Opinions - A Brief Print-Out for Parents and the Uneducated (re: drugs and use)

[mouthwater]

I wrote this preliminary informational guide. I thought the drug community could elaborate on it. Please post further studies, advocates, correct any misinformation, etc., etc. to include. Some info may read too similarly to Wikipedia, this should be corrected by the community before declaring a finished version (although subsequent version would likely to occur).
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Notable psychedelic drug advocates:

1. Richard Alpert – Former Harvard professor (affiliations with the Social Relations Department, Psychology Department, Graduate School of Education, and Health Services as a therapist). Received research contracts with Yale and Stanford. Experimented with psilocybin mushrooms, studied in India under Bhagavan Das and Neem Karoli Baba, was given the name “Ram Dass” (which means “servant of God”), returned to America to promote spiritual awareness (bhakti yoga and Buddhist, Tibetan, and Zen Buddhism), and wrote “Be Here Now,” a book explaining his spiritual transformation from Alpert to Dass.

2. Stanislav Grof—M.D. from Charles University in Prague, Ph.D in medicine at Czechoslovakian Academy of Sciences, former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and former Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. Supports psychedelic psychotherapy and developed “holotropic breathwork” after LSD became illegal.

3. Albert Hofmann—Studied at University of Zurich, joined Sandoz Laboratories, was the first to synthesize LSD, began studying other hallucinogenic substances, calls LSD “medicine for the soul,” disagrees with its prohibition, has written over 100 scientific articles, and is 100 years old. Is quoted saying “I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a tool to turn is into what we are supposed to be.”

4. Aldous Huxley--Went to Eton College, later studied English literature at Ballilol College, Oxford, graduated with First Class Honours, and best known for his famous novel Brave new World. Wrote “The Doors of Perception,” which inspired a famous rock band to name themselves The Doors. This book details his experiences using mescaline, and features the quote regarding psychedelic experiences: “To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception, to be shown for a few timeless hours the outer and inner world, not as they appear to an animal obsessed with survival or to a human being obsessed with words and notions, but as they are apprehended, directly and unconditionally, by Mind at Large— this is an experience of inestimable value to everyone and especially to the intellectual.”

5. Ken Kesey—Graduated from University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and was awarded Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship to enroll at Stanford University. While there, he participated in government-financed studies on LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and others. As the government’s psychedelic medical guinea pig he was inspired to write the famous novel “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” This novel later inspired a movie starring Jack Nicholson that won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and for Writing Adapted Screenplay. He was good friends with Jack Kerouac (who wrote “On The Road”).

6. Timothy Leary—Received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from University of Alabama, a master’s degree from Washington State University, and a Ph.D. in psychology from University of California, Berkeley. He became an Assistant Professor at Berkeley and a lecturer at Harvard University. He was good friends with Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) and argued that psychedelics, when used properly (in a comfortable set and setting, etc., etc.), are vastly beneficial for introspection and freeing the mind from the ruts of societal-based conditioned thinking. According to his autobiography he gave 300 professors and 200 clergymen LSD, and 75% of each of them declared it one of the most education and religious experiences of their lives. He carried out the Concord Prison Experiment, where 36 prisoners were given psilocybin mushrooms—80% of those never returned to prison, although this study is disputed to be flawed.

7. John C. Lilly—Studied physics and biology at California Institute of Technology, medicine at Dartmouth Medical School, and received a medical degree from University of Pennsylvania. He studied ‘consciousness,’ developed the first isolation/sensory deprivation tank, experimented with LSD and spent the last years of his life studying how dolphins communicate with each other.

8. Ethan Nadelmann—Has a B.A., J.D., and Ph.D degrees from Harvard University and master’s degree in international relations from the London School of Economics. He’s taught at Princeton University and had articles published in Science, Foreign Affairs, American Heritage, and National Review. He is currently the executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, a non-profit organization working to end the war on drugs. He is quoted with saying “We won't win until the average parent believes drug reform protects kids better than the war on drugs.”

9. Hunter S. Thompson—Had minimal college education and became one of the 20th centuries' most recognized authors. He is known best for writing Rum Diary, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and from articles in The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, ESPN, Esquire, National Observer, New York Times, Rolling Stone, and Time. Much of his work was explicitly inspired by drug use.

How Can Drugs Be Used Responsibly?
By the user…
1. Affirming they will understand the effects of any drugs they plan on taking to the best of their ability-- including neurochemical, psychological, physiological, and spiritual effects-- and legal issues.

2. Affirming they will take low doses before trying high doses.

3. Affirming they will take all measures to know that their sources are pure.

4. Affirming they will take into account their own body weight, diet, and health conditions when dosing.

5. Affirming they will never take physical risks that could harm themselves or others when under the influence.

6. Affirming they will take unfamiliar drugs in the present of sober ‘trip-sitters.’

7. Affirming they will never trick or be dishonest towards other people about drugs and their use.

8. Affirming they will defend the rights of others to make educated, responsible decisions about drugs use.

9. Affirming they will not let their drug use became dangerous to their health or personal relationships.

Various Studies
1) LSD and psilocybin are being used to treat cluster headaches, a rare disorder that has been described as more painful than child birth without anaesthesia. In a recent study, 53 cluster headache patients were given psilocybin or LSD to treat their pain. 22 of 26 reported that psilocybin aborted the attacks. 25 of 48 psilocybin users and 7 of 8 LSD users reported the attacks ended sooner. Citation: Response of cluster headache to psilocybin and LSD. From the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory (J.H.H., H.G.P.) and Clinical Research Laboratory (R.A.S.), Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center, McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA. http://www.neurology.org/cgi/content/abstr...ract/66/12/1920

2) Studies are determining whether or not psilocybin helps treat OCD and MDMA helps treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Citation: Medicine hope for psychedelic drugs. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3528730.stm

3) An FDA approved study is underway to determine if psilocybin helps treat Stage IV cancer patient’s anxiety. Citation: Stage IV cancer patients and psilocybin - Patient Interviews. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/14202.php

What Does This All Mean?
This should serve to…
1. Demonstrate that demonizing drug use is arguably unethical, as there are many people who have, and continue to, benefit from psychedelic drugs, and there is no excuse for suppressing this information in an age nearing global-consciousness.

2. Drug education is more effective than drug demonization. As Ethan Nadelmann points out, drugs aren’t going anywhere, and “The true challenge is how [to] learn to live with these substances in such a way that they cause the least possible harm and the greatest possible good. What will cause people to wake up and say ‘Stop?’ What will cause people to say, ‘Enough is enough?’ What will cause people to say, ‘I value my freedom even if that freedom involves a measure of risk?’”

3. There is such a thing as responsible drug use.