Psychedelic's 101

In the fallowing weeks we will be jumping into a different category of mind altering drugs. What are known as hallucinogens create EXTREMELY realistic audio and visual hallucinations. Almost all of these drugs are illegal and serve no medicinal purpose... Or so that is what we are told. Psychedelic drugs effect serotonin receptors in the brain. An increase in this chemical causes mind boggling, unexplainable experiences. Taking psychedelic's date way back in time, things like psilocybon magic mushrooms, DMT, and peyote have existed for thousands of years.

More relevant to the time period, lysergic acid diethylamide, more commonly known as LSD was created by the Swiss in 1938. They discovered it's psychedelic properties five years later, and it was popularized by the care free hippie culture in the 60's. A man by the name of Ken Kesey was basically an acid pioneer. Along with his friends (known as his "marry band of pranksters") he purchased an old school bus and turned it into a mobile home. They painted and designed the bus with all sorts of crazy colors, with the intent of traveling to the 1969 Woodstock festival. Throughout the journey Kesey and friends participated in prolific drug use and filmed the experience. In 2011 the documentary "Magic Trip" was released. The producers used film from the original trip and explained how crazy and carefree these people were. It was rare for these people to be sober.... at almost all hours of the day someone was tripping ball's on high quality LSD.

Now days you cannot find true LSD unless you have a really sketchy chemist friend. 98% of what is sold as LSD is not really LSD. To produce high quality pure acid, extremely rare test tubes and paper thin chemistry beakers are required. The public does not have access to that type of equipment, so different chemicals are added to produce the product. This is what is known as "dirty acid". Unknowingly users take the drug and the consequences can be life changing. Years down the road a person can experience what is known as a flashback. Out of know where they're extremely high and it can be a horrible thing. Some people have a "bad trip" and loose touch with reality. Psychedelic drugs alter ones perception of time, space, reality, and reveal who the person truly is. Some people cannot physically stand what they are seeing and go bat shit crazy!

The method of taking the drug varies. LSD is a highly potent liquid solution, one tiny drop can put you on your ass for hours! Most commonly it is dripped onto thin pieces of paper like the one seen above. The user then places it on their tong and waits for it to kick in. It can also be dripped onto candy or put into a drink. One thing is for sure, once you start seeing crazy shit, you cant make it stop. You either embrace the experience and learn from it, or loose your touch with what is real and what is not. Scientist tell us that these psychedelic have no medical purpose, hence the illegality of them. They change a persons view of the world and these individuals slowly begin to question EVERYTHING they believe in. It can be an eye opening experience. Next week we will talk about some HEAVY users that actually did something with these out of this world experiences. A journalist named Hunter S. Thompson is by far one of the most bizarre individuals to walk the plant earth. His life itself was an experience no one can truly understand.