What’s the real deal on drugs like LSD and why are they banned? At this very moment, I’m on a dropping high from my first LSD trip. I remember the sequence of the last 10:50 ~ 11 hours very distinctively and I must say I loved the experience (of synaethesia).
In earnest, what’s wrong with it?
P.S. My US DOJ search showed up
- the least likeliness of addiction
- lowest rate of overdose and ER services (as opposed to cocaine).
- ultimately, adaptation by the brain so as the effects disappear after some period of intake.
If anyone is curious as to what the experience was like, I’m happy to try.
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Because it has been made illegal, and because once something is illegal, making it legal again is a hell of a trick. The only reason they ever repealed Prohibition is because alcohol consumption was (a) too damn ingrained in American culture, and (b) alcohol was still legal everywhere else. This is why we’re putting the screws to the Canadians about making dope legal up there… because we’re jerks about it. Hell, if ASPIRIN were invented today, it’d be a controlled substance. Hallucinogens are new enough, though, that they can fall under legal purview. Marijuana probably shouldn’t – it’s easy to grow, hard to control, and impossible to OD on – but tell that to the politicians.
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Not everyone can handle drugs, particularly the more potent ones (like LSD) or the addictive ones (like morphine). This is why we have doctors, who can judge whether or not a person needs a drug, or can handle the effects, and whose prescription and instructions serve to limit the dosage and side effects. Becoming addicted to some drugs is fairly easy, given a regular supply of the stuff.
LSD in particular is a major mindbender, and some people are quite likely to panic upon feeling their consciousness do that “ninety degree twist”. This leaves you with a panicked person who isn’t going to come down for at least another six to eight hours, and this is bad. The effect is even worse, based on the dosage; I can recall an incident in college where a chum decided to see just how high he could GET, and downed a quintuple dosage of the stuff. We had to cart him home in a wheelbarrow, and more or less take complete care of him for two days; his body was fine, but his mind was orbiting Ceti Alpha Six, and there was some doubt at the time as to how much of him was ever coming back.
And this was a guy who was USED to hallucinogens.
Admittedly, most of us aren’t likely to do a Diane Linkletter and take a high dive out a window under the idea that we can fly, but LSD can make crossing a busy street a whole new experience, and not necessarily a good one.
Now add to this the fact that the people most interested in drugs tend to be younger people. Younger people are also notable for lacking judgement (in general, I mean – I certainly don’t wanna offend anyone, but ask any insurance agent why their liability rates are higher).
…and there you have it. Some people would freak out and do crazy stuff and maybe hurt someone or themselves. Admittedly, there is some abortive research that indicated that LSD and other hallucinogens could, under controlled circumstances, actually have beneficial effects in psychotherapy, among other things… but further research is not possible until someone changes the laws to ALLOW further research…
I can recall an incident in college where a chum decided to see just how high he could GET, and downed a quintuple dosage of the stuff. We had to cart him home in a wheelbarrow, and more or less take complete care of him for two days; his body was fine, but his mind was orbiting Ceti Alpha Six, and there was some doubt at the time as to how much of him was ever coming back.
I had almost the exact same experience the first time I tried pot. Ate WAY too many brownies on the advice of my supposedly drug knowledgable roommate. I went down into the darkness Friday night, and I don’t remember Saturday at all. My roommates told me afterwards that I could walk and even feed myself, but I couldn’t talk or use any of my higher functions. I came out of it (completely unharmed physically or mentally, as far as I can tell) about 2pm Sunday.
If overdoses zonking you out is grounds for making a drug prohibited, then we’d better regulate pot too. ;]
(I don’t think pot requires regulation, nor really LSD for that matter - except to keep people out of cars while they’re on it. I’m just playing devils advocate here.)
-Ben
i) Drugs are illegal because they’re bad
ii) Drugs are bad because they’re illegal
Which do you think? 
Hallucinogens are hardcore stuff.
After doing far too many shrooms my friend was convinced he’d “broken through the matrix” and “would never be the same again”. Obviously he was after a good nights sleep.
Politicians dont want us to have fun really, except in ways which are ultimately controlling and bad for us such as getting drunk or poisoning ourselves with tobacco.
Too many vested interested, too many ignorant people who’d react against legalising drugs.
I have always understood that the real reason for outlawing hallucinogens was that they caused a breakdown in the moral fabric of society. If too many people “drop out,” so the story goes, our way of life suffers.
True? False? I think we’ll never get a chance to find out. Political power being what it is, “the great unwashed masses” won’t get ot make decisions on this subject, IMHO.
Didn’t a lot of the native American peoples as well as other cultures in the world regularly use hallucinogens in ‘religious’ ceremonies? Was that so much different from LSD? Altering/expanding the consciousness?
I did more than my share from ages 18-23. The thought of doing them now just makes my teeth hurt. I think Wang-Ka hit it on the head, that while some people take drop a tab or three and be fine, some defiantley can not. I’ve had to do my share of “babysitting” and it is not fun at all when someone loses their shit.
Plus, I think that fact that you get tweaked for 8-12 hours is a big factor in the public perception of LSD. Smoke a joint, and you will be fine in a couple hours. Drop a tab, and you may as well allot the next 24 hours (8-16 for the trip, depending on your dosage, and a long sleep afterwards) as completely unproductive. Getting that idea across is a pretty hard sell to those really opposed to drug legaliztion.
japatlgt, some native americans used peyote. There’s about a billion google sites that will tell you about it.
Well, the very fact that the events described in this thread could happen is a good reason to outlaw hallucinogens.