Drug info - LSD rumors and Myths

[LousyHero]

Jatelka EDIT: This is a combined thread, and the earlier posts come from before the "No Self-Incrimination" rule came into play

i've taken some ok acid about*8 times now, and i was wondering if it does destroy you mind? cuz i feel a little bit dumber after i've taken it, but i also did a lot of pot smoking, and i know how ecstacy kills your brain by flooding the braincells with chemicals and then the next day there is less chemicals and leaves the brain cell decrepid waht what not, and since LSD causes your mind to release so much of one chemical i was wondering if it causes the same effect?* causing you to have a fucked up brain or what not?* i think pot just made me dumb cuz it does that but i'd like to know about acid because t's the only drug i do now a days and i enjoy it but ionno if i should keep up with it.


-RustyEdited by: BA

[searcher]

I believe it does. I believe it alters your brain and the way you think.

[sands of time]

It definately changes the way you think. I think if you do acid you are playing a chance game. Some people get really messed up for a few years, sometimes life, others remain the same.

[djad05]

[edited by Alfa] I have eaten over 150 hits of acid in my day and I still function the same. The only difference that I have noticed is that it takes more to make me happy. Other than that I am able to function properly for the most part. (sometimes have memory problems and such) but I think that has a lot to do with heavy drinking and pot smoking over the years. I have a very successful job andam able to live life with a new outlook on things that I would have never had if it wasnt for acid and mushrooms. IT really does broaden your horizons and makes you appreciate things that you would have never even thought to look twice at if you had not have eaten psychadelics. I also believe that they help as far as being artistic, you have more ideas and thoughts flowing through your brain than those who have been sober for their whole life because you have more than one way to look at things. Hope this helps!!!!

[Kemikaru_Tenshu]

I also have done quite a bit of acid, and other than having a flashback on one occasion, I have not experienced any ill effects from it. Methamphetamine has caused more noticeable damage than acid ever has in my case.


The thing with strong hallucinogens is this: when you think, while on drugs or not, your brain is constantly rewiring itself to accomplish the necessary matrix network configuration to make the thought process and retention of memory possible. As the most efficient configuration is realized, the strength or weight of active connections is strengthened or weakened based on the continuation of actuating stimuli. When you spend a considerable amount of time in an altered mental state, the strengths and weaknesses of these connections will be based in greater part on the results of your thought process while intoxicated. This is why when you come down after a long period of drug use, you don't feel normal. "Normal" has become being intoxicated, as the strengths of the mental state of intoxication has began to outweigh the strengths of the "sober connections" weights.


So, prolonged exposure to strong hallucinogens makes your mind more inclined to wire itself to work better under a hallucinogenic state, this will significantly detract from your ability to function normally while sober. So yes, LSD does change the way you think if you do too much of it too often.





~KT

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fasanating

[Alfa]

Under the influence of LSD; everything is more intense. Every impulse is intensified greatly. Thought- and learning paterns are formed trough reoccuring or intense events. The more intense something is, the more impact it has on your psyche. This is why a psychedelic experience is not just fun for the ride. It has more impact and value. What you do during a trip affects the following period and possibly more. If you go about acting stupid it will set your mind in this mode for some extent. If you play around with the amazing mental capabilities that you can discover during a psychedelic experience, it to will set your mind in this mode to some extent.


I agree with all KT said.

[teterev]

I have taken acidonly(...) 20-25 times,clear or combined with others drugs during past 3 years.Being now 32 y.o.,I would not admit that there are any noticeable "terrible" changes,that could not be under control.IMHO,LSD is a tool,powerful,sometimes dangerous(psychologically etc.),it depends onhow you use it,or how you use"yourself"while tripping.So you may use it,may loose it,but anyway try to avoid making some ultimate,serious conclusions WHILE you on drug.As far as I concern,there is no complete(!),correlated and whole scientificdoctrineon this drug...Of course,extensiveresearches,thousands trip reports-lot of data avilible in net,check erowid ,lycaeum.leda, etc. But,personally,I'd give only one advice for the first-timers:don't try.And if you're going to do it anyway,find somebody experienced,who could be your"guide" for the first trips. Yeah,also,the descriptionof lsd synthesis :http://leda.lycaeum.org/?ID=8774 well,it could not be cooked at home in no way.College?..hmm,there should be really dedicated students(or teachers)out there<Use darkroom and follow with a long wave UV>

[teterev]

I would agree with KT and Alfa,check this quote:"Using radioactive molecules traced with LSD, science has been able to follow the course of LSD through the various channels and avenues of the body. It has been found that after selecting certain areas of the various parts of the brain it then migrates to sections with fewer imprints, for instance the right of the hemisphere, the so-called creative center. By redirecting consciousness, as it were, into the unimprinted areas of the cortex, one hypothetically experiences the world anew, hence the variety of interpretations which arise upon questioning psychedelic voyagers about their trip".

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fasanating

[panamapaul]

I read a study a few years ago thatinvolved a group of heavy LSD users vs. non-users 10 years after the users had stopped. After 10 years the researchers were unable to find any difference in mental functions, IQ, etc. between the two groups. This leads me to think that any changes that occur tend to be temporary and due to changes in brain chemistry rather than cell death. I've heard horror stories of people taking it a few times and becoming mental zombies or vegetables. Of all the people I've known to use LSD over the past 30+ years, none have become like that. My guess is that some people have an underlying psychosis and LSD triggers it and that is what makes them zombie-like. That explains why some can use it heavily for years with no adverse effects while others can become unhinged after one trip.


There are several studies that you can find on the web concerning LSD and brain damage too. After all of these years, there still seems to be a lack of consensus in the scientific community in regards to brain damage. Some studies seem to suggest that prolonged heavy ingestion causes learning and memory problems and just as many others suggest there are no detectable problems.The discrepancymay be due to genetic factors as well.


I was a pretty heavy user in the 80's...ingesting about every other weekend. I noticed some things that indicated the very opposite of brain damage during this time. I was also playing a lot of chess with friends andon a chess computer. There was an extended period of time that my skill level on the computer would climb a level each time I imbibed a good dose of acid. I also took an introductory MENSA test at this time and found that my IQ qualified for membership. All of this...while managing a business with 23 employees. So I tend to be skeptical of any negative mental effects. I think a lot of studies are skewed due to most LSD users also imbibing other chemicals such as pot or xtc. I used to be a regular pot smokerin the 70's and experienced all sorts of memory problems then. Other than a little beer or wine, LSD is the only drug I've used in nearly 25 years. Some of the negative rep probably comes from the word 'acid'. ACID! OMG, it'll eat your brain or fry it. People don't seem as concerned about citric acid, of course. Back in the 60's and 70's the US govt. encouraged the idea that it caused chromosome damage. Even the hippies bought into that crap. Later studies showed that...yeah...it causes the same amount of 'damage' as taking aspirin. Governments fear drugs like lsd, not because of brain damage but because it can cause changes in a person's value system and thinking. It's like banning dangerous books or ideas.

Reputation Comments on this post:

bravo! (and thanks for reinforcing the safty message of acid, youve broght me peice of mind)

[mattp]

SWIM has eaten his fair share of acid (no where near 100 or anything, but maybe 30 or so trips, various amounts each time)

I think that pot fucks with your memory much more than LSD does. Yes,
most people will argue that "pot is the safest and most natural drug",
but since i've stopped smoking it, my memory has definately improved
noticably. Other than the occasional flashback, which is not
always that bad, i have no adverse affects from it. Although sometimes
listening to mike's song by phish still makes me shed a tear from a
beautiful acid trip i had during a concert, i don't think i have any
bad affects from it.

[manda]

This is so funny- it was my first drug on my 13th b-day, and the kids I did it with swore that if you ate X (different numbers here) number of hits, it meant you were "legally insane". Anyone else ever heard funny teen urban legend like this? Or is there some truth to it?

[Cloud_Man]

Acid is fairly safe drug actually, no physical side effects only psychological ones. LSD is safer than both shrooms and ecstasy.

[Hyperreal]

As for LSD being neurotoxic, it probably isn't, and, if it is, it is only very slightly so - nothing on the same scale as alcohol.

[egoDEATH]

It all depends on the person, but lsd has caused monumental mind changes in some very well educated people with promising results. Timothy Leary (need I say more).There's been a couple oflsd-friendly scholars(don't know the names off the top of my head) who have actually won Nobel Prizes for inventions and scientific break-throughs they created.Most of the pioneer computer programmers from the 70's have admitted to using this brain candy and reported that it helped themunderstand this complex field of technology.

[BEEKSc1]

i have heard that steven king used "brain candy" while he was writting kujo (sp). and look at the impact that book had on that guys career

[panamapaul]

I read a booklet on LSD at the library a few days ago. The copywrite date was 1997. There was no mention of any physical or nervous system damage.This book was very anti-lsd and was apparently written by some u.s. gov. agency. They brought up the old horror stories of people jumping from windows and killing people while tripping. All very anecdotal, no statistics. I kept wondering how the percentages of such occurances might compare to alcohol casualties. The authors contended that LSD use was on the rise again (this was 97) because the younger generation had not learned the lessons of the boomer / 60's generation. They asserted that the 60's folks knew how dangerous lsd was & this is why use trailed off back in the 70's... but this info wasn't passed to the kids. All sorts of strange conjectures of this type with absolutely no supporting studies or stats.


I found the circular arguments the most amusing: Using LSD is dangerous...because it's illegal and you might be sent to prison. Using LSD is dangerous because you don't know exactly what dose you're getting or even if it's real acid. Interesting that all of this 'danger' stems directly from the governments making LSD illegal in the first place! It it were legal, you wouldn't risk prison. The dose and quality would be controled and people would be less paranoid thus having fewer bad trips. duh. The government 'makes' it dangerous and then says; "See, we told you it was dangerous." Reading insipid propaganda such as this, I've come to embrace the theory that non-LSD users must suffer from irreversable brain damage.

[mariecurie]

First of all, you guys should look at the MAPS research about MDMA. All
those commercials about the "brain damage" it causes have been shown to
either be contrived or faulty science. There is also a vault on Erowid
about an ABC news special report called "Ecstasy Rising" which clears
up SO many lies.



I believe LSD is safe for those who don't have latent psychological
problems, although it can certainly get you into some strange
situations. Mushrooms, as far as I know, are also believed to be the
safest of all hallucinogens.

[BEEKSc1]

yea i thoughtyou were trying to say it caused brain damage which resulted in the lack of intelligence, has it happened to all the daily users or just the majority?just out of curiousity


yea, i think mushrooms are the safest psychedelic and they are so natural.

[jrock0069]

About five years ago, I used acid on a daily basis for months. I did a lot of stupid things while sober, which made me spend the next 3 years locked up, but never on cid. The only affect I think might have come from it is, while I was locked up, If I stared at something for a few seconds it would start to move and take on different shapes. I could amuse myself for hours doing this in my cell. Sadly to say though, it eventually wore off and I had to cope with spending the next couple years in CYA. (California Youth Authority)


So I would say no. Acid does not kill your brain. It may alter it a bit, but definitely doesn't kill it from my point of view.Edited by: jrock0069

[zera]

I think that a lot of LSD's tendency to be associated with ridiculous rumors comes from the term "acid." I mean this is something that is actively demonized by a subset of the population, isn't very well understood by most people, and by the nature of being a prominent "hard" drug is associated with a lot of other bad things like heroin, cocaine, etc.

Frankly there wouldn't be a public relations director in the world without his head up his ass that would promote the nickname acid for the stuff. Acid brings up images of sulfuric acid burning holes in peoples hands, nasty, corrosive, toxic stuff. Of course most people are too stupid too realize that virtually everything we eat is acidic, so when you say acid I gurantee you battery acid springs to most people's mind. Well of course when you have this public image people are going to say retarded things like "It stays in your system forever" (whatever someone's "system" is) or "You trip because your brain bleeds." I know people that think acid and LSD are two different things.

I think the same is probably true with PCP being called "embalming fluid," or even with psilocybian mushrooms being confused in the public's mind with poisonous mushrooms. I was just talking to a friend who is very interested in tripping on shrooms who was under the unswayable impression that psilocybin is the poison in poisonous mushrooms and that's why you trip. Jesus Christ, why the hell would anyone want to take shrooms if you thought they were poisonous.

Anyway, I think the drug using community should make a concentrated effort to quit using the term acid, it simply presents far too negative a view. I think we should all stick to the term LSD, and resist the urge to sound badass in front of the squares by saying things like "Yeah, I dropped 3 tabs of acid last night."

I gurantee you that as soon as some moron slaps some badass name on 2c-e or methylone, like "Botulism" or "Sarin" or "K-Fed" that that shit's going to be the center of a public scare faster than anything.

Reputation Comments on this post:

very humorous, but to the point and informative. class post.

[Deadbolt]

Originally Posted by zera

I know people that think acid and LSD are two different things.

As does Swim. Two friends, one who had actually done LSD previously, mentioned to Swim they were keen on tripping on some but if they werent able to get any, they'd do some acid instead

[mouthwater]

Originally Posted by zera

I think we should all stick to the term LSD, and resist the urge to sound badass in front of the squares by saying things like "Yeah, I dropped 3 tabs of acid last night."

I gurantee you that as soon as some moron slaps some badass name on 2c-e or methylone, like "Botulism" or "Sarin" or "K-Fed" that that shit's going to be the center of a public scare faster than anything.

What about "'cid?" I'm of the firm belief that regardless of what the drug community calls a substance, the media/government would slap some phony bologna "slang" to the drug anyways.

[BEEKSc1]

with the infomation that i have uncovered on lsd therapy and other various forms of psychedelic therapy researched through maps.org


here are some are statements that i have scene by others that support this:


LSD does not produce a psychotic state.


LSD may produce chronic visual "tracers." this is known as HyperPersistingPerceptionDisorder


LSD may cause mild "flashbacks"


i have found no infomation that supports 'cid staying in your spine for ever and doing a spinal tap is unheard of to test for it, if the 'cid stayed in one's spine.

I think LSD does change the way you think, as far as the way you view life, and the way you see things. LSD has taught me to look at things from another point of view, the way I talk with people they could be talking about one thing, and it can mean something totally different. I love LSD, I think everyone needs to experience it at least once in their life.

[liquidknives]

Originally Posted by rach11781

i've done cid ONCE 7 years ago, and every once in a while i still see ant like black dots in my vision, like bugs crawling....no joke.

Before i even did LSD, if i sat and spaced out for long enough while looking at a grey sky or something, i'd see that shit too. there's just shit you dont tend to pay attention to in your visual field. particles in your eyes and the air directly around them, shit like that. or maybe evenjust general brain fuzz.


I've seen more people completely ruined by pot just as any other drug. the fact is, carelessness leads to disaster. you get more brain damage from staring at a TV too long than you do dropping LSD or smoking a joint.


I've always seen instances of HPPD as a temporary or (rarely) permanent removal of the "filters" that LSD tends to destroy. i mean you gotta remember that LSD is more of an antagonist of the mind than a drug. it's through your system by the time you're peaking (read Hofmann's Problem Child and related literature). its more of an internal psychological effect than anything... some consider it a blessing, some consider it a curse. usually it's the ones who tend to freak out on acid most that call it a curse... and they shouldnt be doing it in the first place.

And wouldn't the H.P.P.D. be like a distraction while driving or working at a computer for work?

Some people can do this when they're on 250 mics with little impairment, even sometimes feeling enhanced. yeah it's not recommended, but the fact is, some people can handle it and some people cant. if you perma-fry from your first trip (which is about as unlikely as being struck by lightning 3 times in the same day) all i can say is it was more than likely 99.9999% your fault. misinformation and lack of education is what will destroy you in any medium of life, whether it be drugs or just getting behind the wheel ofa car or walking down the street.


My uncle in law has suffered from HPPD for the last 20 or so years of his life (it has massively declined since it began), and has functioned perfectly. ironically enough, he's a successful clinical psychologist. there's a bit to chew on for you.Edited by: liquidknives