A couple serious questions. LSD, mushrooms.

[howlongisthenight]

Hi guys. I have a random stroy for you and then I will end with a few questions. I have a friend through some other friends that is, to say the least, different. He has to be the oddest, most awkward person I have ever met. I know his IQ has got to be fairly low, but at the same time hes not all that different. He has a driver's liscence, a job, and a fairly normal life, but if you spent even a few minutes around him, you would know something is different about him. He says/does some stuff that goes against usual social norms, often makes very random comements that have nothing to do with the conversation, and talks a little bit slow. He dropped out of community college because he just wasn't able to keep up academically ("it was just too hard") The odd thing is: he is an incredible runner. He ran very well in some mid-level events and has qualified for the New York and Boston marathons the last few years. This is good and everything, but it is an obsession. He sometimes runs 25 miles on a treadmill, all at once, just running for hours and doing nothing else. He openly said that it is an obsession and that it was hurting his schoolwork. He is currently taking two months off from running to see if he can get some things straightened out in his life. I also know that his relationship with his parents isn't the best. He is a very nice guy and I hope things turn out well for him, but sometimes some of the other guys and I will wonder what happened to him. I began to notice and interesting phenomena, LSD seems to always be on his mind. He does not use any kind of drug and seems to demonize LSD in most conversations. However, he always lets it slip in somewhere, and I have begun to notice that he thinks about it waay to much. For instance, SWIM was at a party when SWIM noticed one of his friends was going crazy. SWIM's friend was just very drunk, yet seemed full of energy and was doing strange things. (But he was just drunk, nothing else) Now, the guy who is the topic of this entry begins to accuse another person at this party of putting LSD in some of the food, even going to the point of yelling at him. The situation calmed down, but SWIM noted this and told me. This guy will also just say things, randomly, "has anyone here thought about using LSD?" But again, he never uses ANY substance and demonizes LSD if it acctually becomes a topic of discussion. I worked all this around in my head, and it led me to this question: What are the effects of LSD on the fetus when a pregnant person takes it? Some evidence seems to add up. I would say that he did LSD and somehow it messed him up, but he never does drugs, and seems to hold a "grudge" against LSD. His sour relationship with his parents, maybe his mom told him something of the sort happened? Searches came through only with the typical: LSD should not be taken by pregnant women. And: LSD can cause uterine contractions.
But what about damaging the development of the fetus? Any info would be great.



Now, further badgering of you experts on related topics:
SWIM has, for a while, been wanting to try mushrooms. SWIM takes his substances very seriously, (he spent about two weeks just getting ready to try salvia) but has little experience with physchadelics. SWIM is very interested because he is interested in the spiritual or deeper aspects of pyschadelics. SWIM wrote 4 pages to describe his last salvia experience, and enjoys the ideas generated by a contorted or non-existant reality. But SWIM has one thing holding him back from trying shrooms: He has never found what he considers a reliable source discussing the neurotoxicity of the substances in shrooms. Now, before you jump to the easy "no evidence" answer, here this: SWIM would not touch LSD or MDMA at this pooint in his life. (Maybe later, he only has one brain to live this life with)
SWIM hasn't found anything helpful on the subject. Biases range fromt the "it'll burn holes all over your brain" to the "it doesnt have any effect" arguement. SWIM, personally, thinks this is all bullshit. SWIM does not believe Acid and MDMA to be "dangerous," but does believe that almost any substance will, by defintion, alter your brain in some way. SWIM has heard tooo many firsthand accounts of the longterm effects of LSD and MDMA to listen to people who say there is no effect on brain chemistry. (again, SWIM will readdress these substances after he hits 50 SWIM thinks LSD has much theraputic and scientific value BTW, not an all-out hater)

So now with a basic knowledge on SWIM's views on the subject, would you make a claim that shrooms are "safer" then LSD? SWIM found enough evidence that Salvia was safe and has had no problems from his experiments with it. But the two "P's" always seem to be grouped in with LSD and MDMA in articles and people's posts discussing its effects on the brain, and therefore SWIM can't get accurate info on it alone.
Another one to add on.....2c-x substances. SWIM knows for sure that there hasn't been much research done on these, so you guys are the cutting edge, you guys are firsthand, primary users....I mean....researchers.


I thank all that took the time to read my long post. And thanks in advance for any firsthandd knowledge, links, or info provided.

(i got an avatar!)

(oh, yes SWIM has read all the ridiculous "does mushrooms make your brain bleed posts and ridiculous stuff, which didn't actually help. Looking for something a little more scientific then the "Lets all smoke paracetamol!!!!!" variety.)

[Millsley]

I think a major thing with psychadelics is that you are basically messing with your normal perception in a way and that your normal subconscious experience is often rerouted to your "observing" self (the person you identify yourself as, the viewer so to speak). If you have any negative thoughts or fears regarding a drug that is kept buried in your subconscious they might become directly fed into your conscious self which causes you to fall into that bad trip state. This is going to happen to you with both drugs, but LSD seems to have gotten the rap for driving more people crazy. All you have to do to have a good trip on LSD is hype yourself up about it for a week, and the day before, mentally envision how much fun it's going to be. Every time SWIM has done this, they've had an amazing trip. (SWIM's first trip was going to be shrooms but everyone was out so he had to do acid but he had a blast)

SWIM thinks 2-cx's and other drugs are just as safe - as long as you're informed and aware (about effects and dosages) and respect the drug you're not going to have a problem. People die from carbon monoxide poisoning leaving their car on in the garage but if you simply know that doing this is stupid you're chill.

[Votorx]

I personally feel that SWIM needs to do some research rather than take other people's accounts. He needs to realize that many myths and lies arise from propaganda and the anti-drug hysteria that's still present today. There are many research papers done on this subject which would make everything painfully clear. One such myth with LSD had to do with the fact that it stays in your body forever. Even though this is common knowledge, it isn't true. Infact LSD fully metabolizes within 24 hours. The substance traced in spinal fluid would be LSD's metabolite which will has no psychadelic effects on the mind.

As for safety. LSD is one of the safest psychadelics and the "standard"...physically. From other's accounts they say LSD is much more intense than Mushrooms. From their personal experiance Shrooms was a trip, LSD was an experiance. They said it wasn't fun, instead their only reason for continual use is to explore the reality and depths of their mind from a more perspective view. They acknowledge the fact that irresponsible use with this substance could bring about traumatic experiances. It needs to be understood that when on LSD, it becomes much harder to differentiate the hallucinations from reality than it is when one's on shrooms. As well, they feel it also needs to be understood that its not just visuals, their own personal experiance shows that LSD can lead to a mental warfare. Infact one said they experianced a schizophrentic episode, where he had conversations with a friend that apparently never happened. Another said while tripping they god stuck in a loop and felt that they would be stuck that would forever. Given that they took unusual ammounts, it's apparent that the experiance could lead one to suffer some kind of mental trauma if they aren't careful or mentally prepared to handle the trip.

Also, research as proven that LSD can bring to surface deep mental illness not readily apparent when the user's sober. It can also intensifie current mental illness. That's something to always take note of.

MDMA is much more hazardous to the mind. As with any drug it should be taken in moderation but its affects can bring about long term depression. When MDMA enters the brain its binds to Serotonin receptors. When Serotonin is released the MDMA acts as a barrior so the Serotonin molecule's cant be reabsorbed into the neurons. More Serotonin is released with the already existing Serotonin and the molecule's bind the receptors which causes Euphoria in the user. With the dramatic increase of Serotonin more receptors are enabled and the constant barrage of molecules can lead to damage of the receptors. So, if enough is taken at a time or enough taken over a long period of time, its possible that one can feel permanent depression. This also accounts for the depression many users feel after they come down from the drug. It should be noted though that one would have to take ALOT and I mean ALLLLOOOTTT of mdma at a time to do any serious damage or take MDMA continously for along time. So as always, Moderation and SWIM shouldn't have much to worry about.

[Votorx]

I didn't realize people actually knew what they were talking about on this site. I'm use to talking to people who think MDMA and Ecstacy are two different things. Sorry if my explanation was elementary and didn't help you.