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Psychedelics

edited September 2010 in Everything Else
How many of you use/have used psychedelics, and how do you feel about them in general?

I've always been curious about how everyone on here feels about this topic and I haven't been able to find any discussions about it.

After a few Psilocybin trips (none exceeding 3 grams however), I'm half-way convinced psychedelics cannot truly offer spiritual insight unless the user already possesses said spirituality; in other words, altered perception just changes the way you look at things, it doesn't reveal the secrets of the universe. I don't use these drugs to "speak to god" or any other Randi bullshit I see commonly associated with them, but rather to enjoy playing piano, my NES, ride my bike, and many other things. Psychedelics give me the feeling of being a child again and I can gain an appreciation for the simple things in life much more than usual.

I don't want this to become an argument/discussion about the use of drugs in all categories, so please try to restrict yourself to the psychedelic drugs only.
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Comments

  • If you're a girl under the age of twelve, and you're high on marijuana, don't ride your bike.
  • If you're a girl under the age of twelve, and you're high on marijuana, don't ride your bike.
  • I feel like drugs are some sort of odd taboo in this forum. The one drug-related thread I can recall was quickly driven off the subject in favor of discussing tacos. Or maybe it's that most people here really have never had any drug-related experiences, but I somehow doubt that.
  • I just feel that I enjoy most things in life enough that I have no motivation to seek some psychedelic experience. Nobody can deny there is a risk involved, if just purely for the fact that they are illegal, so I see no reason to take such risk to fix something that is not broken.
  • I feel like drugs are some sort of odd taboo in this forum. The one drug-related thread I can recall was quickly driven off the subject in favor of discussing tacos. Or maybe it's that most people here really have never had any drug-related experiences, but I somehow doubt that.
    I've eaten a pot brownie once, at my brother's urging. It put me to fucking sleep, son. Right quick it did. Other than that, caffeine and alcohol are my only drugs.
  • edited September 2010
    I did acid one time, two hits, and it was amazing. The walls and ceiling started to breathe, and I had this sudden grasp of the complexity of everything. I played with sand for a long time and I just kept letting it fall through my hands, and watching each little bit roll off. I felt like it was easier to see small things and that I could more easily understand everything it was made up of. Even on a large scale I just kind of understood everything. How big the universe was and that, yeah, I probably wasn't going to live forever or see space colonization. But I was okay with that, and everything sat just right.

    It's a cool feeling, but there are a lot of people who get burned out on it and that's not where I want to be. Recreational tripping ho!
    Post edited by Vhdblood on
  • I've never really done anything. The most I experience is second-hand pot smoke when I go to shows or one of my friends is smoking, which makes me go immediately light-headed and feel like I'm going to die. I don't think drugs are for me, it doesn't seem like I have the capacity for it.
  • As far as drugs go, I do my fair share of alcohol, and I would do an equal or so amount of marijuana if it were legal. No interest in anything else.
  • Like Sail said, yeah, discussion of drugs almost seems taboo around here. I'm not entirely sure why -- beer talk is pretty popular, and let's not pretend that's not a drug, and talk or piracy is common, and that's illegal. If I had to speculate on why, I'd think that it's either a) people around here value intelligence, and either associate drugs with dumb people, or are afraid that drugs will make them dumb, or b) leftover high-school resentment of other cliques.

    I use cannabis regularly, going in phases from between once every few months, to once or twice a week. Cannabis isn't a psychedelic per se, but it definitely has things in common with "true" psychedelics. I've taken mushrooms (psilocybin) a few times, and acid once. I enjoyed the mushrooms a lot, though they make me a bit nauseous, and I felt that acid was really similar in its psychoactive effects, but it just made me feel kinda gross and cracked out, so I don't think I'll be doing that again. I've also done salvia (which is a very powerful, yet legal, psychedelic) a few times, and while it's a very intense experience, it's not necessarily enjoyable, and certainly not "spiritual".
    I'm half-way convinced psychedelics cannot truly offer spiritual insight unless the user already possesses said spirituality; in other words, altered perception just changes the way you look at things, it doesn't reveal the secrets of the universe
    This is pretty much the way I see it. I don't know how anyone with a naturalistic view of the world could expect to find some kind of wisdom from outside of yourself that comes from drugs.

    However, these drugs definitely put your brain into a different mode -- I've heard it said that psychedelics "defrag your brain". I've had relatively profound insights into my self and my life and the way I relate to the world with these drugs. I've also had very practical insights -- almost every time I get high and draw, I learn new things and improve my skills in a concrete way. (However, I absolutely cannot draw for work while I'm high.) Actually, some of you may remember that I recently quit my day job to be a full-time artist. I realized that that was what I had to do while on acid. Now, it's not as if I made a major life decision based on an acid trip -- I still spent weeks debating the pros and cons -- but it was that trip that allowed me to see the situation clearly, and cut through the fear and uncertainty that had been holding me back.

    To sum up, while they're not for everybody, I think that if you have the right kind of temperament, these drugs can be immensely helpful. I feel like I'm a better person in many ways, and in a much better place, than I was five years ago (I never touched illegal drugs until I was 26), and I attribute a lot of that to insights I had while using these drugs.
    I've eaten a pot brownie once, at my brother's urging. It put me to fuckingsleep, son. Right quick it did.
    Oh man, edibles are way too much for a first-timer.
    I just feel that I enjoy most things in life enough that I have no motivation to seek some psychedelic experience. Nobody can deny there is a risk involved, if just purely for the fact that they are illegal, so I see no reason to take such risk to fix something that is not broken.
    Not to try to pressure you or anything, but nothing has to be "broken" -- it's just another experience. There's a lot of risk in skydiving, and people still do it.
  • I'll admit I know nothing about drugs that induce psychedelic visions on someone, however, I have been curious about them and would like to try them at least once just to say that I've done it. Funfetus, are you sure that there aren't any long-term effects of taking these drugs? That's pretty much what has been holding me back.
  • This probably comes from a distinct "straight edge" philosophy that a good deal of the main real life crew holds. This steams from the fact that a majority of us are extreme control freaks. Just looking at my life. Throughout most of my life I was against smoking, drinking and drug use. I did not have a "drink" until I was a few days away from 22. Most of the crew has only recently come into any real alcohol use with some never drinking at all (Rubin). None of the core group smokes (though some of the fringe dabble) and most of the pot use by people in the crew occurred before they formed up or when they hang in other circles. I have never touched a substance other then alcohol and probably never will unless exposed to a legal one or if something like pot gets legalized (will then have a brownie) (I have a political career after-all)... I don't really look down on people who do (I do) it's just not for me and I've seen enough people really screw up their lives for themselves and others to know that it's something I don't want to cross into.
  • I personally don't do drugs or drink for that matter. I find that people that make a habit of doing such things live very unsatisfying if not under the influence.
  • I just feel that I enjoy most things in life enough that I have no motivation to seek some psychedelic experience. Nobody can deny there is a risk involved, if just purely for the fact that they are illegal, so I see no reason to take such risk to fix something that is not broken.
    It's kind of like sex. You don't know just how fantastic it is until you try it. There aren't a whole lot of things in life cooler than the inside of your eyelids becoming a visualizer of fractals for 6 hours.This does a somewhat decent job of what it can look like, although mine usually change drastically about every 3 seconds and are all just as detailed. The human brain is a pretty amazing thing if you ask me to be capable of generating that sort of imagery.
  • It's kind of like sex. You don't know just howfantasticit is until you try it.
    Except for the fact that every human being to have ever existed has subconsciously know since the day they were born.
  • I'll admit I know nothing about drugs that induce psychedelic visions on someone, however, I have been curious about them and would like to try them at least once just to say that I've done it. Funfetus, are you sure that there aren't any long-term effects of taking these drugs? That's pretty much what has been holding me back.
    Sorry for the double comment, but I can see now that a lot of you might be very misinformed. Psychedelics are by the THE safest category of drugs given you have no pre-existing mental illness like Schizophrenia or Bi-polar disorder. There is next to 0 risk for physical addiction or physical harm.

    John Hopkins studied the effects of Psilocybin Mushrooms in 2006 and came to some pretty amazing conclusions.

    "Two months later, 79 percent of subjects reported moderately or greatly increased well-being or life satisfaction compared with those given a placebo at the same test session. A majority said their mood, attitudes and behaviors had changed for the better. Structured interviews with family members, friends and co-workers generally confirmed the subjects’ remarks. Results of a year-long followup are being readied for publication."

    We're not talking about inject Heroin from the streets (although Heroin or diacetylmorphine obtained from a hospital would be perfectly safe to use neglecting the possible addictive consequences) or smoking freebase cocaine. Psychedelics are the least harmful class of drugs by far; I can see their legalization in the next few decades as very likely given current changing attitudes. All it takes is education- without education, the myths will continue to propagate endlessly.

    If any of you are interested in this class of drugs but are unsure of how to obtain them, I highly suggest the research chemicals such as 2C-e, 2C-i, or any others in the 2C-x family. These can be ordered from the internet with ease and with complete legality.
  • Funfetus, are you sure that there aren't any long-term effects of taking these drugs? That's pretty much what has been holding me back.
    I'm not really sure about any of it -- unfortunately, due to the illegality of these drugs, there haven't been a lot of high-quality studies done on them. Anecdotally, there do seem to be some negative effects of long-term use of serious psychedelics like mushrooms and acid. I'm talking about frequent use over years. I think if you're going to use those, it should be very infrequently. As for cannabis, a DEA chief administrative law judge called it "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man". Long-term heavy cannabis use can have some negative effects (like poor short-term memory), but they clear up when you stop using heavily. I'm not trying to encourage you or anything, but if you try it once or twice, nothing's gonna happen.
    or if something like pot gets legalized (will then have a brownie)
    Well, you're in luck, because it's coming. Probably in CA in November, most reasonable states shortly thereafter, and probably the rest of the country within the decade.
    There aren't a whole lot of things in life cooler than the inside of your eyelids becoming a visualizer of fractals for 6 hours
    Really, I think the visuals are one of the least interesting things about psychedelics.
  • I feel like drugs are some sort of odd taboo in this forum.
    I felt the same way too, which is why I never really talked about it as much.

    Growing up, I was pretty much a goody-goody. I never really did anything bad and never wanted to. Then I graduated from high school. I started actually going out to parties and hanging out with friends I thought I would never hang out with from high school.

    I smoked weed on a social basis for about 3 years. I stopped after getting a serious bronchial infection from smoking almost $100+ worth of marijuana with my cousins before we went to go see a WCW wrestling match. Yes, I once liked wrestling. After being sick for over a week with coughing up so much mucous than I thought humanly possible, I couldn't really do it again.

    Sometimes I get curious on trying pot brownies, but haven't really had the opportunity, nor did I feel like spending money on it.

    Also during those 3 years of mary jane, I started going to raves. I became a raver-girl. The first time I took E, I think I dropped 3 hits that night. It was marvelous. I had such an amazing time at the rave especially when I got to touch people and be touched. I specifically remember this really hot buff jock-looking guy. He didn't seem to be the type who would be at a rave, and was wearing those form-fitting shirts. His arms were as if they were sculpted by Michelangelo. I went up to him and started touching his arm. He looked at me, with an amused expression, flexed his arm and told me to feel it again. Heaven. Fucking heaven, I tell you.

    I went to raves for about a year or so, and everytime I went I would at least have one hit of E. I also would join others in wearing those face masks and putting Vicks Vapo Rub in them to inhale to increase the high. People would also take those Vicks Inhalers and blow through them on people's faces. It felt surprisingly wonderful. I also realized why ravers would be sucking on pacifiers and have Jolly Ranchers with them all the time. It made you want to grind your teeth and suck on something. I then invested in pacifiers. I remember always going to raves, wearing "candy" that I traded with other people, also wearing my Sailor Moon backpack and my awesome wide baggy pants with a rainbow colored-cloth sewn along the sides.

    I forgot why I stopped going to raves, but since I stopped going, I stopped doing E. I don't regret it. It was a good memory, and I also discovered A LOT of awesome music that I never knew existed.

    I also once had 'shrooms with tea at a friends house. That stuff was pretty hilarious. We were watching MAD TV after trying them, and I felt that everything I was doing was in slow-motion. After seeing something funny, I would want to laugh immediately, but the laughter wouldn't come out until a minute later. I also remember seeing weird things move on the plain white walls. It was a trip, but still fun.

    I don't think I would ever smoke marijuana again for the fact that smoke really bothers me now. I do sometimes think about trying out E and maybe in 'shrooms again, but I never do because I end up thinking to myself it's not worth spending the money on.

    Like Pete, my poisons are now caffeine and alcohol.

    I know my stories are silly and sound like something a stupid young kid would do, but I was a stupid young kid at the time. I'm just grateful that nothing truly bad happened to me during those times of experimentation.

    I really don't care if people do drugs. That's their decision. At least inform yourself of the possible side effects before taking anything.
  • I'm generally with Randi on this one. In other words, I like to stay as close to an objective reality as possible.

    However, I am very intrigued by the idea of synesthesia and would like to experience it.
  • edited September 2010
    I don't think I would ever smoke marijuana again for the fact that smoke really bothers me now.
    What about vaporizing? I got one of these a few months ago, and I haven't smoked since.
    I I like to stay as close to an objective reality as possible.
    I always though that was kind of a bullshit excuse. Drugs don't change objective reality, only the way it's processed in your head -- and, if you've never used drugs, it's not like you think it is. But aside from that, is it really that important to stay "as close to an objective reality as possible" 100% of the time? Is there really something lost if you're ostensibly not quite so close to objective reality for a couple hours?
    Post edited by Funfetus on
  • If you'rea girl under the age of twelve, and you'rehigh on marijuana, don't ride your bike.


    (More posting later)
  • edited September 2010
    I don't think I would ever smoke marijuana again for the fact that smoke really bothers me now.
    What about vaporizing? I got one ofthese a few months ago, and I haven't smoked since.
    I I like to stay as close to an objective reality as possible.
    I always though that was kind of a bullshit excuse. Drugs don't change objective reality, only the way it's processed in your head -- and, if you've never used drugs, it's not like you think it is. What's to say that the default way that your brain processes this input is any more "objective"? But aside from that, is it really that important to stay "as close to an objective reality as possible" 100% of the time? Is there really something lost if you're ostensibly not quite so close to objective reality for a couple hours?
    Post edited by Funfetus on
  • edited September 2010
    What about vaporizing? I got one ofthesea few months ago, and I haven't smoked since.
    I never knew that existed. That's a marvel or modern technology, I tell you! I recently heard about electronic cigarettes, but that contraption is genius.

    Perhaps, when I really have a lot of extra money to burn. :P

    I still am curious about taking E and having relations. >.>
    Post edited by Rochelle on
  • I still am curious about taking E and having relations. >.>
    Haha, oh man. I probably shouldn't post about that. :)
  • probably the rest of the country within the decade.
    How much money do you have? Because I'll match any bet you can put up that this prediction will not prove accurate. Marijuana has a long-standing social stigma, deeply ingrained by decades of social conditioning. I'm not arguing whether that stigma is warranted -- only that it has a vice grip on the minds of vast swathes of the country.
  • My friend Ryan tried shrooms once and the night included him walking around downtown Greenville and exclaiming to a group of girls, "Hey hoochies! You are very attractive, but I wouldn't fuck you in the ass!"
  • probably the rest of the country within the decade.
    How much money do you have? Because I'll match any bet you can put up that this prediction will not prove accurate. Marijuana has a long-standing social stigma, deeply ingrained by decades of social conditioning. I'm not arguing whether that stigma is warranted -- only that it has a vice grip on the minds of vast swathes of the country.
    Well, you may be right. However, support for legalization is at something like 44% nationwide, and rising. Additionally, we're finally starting to get some serious discussion in the media about legalization. If and when prop 19 passes, and the the rest of the country sees that the sky doesn't fall -- rather, the state's budget's wind...falls...or something (facepalm), all the medical states will be close behind. No one's gonna want to be left out of the money that this can generate.
  • I feel like drugs are some sort of odd taboo in this forum.
    I felt the same way too, which is why I never really talked about it as much.
    I feel that it's important that we do talk about it. Like a lot of people around here, I used to have a stigma about it too. I think probably junior year in high school was first time I learned that one of my close friends was doing anything of the sort, and it was initially very jarring. It took some time to realize that "doing drugs" doesn't make you a bad or stupid person, and a lot of people that have great significance in my life use substances. My bias is long-gone by now, and I'm glad.

    You and Funfetus are two people that I greatly respect on this forum, and I know others do too, so I hope that by having conversations like this it will help people to realize that their stigmas really aren't as true as they originally thought.
  • Haha, oh man. I probably shouldn't post about that. :)
    Well, it's gonna be you or me. I'll take the hit, so to speak, if you don't wanna.
  • edited September 2010
    Haha, oh man. I probably shouldn't post about that. :)
    Well, it's gonna be you or me. I'll take the hit, so to speak, if you don't wanna.
    Haha. You guys don't have to if you don't want to. I've heard many stories which is why I'm still very curious to do it. However, Jeremy is too scared to try something as bad as E. I call him a chicken or a pussy, jokingly. Perhaps one day, I'll convince him otherwise.
    You and Funfetus are two people that I greatly respect on this forum, and I know others do too, so I hope that by having conversations like this it will help people to realize that their stigmas really aren't as true as they originally though
    D'awww. The day we meet, I'm so going to give you the biggest hug on the planet. ^__^
    Post edited by Rochelle on
  • I feel that it's important that we do talk about it. Like a lot of people around here, I used to have a stigma about it too. I think probably junior year in high school was first time I learned that one of my close friends was doing anything of the sort, and it was initially very jarring. It took some time to realize that "doing drugs" doesn't make you a bad or stupid person, and a lot of people that have great significance in my life use substances. My bias is long-gone by now, and I'm glad.
    It is true that there is still a lot of stigma when people are in high school. I remember that was about the same time I realized that most of my classmates were doing drugs and drinking every weekend. Part of the stigma comes from the authorities of society saying that they're bad, they ruin your brain, etc. Another part, I think, is that when high schoolers start doing stuff, they often go overboard quickly. And why wouldn't they? They're high schoolers, they have little responsibility, most of them have easy access to money to fulfill their desires, and they have fuck all to do every weekend. As you said, doing drugs doesn't have any real negative effects by themselves. There are the people who do them to relax, but still live full lives outside of it, and those are the kinds of people I like hanging out with. But there are the people who do them to escape and hate it when they're not doing them all the time. Nothing wrong with looking down at them.
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