but he wasn't telling others what they should and shouldn't do (aka proselytizing).[/b]
thank you, sweetcell. you nailed it...experimenting with drugs should be based on research and personal experience. i'm not saying that everybody should experiment with hallucinogens; in fact, there are many people that should stay far away from the stuff, and i've told some people that they shouldn't fuck with it, based on their personal traits and current mental health.
people that are prone to depression or severe mental illness shouldn't be experimenting with it. even a healthy -- mentally -- person who has been undergoing some internal trauma should steer clear, though the drug can, in some cases, shed some light on the issue and allow the person to see from a different perspective. although i've experimented with it many times before and will continue to do so until i feel that it no longer has a positive affect on me, there have been times when i know i shouldn't take hallucinogens. this is why i've been able to keep bad experiences to a minimum. there are thousands of people like me who treat these drugs with respect and proper preparation.
sadly, there are many who don't, and these people are the ones who generally have negative experiences. to tell you the truth, the effects of hallucinogens aren't really that unpredictable: there has never been a time, no matter how strong the dosage has been, where i didn't know how to handle myself. it's the combination of mental instability, high amount of dosage, and lack of controlled set and setting which
usually causes an unpredictable experience. it is rare, though it has been documented, that acid is laced with strychnine or another dangerous chemical.
on the other hand, regarding mental instability, hallucinogens
can be therapeutic. in the early days of LSD, doctors were actually recommending it to people going to therapy, but the experience was moderated by the doctor (dosage, set and setting). there are lots of accounts of patients having positive aspects of their trips that allowed them to view things from a different, and hopefully better, perspective.
another thing that people who haven't delved into hallucinogens don't realize is that you can regulate the amount you ingest, and therefore the intensity of the drug. when i claim that i've tripped over 200 times, it hasn't all been too intense for me to function in society. in fact, those times are few and far between, when i have to stay at home and sit on my couch and not deal with talking to others because communication is too difficult. most of the time, however, i can go to a show or a film or a museum and talk to people just fine. it's like being really high for an extended period of time, and your perception -- though not your coordination -- is a bit altered, though not necessarily impaired. alcohol can disable one's coordination and judgment just as bad, if not worse, than hallucinogens do.
it's incredibly difficult explaining how hallucinogens function and how they physically affect the body. there are many scientific explanations floating around; with some research, it can easily be posted here. i suggested reading huxley because he accurately and quite elegantly explains the whole process of tripping and how it affects the brain. i'm sure you're familiar with
brave new world and perhaps some of his other novels. huxley was the furthest thing from some idiot looking for a quick thrill. most of the people who experimented with hallucinogens in the '50s approached it from a similar standpoint. compendiums like
the psychedelic reader are worth researching because they have many fascinating articles describing the chemical make-up and effects of the drug and pretty much everything related to its effect on culture and society.
i could go on and on about this topic because i think a lot of people are misinformed (as noted above, the spinal cord thing is indeed unproven and has been used as propaganda for years to scare people). i'm not the kind of person who will tell anybody what they should or shouldn't do, unless they want advice in a field that i am experienced enough in to offer them. it's true that many people should stay away from hallucinogens because of the likelihood of disaster. kids shouldn't be doing it because they simply haven't had the time to research what they're getting into, and research is important. i read numerous books on the subject and talked to people who experimented with it to know what to expect before i decided to do it myself.
however, when done right, there is nothing in the world, physically and mentally and spiritually, like tripping. it makes everything sound better and appear with a sense of vitality that is missing from sobriety. it opens up avenues of thought that might otherwise lay dormant. as human beings, we have been conditioned with formula and routine for so long that we develop barriers, which prevent us from viewing things from certain perspectives. tripping, like any extreme emotion like love or fear or anger, allows us to overcome those societal barriers without the myopia of intense emotion.
you can take your DARE propaganda and throw it out the window. life ain't like that. i won't even mention the great times and positive experiences i've had on some other drugs, some of which are highly addictive (wherein lies the main problem of opium and cocaine and meth, while hallucinogens are not physically addictive). it is human nature to explore and experiment, and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as education and moderation is involved. don't experiment with drugs if you don't want to, but don't judge others negatively because they might actually be doing it responsibly.
