- intopieces 12y ago
  >I do know I've never met someone who was proud to be an LSD user I am proud to be an LSD user. For a few of my friends who struggle with depression, they take LSD once every few months. They report that it acts as an emotional 'reset.'
  - toolz 12y ago
    Are you proud to be an LSD user in the context of everyday society? Do you tell your employer? Have you recommended LSD to all of your close family members? I don't know you or where you're from, but that's unheard of inside the circle of people I know.
    - maroonblazer 12y ago
      >Are you proud to be an LSD user in the context of everyday society? Not really a fair question, given the taboo still surrounding the drug. Imagine asking a homosexual in the 1950's "Are you proud to be gay in the context of everyday society?" Of course the answer is going to be "No." But in certain circles - namely those that don't give in to the notion that such experiences are unspeakable - the answer is surely "Yes." That said, I agree with zafka that being "proud" to have taken LSD is effectively a category error.
tzamora 12y ago
LSD itself is harmless, nevertheless, try not to jump from a balcon while high on it.
- skjsjsnsnsms 12y ago
  Sure, which is why erowid recommends having a "trip sitter" https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_death.shtml https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/lsd/lsd_death.shtml
- watty 12y ago
  LSD isn't heroin but it's certainly not "harmless".
  - aroman 12y ago
    IANAS/D but it seems that it is, in fact, effectively harmless (in people without severe pre-existing mental disorders, which is to say most people). Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide#Potential_adverse_effects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide#Pote...
almost_usual 12y ago
If the LSD isn't contaminated or fake and the portion you consume is moderate you should be OK. Psyocibin is slightly less risky and more spiritual from what I hear. I've witnessed friends suffer permanent negative personality changes from bad LSD.
colordrops 12y ago
While rare, LSD trips can result in a psychological meltdown. A rough guideline for reducing the chances of a bad trip down to almost zero is to make sure your mindset is good, and your setting is good. This is what people mean when they say "set and setting". If you are severely depressed or paranoid, or you have schizophrenia, you will probably want to avoid LSD, as it could amplify these characteristics. Even if you are not, being with an experienced individual who has a positive mindset will bolster your own trip. Regarding setting, find an open, comfortable, and safe environment. Avoid dirty, cramped locations like small unkempt apartments, or overly crowded clubs. Daytime in nature with a few good friends is ideal.
kirsebaer 12y ago
Psychedelics have not been demonstrated to have long-term negative effects. Important to consider that 2% of the general population will have a psychotic disorder and many more will have anxiety, depression, other mental problems at some point. Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study. PLOS ONE 2013. http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0063972 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjourna...
bigbugbag 12y ago
Psychoactive drugs are no joke. The psychedelic kind hold the potential of a life changing experience, LSD is one of those. LSD is quite safe relatively to others psychoactive but this is not to be confused with the effects from the psychedelic experience. When you get to perceive things differently, be exposed to different views of the world and yourself, get a different outlook on things. Well yes, change can occur and last, sometimes for a lifetime. And frequent abusers of LSD are known to develop a sort of holier than you personality as they develop the illusion of having superior knowledge and understanding.

elif 12y ago

It's not that you're missing out on something... more like you've been too distracted your whole life to see what's been in front of you all along. There's no way to describe what you will experience because what you are experiencing is merely the present moment, not in the abstract form you experience it now, but in a real way. If you are near a mirror maybe you'll become focused on the shallowness of appearances, or if you are near trash you will commune with the molecules making up that trash and realize that you and the trash are really the same thing.. usually the revelations you make will sound obvious or nonsensical to a stranger, because what you're describing is /what/ you experienced when what is really amazing is /how/ you experienced it. It is really a shame that there is no legal avenue to experience this, unless you are very good at meditating or happen to have a near death experience. Safety is not much of a concern... There are chemical tests you can use to determine if something is LSD or not. They are available on amazon for a few dollars. Beyond that, all you need is a sober person who knows what you're going through, that you trust to keep up with you for 6 hours. Of the people I have met who have "acid-head", they have uniformly tripped many dozens of times, sometimes for 48+ hour periods on 10+ doses, and all of them had also used hard drugs. It is beautiful at the time, to see the world without your own bias. but after the fact it can be a bit depressing when you later find yourself caring about things which you've already realized don't actually matter... running the same rat race whose mere existence earlier made you erupt in a hysterical fit of laughter. I know i rambled. It's hard to speak in technicolor.

chadrs 12y ago
> Safety is not much of a concern... If you're getting pure LSD, safety is not much of a concern. I would love to do acid again (did it by mistake once), but my concern is that because it's illegal, there's no way to know what you're getting is pure LSD. Sketchy dealers or bad chemists can result in a product that gives you a bad trip.
- pantalaimon 12y ago
  Well people won't cut LSD, they would just sell blotter with a smaller dose on it. And since LSD doses are very small to begin with, any byproduct would be such a small amount that it hardly could have any effect. What you might get though is NBOMe (and less common DOB) instead of LSD. They don't feel as profound and have more risks associated with them, but that can be alleviated by buying from a trusted dark net vendor/buying a test kit.

palosanto 12y ago

Are you missing out on something? Yes. Is there "little downside"? Not necessarily. Compared to other drugs, sure. You're not going to become addicted and it's not going to make your teeth fall out. But let's be real. This is the most potent psychoactive substance ever made by many orders of magnitude. It can connect you to parts of yourself that are deeply buried in your subconscious. This is what brings about the blissful feelings of transcendence, wholeness, oneness, etc. It can also be absolutely terrifying to confront your subconscious, especially if 1) you're not in a good place psychologically and 2) you're not in the presence of someone you trust. What happens is you start to experience fear as the scary things come up or as you start to experience ego death (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_death http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_death). You don't realize that the fear is all in your head and you start to project it out onto the external world with paranoid thoughts. Kind of like you're having a nightmare, except that it's happening while you're conscious. This is known as a bad trip. It can leave lasting psychological damage if you don't know how to process the experience. Another potential downside is that an LSD trip could trigger a midlife (or quarter-life) crisis. You might come back from the transcendental experience and realize that your life is meaningless, that all of your friends are assholes who don't really know you, etc. You might be inspired to make some big changes. From the perspective of your asshole friends, you will have changed "and not in a good way" ;) But this short-term downside is an upside if you take the long view. If you get your midlife crisis out of the way in your twenties, you can spend the rest of your life doing something meaningful. There's no way to experience the transcendental upside without the potential downside. But if you're willing to face your own demons, and you take precautions by having a trusted + sober guide, you'll be fine.

hendler 12y ago

For a documentary covering history and current research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14WtwJTwuWg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14WtwJTwuWg

waterlesscloud 12y ago

It's been at least 15 years since my last trip, but they do make a lasting impression. It wasn't something I did a lot, but it maybe totaled 20 times over about 10 years. Having said that, it's not always a grand magical experience. I had one semi-bad trip, which in retrospect I unconsciously but intentionally set myself up for. You've got to watch that carefully, and be aware of it, what your mindset is going in. I saw others do much the same thing on a number of occasions, so it's something that happens. If I'm completely honest about the experiences, most of the time whatever I was doing was incredibly fascinating at the time, but utterly banal in retrospect. Becoming really fascinated with small variations of light and shadow on a wall, for example. Which is pretty cool while you're doing, but not exactly a mystical experience. The way I always talked about tripping was that it removed the filters from your perception. There's a lot of information coming in that your brain just filters out. That's desirable on a lot of levels, but it's worth reminding yourself that it's happening. Once you've had that experience a few times, it becomes possible to turn it on and off if you work at it. You still won't, most of the time, but it's nice to have the ability when you want it.

foobarian 12y ago
Similar experience here. I spent about 30 minutes staring at a Windows NT 4 wallpaper[1] in college, and saw many objects such as skulls, bodies, etc. in it which cognition under normal circumstances filters out. Our cognitive filters must be really good at preventing us from seeing false positives in the patterns out in the visual field. The way the setting made a difference for me were perceived risks. In the same way my cognitive filter was disabled for visual patterns, it must have been disabled for danger too; seeing a candle on the coffee table made me panic about a fire so I put it out, and seeing a friend go out on the balcony of our second floor apartment made me terrified that he would try to "fly" or hurt himself, so I made him come in and locked the balcony door. I can definitely see how a more adverse setting could lead to a really scary trip.

ffzero 12y ago

My parents are religious, and I was raised religious. When I took LSD, I was agnostic, but I had a conversation with God. I'm still agnostic, by the way. You're missing an experience for sure, but you shouldn't approach it thinking it's just a fun drug. Do your research first, understand how to fight off bad trips, be in the correct set and setting, and don't take more than 100 micrograms the first time you do it. LSD will open up doors you didn't even know existed, and then you'll walk through those doors and find out even more. Until you actually do that, you'll never understand what it's like. Oh yeah, stay away from mirrors too. "Deliberate provocation of mystical experience, particularly by LSD and related hallucinogens, in contrast to spontaneous visionary experiences, entails dangers that must not be underestimated. Practitioners must take into account the peculiar effects of these substances, namely their ability to influence our consciousness, the innermost essence of our being. The history of LSD to date amply demonstrates the catastrophic consequences that can ensue when its profound effect is misjudged and the substance is mistaken for a pleasure drug. Special internal and external advance preparations are required; with them, an LSD experiment can become a meaningful experience. Wrong and inappropriate use has caused LSD to become my problem child." - Albert Hofmann