Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with lsd

I took acid for the first time have many questions

ascetic — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 13:10:59 -0800

Okay, my friend from work came over and then he, my roommate, and I were supposed to just take ecstasy and just chill out to trance music. Somehow my friend convinced us that we should take ACID. I have always told myself that I would never do it because I was afraid of going completely and utterly insane. So we literally tripped for almost 24 hours (each took several hits of the acid and around 4 rolls of E). It was REALLY weird and easily the most awesome experience of my life. I will never look at my house the same EVER AGAIN.

The most noticeable thing me for was that we became very obsessed with perspective. Is that normal? We all took turns "sitting" in my refrigerator and we literally BECAME the fridge. I sat there yelling "OOOHHHH MYYYYY GOODDDDDD" as my friends pretended to take condiments out of me. We also started speaking in gibberish and I could somehow understand them. We also started using a British accent (which scared the daylights out of my dog!!! I could also control the tempo of the music with my mind and I somehow synchronized the lights with my arms. If I raised my arms up in the air, the lights got brighter. As I lowered my arms, the lights dimmed.

I have a few questions though:

1) Is it normal it be really depressed and somber the day after? I got really emotional and cried uncontrollably at some points. I think that is from the E

2) Our trip is just in our head right? I mean, we slid around on our bellies on my kitchen floor and we were sliding like we were on a skating rink. What would it look like to someone who was not on acid? And what about the British accents? In our head, or where we really talking like that?

3) I noticed that several times throughougt the night, I would say stuff like "This is really fununununununun" and repeat the last syllable over and over. I felt very "manic" and would make "omomomomomom" noises over and over, and REALLY fast. What's that about? One person said from the meth in the E.

4) Lastly, what are the long-term effects of acid? I mean, say you use it once or twice a year? I am in college and get good grades and I am worried about ruining my cognition and/or memory. I value my ability to compute algebra problems.....

5) If I use the LSD spiritually and therapeutically, could it actually make my life better somehow? I would like to try to have healing sessions with my friends where we express ourselves artistically and talk about how we would like to improve our lives...

early onset psychedelicization

philip-random — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:11:21 -0800

What's it like to trip on LSD (or other psychedelics) while still just a child (say no older than 13 or 14)? No, don't worry, I'm not considering dosing my annoying nephew. The question is relevant to a screenplay I'm doing some work on wherein three 12 year old boys get dosed by mistake ... and well, what would happen?

Is it safe for me to breed?

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 07:28:06 -0800

Genetic damage caused by hallucinogens? This question has two parts of necessary prologue. Background relevant to this query spans roughly thirty years, and there are three periods of distinct interest.

During my undergraduate days in the late 70's I attended a university where soft drugs were a large part of our hippy influenced lifestyle. Some of us got into acid which we really enjoyed.

I had some solid connections at the time, capable of delivering volume and wishing to expand their business. So one June, just as exams ended and summer began, I got my hands on 250 hits of this wonderful blue micro dot (100 mikes, and very standardised product).

My intention was to sell 200 hits and finance 50 free trips for myself. But, of course, before I could move a dose I had to test the product. I ended up selling perhaps thirty of the hits, taking the great bulk of the remaining acid myself. Needless to say, I now recall that summer as a blur of images and starting classes the following autumn I was more than a little fuzzy.

Roughly ten years later, I moved to New York. Had a "normal" career, but in my free time I owned two art galleries and published a series of underground magazines. I rode motorcycles, ran with a gang and we'd go on these bacchanalian binges, which sometimes stretched into days. One of our crowd was into acid and 'shrooms and my interest in tripping was rekindled. I did mostly 'shrooms but perhaps a dozen hits of acid as well over a six month period before the the combination of tripping and biker lifestyle started interfering with my day job.

As I love to ride motorcycles I quit all drugs, pot, acid, anything else, cold turkey in 1990.

Even though I can't ride motorcycles any longer (dumped on a 'S' curve, twisted my arm so bad I needed extensive reconstructive surgery but on the bright side I was left with these awesome scars), I still enjoy wine and champagne but nothing more.

I moved to Europe a little over a decade ago. Got married about seven months ago and now we're talking family. I'm in excellent health, very fit and energetic for my age with a youthful and highly optimistic outlook. I've spent a lot of time on the ground in Africa and The Middle East, have had almost every jab necessary for working remotely for long periods of time solo in those areas and, unlike some, Ive never had a problem at all with the inoculations. Used Malarone as a malarial prophylaxis, but was never in infectious zones for longer than two months.

Clearly I can't change the past, but I'd hate to bring an unhealthy baby into this world. Discussing options in the broadest possible terms, the wife is open to adoption.

I haven't been too revealing with her about my past as while she's great, the best thing that ever happened to me, she's sorta straight. She does, however, know some aspects of my background - she met several friends from the biker days in New York recently, clearly knows about my tattoos, lives in our flat that's heavily decorated with art from the old days, has seen lots of scars from fights, motorcycle accidents and nasty problems in Africa - but I haven't volunteered too much information nor details; what she knows, she's largely learned on her own.

So, this former wild child, ex New York biker now turned London banker, married and just starting out on the happily ever after part in Europe, has a very specific question that I'd like to extend a little later - is there any truth to genetic damage on males from drugs, specifically acid?

Or is this just propaganda? I don't have any of the other attributes of those stories - no flashbacks, no desire to kill kill kill and I certainly don't hallucinate (although during boring business meetings I will SERIOUSLY daydream).

Has anyone had any direct and personal experience with breeding after LSD? Specifically after a relatively large number of trips? And to extend, does the Malarone or any of the other innoculations necessary to spend large amounts of time working in African border regions increase risk of a problem?

Many thanks for your help!

LSD in Ford's Coffee?

fingo — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:11:41 -0800

Did someone actually try to spike Gerald Ford's coffee with LSD? I was just reading though a selection of letters by Lazlo Toth (mentioned on the blue), and he sent one to Gerald Ford with this in it:

"Dear Mr. Vice President Ford, I just read in the paper where someone tried to put LSD in your coffee in Chicago. Are you okay?"

Is this referring to an actual news story that came out at the time?

He also brings up LSD in Chicago Mayor Daley's minestrone, which sounds like a joke.

Note: the letter is dated May 16, 1974.

Thanks.

Taking acid, pros and cons?

JamesJD — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:43:13 -0800

Taking acid, pros and cons? Someone I know is considering taking a regular dose of acid. He is a relatively sensible, risk-averse individual, very in control of his life. Up until this point he has only smoked marijuana and drank occasionally.

What are the exact health risks (can it make you nauseous or lead to hospitalization)? Do they vary according to things like weight? Is there any relatively accessible site that describes the medical effects in neutral terms?

What are some precautions he should take in order to make sure that he will be safe? What factors are likely to lead to a "bad trip" (or a good trip?) and how bad are bad trips?

Who originally said: I live for drugs. It's great. Just lately I freaked out on acid. I freaked out very very badly.

elvissinatra — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:54:32 -0800

What is the source of the "I freaked out very, very badly -- I freaked out on acid" sample used by Thrill Kill Kult and Meat Beat Manifesto? This question came up a few years ago, and was answered. Unfortunately, the answer was incorrect. That thread is now closed. I eventually found the Capitol LSD album on ebay, paid $40 for it, and listened to the damn thing. It's pretty cool and all, but it does not contain that dialog snippet. Boo.

So I am still looking. I've been trying to find this for about 15 years. Someone must know!

Meat Beat Manifesto's "Acid Again" contains the following:

Question: Are you really happy?

Answer: I'm happier than I've ever been. I'm not happy. I'm not happy at all, really. Or I'm very sad. I'm not happy. I'm still fat. I don't feel very pretty, I really don't.

Question: You know a lot about drugs...

Answer: Oh, I live for drugs. It's great. Just lately I freaked out on acid. I freaked out very very badly. Now I don't think I'll ever taken acid again and before I thought that was the best thing in the world. I never want it again. Never acid again.

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult's "Daisy Chain for Satan" contains a few additional snippets from the interviewee such as "I'm the white rabbit," "My friends turn me on," and "I could never afford it, I would never buy drugs."

Google does not have the answer to this question. Trust me on that. So this is going to require someone who knows the answer but has not yet entered it into any of the tubes on the internets.

I don't think the people in the band even know. But someone does... Are you out there?

Ah feel like ahcid

klangklangston — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:51:09 -0800

The best films to see while tripping? LSD, HDTV, surround sound, on DVD? Looking for visual effects, chromakey, 3000 miles from home, set controls for the center of the sun, etc. Especially interested in swirly, surreal, pleasant. Not sure I'm up for 120 Days of Sodom tonight.

I'm positive I have HPPD: now what can I do about it?

Lockeownzj00 — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:55:45 -0800

Lucyintheskieswithdiamondsfilter: I'm pretty sure I'm suffering from HPPD. What can I do about it? Before I begin, let me just note that I already regret it enough that I would ask that you spare me the life lessons and reprimands.

Anyhoo.

For a period of a year and a half or two years, I got very deeply into the drug culture and had adventures all across the board, from the mildest to the hardest. It's...inseperably a part of me now, but one of the things I did the most often was hallucinogens.

Mushrooms, LSD--but most often LSD. Well, for a long, long time now, I've been experiencing flashbacks. And they're not these, "suddenly everything was green man" flashbacks; when I'm looking at things and I'm completely rested and awake they sometimes shimmer, but more importantly, when I lack proper rest and am extremely tired, the symptoms are exacerbated: I feel a slight "tripping" sensation, objects and things visibly have this ethereal glow, sometimes morph. If I stay still long enough, these very subtle patterns form to the point where if I eventually blink I realize the "thing" has changed its pattern completely from what it was before.

Even as I type this now I'm a little tired and all the gray text boxes have this purple shimmer to them.

The point is, I'm fucking worried. What have I done to my brain? Is there any way to reverse it? Is there anyway to get an MRI or something, to see if I have certain parts of my brain affected? Can I have something...fucking, drained? I donno.

What if that one time I can't remember a word, or that one time I turn a doorknob a certain way, or that one time I perform some act some way it's because my brain chemistry's fucked up? I'm pragmatically capable with all my faculties, but it still scares the shit out of me.

If I'm screwed for life, then I guess that's my cross to bear, but I don't want to believe it's like that. Can anyone else relate personal tales? Advice? I'm not ready to say anything to my parents yet (I'm under 18). Can I go to a doctor confidentially about this?

Making sense of a bad drug experience

zaebiz — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 02:50:05 -0800

Please help me make sense of a terrible drug experience from my youth. In my early 20s I was given something that I did not realize at the time was a drug, let alone LSD. I had never had a drug experience before. It happened to be at a difficult and stressful time of my life living in a whole new city without friends. The first half hour or hour of the experience was fantastic - everything on television I found hysterically funny for no apparent reason. Eventually the faces on the TV started to take on weird, disturbing images and sounds and I felt I had to disappear into my bedroom. From there I went to Hell in my mind basically. I thought I was going insane from all these crazy perceptions and fear I was having. I was particularly concerned that the person with me who had also taken LSD would notice I was in a panicked state inside and this would cause him to panic and we would become hysterical or suicidal or something. I had all sorts of amazing visions and thoughts which stick with me even to this day (one in particular - I saw these very intricate and colorful crystalline patterns which I saw so clearly I could have drawn them yet I have no eye for art whatsoever). I started writing what I was thinking during the experience as it was the only way I felt I could maintain a grip on reality. I looked at myself in the mirror at some stage and was in complete shock at how terrible I looked. I had the face of someone who had just been in a major car crash. To cut an all-night story short where I managed to keep it all together, I came out the other side feeling like I had learnt things I was too young to learn about myself. I felt burnt out and lacking motivation - like I had lost my ego which was keeping me going through my new life. I've heard about similar feelings from young war veterans who witnessed atrocities.

I did recover my motivation eventually and never took anything like that again (and never will either), but the world never had quite the magical wonder and possibility about it ever again. Did I have a nervous breakdown? Years later I'm a normal, healthy individual with a fairly happy settled life now. I just wonder if anyone can help me understand what I went through back then - medically or philosophically.

Was it just a bad acid trip?

hobocode — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 13:20:20 -0800

I'm working on a story idea which involves the European witch hunts in the middle of the last millennium. I have read that they may have been caused, in part, by mass hallucinations resulting from a fungal infection on the rye crop. Rye ergot is an ingredient in the manufacture of LSD. Is there anyone who can point me to some research (valid or not) which might confirm/deny the mass hallucination angle?

I feel lightheaded... maybe you should drive.

RokkitNite — Tue, 23 May 2006 08:25:45 -0800

Hallucinogens as weapons? Have hallucinogens ever been successfully used in a war situation? Have they ever been used as weapons in more localised, non-military situations, such as acts of terrorism or riot control? If not, are there particular reasons why they would be unsuitable?

Through the looking glass

RoseovSharon — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 19:04:03 -0800

Help locate this obscure drug/lsd public access video from a while back. I am posting this for a friend. He asks:

i'm desparate- can someone please help me to find the grooviest public access show ever? it's called "the center of center of center.." (or "the center of the center of the center...") i think maybe it was colorado public access, but i might just be making that up, but what i'm not making up is the penultimate super-grooviness of this 20-30 minute program for people having a "bad trip" it's FULL of good advice "like "i bet you're thirsty, a glass of juice sure would be nice, wouldn't it?" and "remember, it's a drug, and it will wear off and get better. you're doing great.." like a parent speaking to a child, not insulting - reassuring.

has anyone else heard of this (the friend who owned the copy i saw was from san diego, so it might have been produced down there)? if you know what i'm talking about, do you know how i might aquire a copy? this was the funniest, most insightfull video i've ever seen, i've tried the usual suspects (google etc.) but i'm not too hip with computers so maybe one of you'll have better luck than i in looking it up, even if you've not previously heard of it...

help me obie-wan, you're my only hope...

I am a golden god!

weaponsgradecarp — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 14:07:24 -0800

LSD in pop culture? I'm looking for a bevy of movies/documentaries/etc (the "I am a golden god!" scene from Almost Famous comes to mind) involving acid, LSD, what have you...my intention is to stitch the acid-related scenes together and show it as a video presentation detailing the prevalence of LSD in American culture. Basically, I'm getting out of doing any work for a stupid HS health class (which is completely frickin below me, as I've already taken AP bio, etc...) by voicing over other bits of movies.....

So, besides Almost Famous and the obvious choice of Fear and Loathing, what else is there...

If you've got the clip, or access to it on some sort of hosted medium, thats even better...

New Reality Tunnels

Netzapper — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 10:43:07 -0800

LearyFilter: Does anybody know of a place in the world where LSD is still legal, and available in circulation? If I recall correctly, it is *not* legal in Holland (although 'shrooms are). But, correct me if I have made a mistake in that analysis.