LSD research

[Au Naturel]

Interesting video about research into LSD.

Sorry, but the YouTube video I tried linking to won't let me embed it. Very strange.

It is called "How Moldy Bread Can Change Your Brain" on PBS Terra.

 

[tree]

This one?

 

[Raggamuffin]

Done LSD once and shrooms a bunch of times. Still very depressed, traumatised and damaged.

I'd like to do them more given the chance.

Ed

 

[Tom]

If you have never heard the story, Pont Sait Espirit a picturesque old medieval town in France was the scene of one of the strangest outbreaks of mass crazyness in recorded history (1951). I say 'crazyness' because the other words are just too difficult to spell right now. It was caused by a fungus contaminated bread.

"On August 15, 1951, a mass poisoning outbreak occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit, France, affecting more than 250 people. The poisoning caused acute psychotic episodes and other physical symptoms, and resulted in four deaths."

I believe at least a few never recovered and spent the rest of their lives in institutions.

If you google it there is a lot to find, and it has become something of a conspiracy theory magnet, secret experiments, etc.

 

[Au Naturel]

This one?

Yeah. Kept saying the video was unavailable.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

View attachment 131890

If you have never heard the story, Pont Sait Espirit a picturesque old medieval town in France was the scene of one of the strangest outbreaks of mass crazyness in recorded history (1951). I say 'crazyness' because the other words are just too difficult to spell right now. It was caused by a fungus contaminated bread.

"On August 15, 1951, a mass poisoning outbreak occurred in Pont-Saint-Esprit, France, affecting more than 250 people. The poisoning caused acute psychotic episodes and other physical symptoms, and resulted in four deaths."

I believe at least a few never recovered and spent the rest of their lives in institutions.

If you google it there is a lot to find, and it has become something of a conspiracy theory magnet, secret experiments, etc.

Ergot poisoning. A fungus that affects rye grains.

Related to, but not the same as LSD.

Ergot was used by midwives to strengthen uterine contractions.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

It has to be rye bread conspiracy theory when I was younger that CIA added to water supply after all they did experiments in Montreal which is well documented.

 

[Au Naturel]

I was almost bulletproof as far as psychedelics were concerned. Never had a "bad" trip, though some were more neutral. Long hi-dose LSD trips left me exhausted but unable to sleep, so I'd take a Drammimine to get to sleep. I felt much better about life for weeks after. I wished I could have some flashbacks like I heard about because it would have saved me money. Didn't happen.

I was usually alone when I did psychedelics. I'd put on music I loved. I always found wearing clothing absolutely intolerable when I tripped. I usually just liked to lay in the dark and allow my mind to wander where it would go, let the music wash me away, and enjoy the light show. If it were daytime, no hallucinations, but colors really popped, and I couldn't stop the giggles. Outdoors at night, just look at the stars and watch them dance.

Mushrooms were good, too. MDMA gave the best results as far as mood improvement, but it can be dangerous in an uncontrolled environment. People have been known to suffer hyperthermia by taking them at a rave and dancing all night.

Psychedelics should only be done once in a while or they lose their effectiveness. Only under controlled circumstances because if something comes up, you may be unable to deal with it. If your demon is anxiety, or anger, that will color your trip and turn it bad. You need to be extremely open-minded but also have a very fundamental sense of what is dangerous, or you may do dangerous things. People should have a babysitter when they seriously trip. Not having a lot of friends, that wasn't often available to me.

What it did for me was allow me to unzip from my ego. It was like I could stand outside myself and appraise. I could look at other people without my judgment coloring the picture. It taught me acceptance much better than years of philosophy study ever could. After the euphoria faded, I got to keep the lessons I learned. I could remember the feelings I felt and keep a sliver of them with me.

That was 40-50 years ago. Psychedelics have fallen out of favor for other drugs. People don't do drugs for self-exploration anymore. They do different drugs to either wake themselves up or to numb themselves out.

 

[jsilver256]

Psychedelics should only be done once in a while or they lose their effectiveness. Only under controlled circumstances because if something comes up, you may be unable to deal with it. If your demon is anxiety, or anger, that will color your trip and turn it bad. You need to be extremely open-minded but also have a very fundamental sense of what is dangerous, or you may do dangerous things. People should have a babysitter when they seriously trip. Not having a lot of friends, that wasn't often available to me.

Just repeating this part of your post, as that implies psychedelics could be a bad idea for a lot of us, myself included...

 

[Neonatal RRT]

Psilocybin has changed my life in very positive ways and the people around me have found me far more receptive and positive and expressive. I am NOT into taking "heroic doses" and having a "trip". I'm too much of a control freak, but I use a regimen called a Stamets Stack, low-moderate dose psilocybin mushroom + lions mane mushroom + niacin. Low doses can be done 3-4X a week and you can go about your daily routine without any adverse effects. Moderate doses about 2X a week, and you might want to find a quiet place while you do it, but you're not having a "trip", either.

It all depends upon YOUR brain chemistry and how you respond to serotonin. Some folks on the autism spectrum actually have too much serotonin, in which case, this might not be for you. Some folks are low on serotonin, apparently like me, and this has been beneficial. Unlike SSRIs which some people hate taking, which actually reduces the metabolic breakdown on serotonin, psilocybin actually causes the release of serotonin.

There are some controlled studies now in progress with psilocybin in autistic individuals. Results pending.

 

[Rodafina]

I loved LSD too much - when tolerance to other drugs had built up and I wasn't getting the effect I desired, LSD would get me to that place of oblivion that I was always seeking when I was an active addict. When the effect wore off, I missed the feelings I had while tripping, ever disappointed in my sober reality. As with all drugs, there was never enough for me. A moderate dose that does not cause extreme highs would not be something that I could manage - if you eat enough micro-doses all at once, it turns into a regular old dose.

I accept the idea that it can be helpful to some, especially as a treatment for certain conditions and not a recreational drug. But, I hope the research also shows that it will not be an option for everyone. Even if it is prescribed and its use is monitored by a physician, it can still easily be abused by folks like myself - especially if we have the mindset that it is okay because it is medication, not drugs. For me, I submit to the power of my addiction and the wiser option is to abstain all together and learn how to exist in peace with my sober mind.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I loved LSD too much - when tolerance to other drugs had built up and I wasn't getting the effect I desired, LSD would get me to that place of oblivion that I was always seeking when I was an active addict.

This was written about that oblivion--taking LSD to get rid of your ego.

 

[Forest Cat]

I watched a documentary about Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys, called "Long Promised Road". He mentioned taking LSD and he said something like "I took LSD and it just tore my head off". I think it broke something in him, it's not something to play around with. It all depends on the person of course, some might do just fine and others are broken.

 

[Au Naturel]

What happens while you are tripping depends on what you bring to the trip. I never sought out oblivion. Quite the opposite. I was seeking awareness. Letting go of ego isn't oblivion. It is a better understanding of reality.

There's a Beatles song that describes it perfectly.

Try to realize it's all within yourself, no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small, and life flows on within you, and without you

Two people take a raft down raging rapids one; one has the time of their life while the other panics. The difference is in how they interpret what's happening. Can they just let go and go with the flow? (And to the people running the raft, it's just another day at work!)

There are people who probably should not go whitewater rafting. There are also people who should not do LSD. (Definitely not without a babysitter and not in uncontrolled circumstances!) And that's okay.

 

[Forest Cat]

There are also people who should not do LSD. (Definitely not without a babysitter and not in uncontrolled circumstances!)

I'm one of those people. If something takes a bad turn, my mind will rip me apart. I can do a lot of things but LSD is not for me.

 

[Rodafina]

Two people take a raft down raging rapids one one has the time of their life while the other panics.

And a third person follows suit and decides they love the raft and the rapids more than walking on land, and they want to simply stay on it forever and so they never get off unless the river runs dry.

 

[Au Naturel]

And a third person follows suit and decides they love the raft and the rapids more than walking on land, and they want to simply stay on it forever and so they never get off unless the river runs dry.

Doing something over and over makes it mundane and ordinary. Responses go extinct. There is a steady decline in the quality of the trip with repeated use. You've seen it before, and your body gets better and better at metabolizing the drug to the point where you can't get very high, regardless of dose. Psychedelics are a great place to visit but a boring place to live.

That's more behavior you'd see with something that was highly addictive. Maybe heroin or cocaine.