Hallucinogens in the general public

in your own opinion.

when do you think hallucinogens and psychedelics will break out of its feared class and be respected amongst more researchers, physicians, therapists, psychoanalysts, basically anyone who would find beneficial uses from hallucinogenic substances.


Yes, i am aware that there are thousands of people i just mentioned that do infact praise hallucinogens and are doing research. But sadly as we all know.. the general consensus is to keep your mouth shut about it since they are illegal, and i am aware that in the past decade there has been an exciting revival of psychedelic research, but its still at the point where you ask someone about the benefits of psychedelics its usually shunned, unlike 50 years ago before LSD broke out of the laboratory and was criminalized when therapists and such all hailed LSD, same thing with MDMA before it was criminalized.

I believe that at the rate things are going it is starting to turn around, seeing how more and more research is starting to go underway.

when do you think it will hit a peak, and the view will change, not as in change and it becomes illegal, but change and be used more and more in therapeutic settings. (ie MDMA for post traumatic stress, ect. ect.)

 

this is what I think:

LSD was introduced to the world basically in the 50s and spread worldwide. had a huge following.

but it was pop.

and it didnt really work on the whole because it was mixed in with the hippies and their alternative culture.

now, this culture changed the world and introduced a whole set of principles into the pop culture of the time (which subsequently affected the rest of culture).

but because it was pop and alternative and hippy, it ended up being discarded along with that movement when it sort of failed.

and we all live in a world whereby the adults lives through the 70's and still have all the same cultural preconceptions about acid and stuff and relate it to a 'failed movement'. or something like that.

anyway, the point is that psychs only really had their 'second wave' in the late 90's with the development of many types of underground dance/trance music and the whole rave culture.
but this is young people.. the academics.. theyare still stuck in the baby boomer stage.

it is only an amount of time before people are distanced enough from the social stigma of psychedelics (basically - when the baby boomers die off/loose power) before psychedelics become elusive.

why elusive you might ask?

because the whole concept has been pushed under the carpet for the last generation and thus has not been fueling widespread discussion.

the fact is, however, that psychedelics offer a very important outlook on life which is becoming more and more important in todays technological and homogenised world.

leary loved computers.. but that was because there was so much hope on the horizon for him...
turns out that computers are basically incompatible with psychedelic use.

so we need new voices with fresh new theories and guruisms.

the world needs to go through a 'generation seasonal year' whereby all the oldies who were around to pick up stigma in the 70's and early 80's are gone and all the general population knows about acid is through 'retro' stances

 

what is LSD going to do for the world? I dunno if it will do any good. all im saying is that there is probably going to be another wave of psychedelic popularity as the generations come and go

 

^ why do you say computers are incompatible with psychedelics?

 

well i dont want to speak for everyone.. but computers dont really make much sense when you are very tripping

 

I find myself completley fascinated with computers when Im tripping!
My typing ability, reading speed and absorption, electronic musical expression, and overall navigation of the digital and analog operating systems is enhanced tremendously, contrary to what many experience and contrasted with my degenerated control of the basic physical exertions and mind/body reaction time.
Not too mention that being able to come online at 4 in the morning local time and speak with people from all over the world who are awake and active, wether sober or not, is a beautiful mix!
I remember you once saying in another thread that technology becomes alien in a way to you during a trip and that exploring the natural becomes fascinating. Both fascinate me during a trip, but I find my interest definitley reaching out for the technological side.
It feels like using a computer and surfing the internet is like an extension of my own consciousness, like the computer opens up an interface directly linked with the interface of my own operating system, and the ability to reproduce whats on my mind so quickly and in so many endless ways with the computer programs is mind blowing.
To me, computers and psychedelics go hand in hand, gland in gland, and are reflective of each other. Your consciousness is literally expanded just by going online, of course how far you go in defining the word 'expand' in this context may differ, but the limit on your reach is extended to great distances.

It also strikes me as odd that I am a self taught musician, on many different instruments, and when sober I have the ability to learn even the most complex of Bach's arrangements by ear and other classical compositions or explore my own progressive improvisational creation, but when Im tripping, my 'hands on' instrument talents fall apart and have to be rebuilt, quite often hours later after the peak. But my ability to operate the computer, which is somewhat lacking during sobriety (possibly due to a lack of interest from pursuing other fields) is greatly enhanced during a trip, almost to a point where it becomes natural, or dare I say, automatic.

 

what exactly do you do on your computer?

 

Many things of course! Compose music on digital audio workstations, listen to spoken word and lectures, research, read fiction for entertainment, educate myself in mathematics, read reports on this and several other forums, play RPG's, communicate with friends and strangers, paint and draw and edit photos, discover obscure music gems, enhance my vocabulary etc. Right now Im getting into micromusic and trying to build an analog workstation with my current synthesizer and midi controller, want to add some synths made from gameboy, atari, NES, Sega Genesis and the like. I have the vocoder, a bass guitar, and 2 classical acoustic guitars, but I dont have any drums (or the place to put them lol) or a drum machine so I have to use the digital machines which is pretty lame.
But I mean going on the computer while tripping, it just feels like an extension of my own mind to work with, I haven't tried my hand at any original programming since highschool so Im obsolete as far as that is concerned, but most importan is the feeling of being instantly connected to so many amazing and intelligent people all over the world. Of course, your also connected with pedophiles, psychopaths and douche bags of all sorts, but thus IT is

 

To the Information Super Highway! :cheers2:

communications and consciousness go hand in hand

 

A stylish laptop with a blu-ray drive plugged into a HD television with an HDMI cable for dual screen entertainment, 8 plug in Creative Labs Surround Sound speakers, a library of over 10,000 psytrance and general psychedelic tunes on my hard drive and wireless mouse and keyboard actually BECOMES my space hub when acid is involved...

 

the internet is already such a speedy learning tool, so combined with acid the learning process becomes so magical... i was tripping in my music technology class and everyone was so impressed with the sounds i was creating on the computer, acid makes me come up with the most eccentric techniques. also, i think the internet is largely responsible for changing views on psychedelics. with erowid, forums like these, and hallucinogen research of the past and models for the future easily found online, the truth about psychedelics spreads like wildfire. the internet makes psychedelics more relevant to my generation, and less so to the 60's.

 

bare in mind that a vast bulk of the 'information' you might come across during research on the internet is user submitted and that does not necessarily mean it's correct or still valid..

to be fair - although there is a lot of scoop to be found - i wouldn't use the net as my prime source for information.

 

true, the internet isn't always reliable, but i can access a large variety of perspectives faster than anywhere else, and sometimes users actually have good sources for their information. I read many books as well, but i can't necessarily trust that information either.

whats your prime source of information?

 

i'll read books or if i'm using the internet i will compare information with other online sources.

 

im not really convinced that computers and psychedelics are very compatible.. so far I just think that trippers are likely to enjoy computers.. but not really while trippin. I say that because ive never seen ppl using machines while tripping... maybe that is just the people Ive hung out with while trippin. I mean, sure ive seen ppl activate playlists...
ps. although, surfing the net randomly and listening to music/looking at pictures/videos does not count as good examples of 'using computers'

running a piece of editing software sounds like a pretty leet thing to do while tripping, on the other hand

nevertheless im interested to find out that some of you guys feel very in tune with computers when on acid.

 

I've made acid mixes on a sound editing program called Audacity, and produced a few dramatic (in a low-key way) psychedelic tracks on FruityLoops Studio 7 before peaking on a pretty high dose. Feel free to PM me if you want to hear any of them; although I'm not sending to any old tom dick and harry because there are probably copyright issues involved..

 

i've heard of lsd being used by programmers for more complex shit ill see if i can find a link

 

www.maps.org/news-letters/v18n1/v18n1-MAPS_24.pdf

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2006/01/70015 :

When Kevin Herbert has a particularly intractable programming problem, or finds himself pondering a big career decision, he deploys a powerful mind expanding tool -- LSD-25.

"It must be changing something about the internal communication in my brain. Whatever my inner process is that lets me solve problems, it works differently, or maybe different parts of my brain are used, " said Herbert, 42, an early employee of Cisco Systems who says he solved his toughest technical problems while tripping to drum solos by the Grateful Dead -- who were among the many artists inspired by LSD.

"When I'm on LSD and hearing something that's pure rhythm, it takes me to another world and into anther brain state where I've stopped thinking and started knowing," said Herbert who intervened to ban drug testing of technologists at Cisco Systems.

 

in regards to psychedelics in the public, i'm pretty optimistic about it, and more research seems to be reemerging. I know the FDA removed the clinical hold on lsd research this september. i'm actaully trying to become a nueroscientist, and hope to one day be part of this 'fringe' research, so i'm keeping my hopes up.

 

Damn, I like that lol
especially the stopped thinking and started knowing part