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Why are psychedelic drugs so taboo?


AryaSantoso

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I've been fascinated with the concept of psychedelic drugs. From Aldous Huxley, all the way to the Beatles, drugs like LSD and Psilocybin mushrooms have played an enormous role in influencing contemporary literature and arts. Whether they expand human consciousness and creativity or if they only provide an illusionary means to avoid reality is debatable, and I don't care what the outcome is.

 

What irritates me is the unreasonable taboo that's behind them. The other day, this pseudo-liberal pothead was ranting to me about how we should legalize pot, and I asked him if he had ever dropped LSD. He was instantly offended by this for some strange reason and went on the defensive saying stuff like "Oh I don't do hard drugs, don't you know that stuff's puts holes in your brain? Makes you insane dude" and then went on another rant saying drugs like LSD are the ones that make drugs like pot have a bad name and obstruct progress on the legalization of marijuana. After I could clearly see how misinformed and superficial his way of thinking was, I didn't even bother to argue with him, and I just left as soon as possible. Did he think LSD was the same as Heroin?

 

First of all, most psychedelics like LSD and Psilocybin have an "overdose level" comparable to Marijuana, which is another way of saying it is nearly impossible to OD on them (bad trips are a different story). Second of all, studies show no long-term physiological damage on users which means it is safe to consume. Regarding benefits, IMO possibly getting a life-changing spiritual epiphany is a lot more beneficial than sitting on your couch all day getting the "munchies" and eating a bunch of junk food. Hell, I've read about dozens of stories on people who quit smoking tobacco or turned their lives around positively after LSD use. Seems like a pretty high therapeutic benefit to me. The stories of people killing themselves or going psychotic on bad trips are exaggerated, in the rare cases they do occur is due to the pre-existing mental conditions they had beforehand. 

 

I'm not advocating one drug over another, It's none of my business what people do in their spare time. What shocks me, is the hypocrisy society has over a substance which has shaped entire cultures both traditional and modern. Why are there so many misconceptions? Why does society have such a taboo over its use? Why would you rather smoke pot than drop acid? 

Edited by AryaSantoso
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I have a problem with most drugs because of the danger they pose to the people around you.  If you're under the influence of any drug, your function is impaired, you make poorer decisions, your reaction times are slower, etc. etc.  You could get in a fight or crash a car under the influence of alcohol.  You become a burden on the medical system if you suffer physical or mental side effects from taking drugs or smoking, and take away time and money from people who haven't self-inflicted their health issues.

 

The immediate danger is particularly great if the drug you've taken is hallucinogenic, because not only can you not comprehend reality, you literally exist in another reality, and this is incredibly dangerous to people around you (as well as yourself, but hey it's your choice so I'm not factoring that in).  There are stories of people who seriously harmed or injured others because they thought they were monsters, or enemies, or because they just felt angry or thought they were invincible.  Plus, side effects such as schizophrenia can also be particularly harmful to the people around you, who have to try and support you through something you did to yourself.  The idea that there are no physiological effects is honestly wrong.  According to Drugs.com, "after an LSD trip, the user may suffer acute anxiety or depression, and may also experience flashbacks, which are recurrences of the effects of LSD days or even months after taking the last dose...LSD users may also manifest relatively long-lasting psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression".  

 

So I don't respect the choices of people who take dangerous drugs when they have the choice not to.  I feel the same about pretty much all drugs which pose health risks to a person, including irresponsible use of alcohol.  I'd much prefer you sit on the couch and eat junk food, because at least you don't have the chance to kill somebody else while you're out of your mind.

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I have a problem with most drugs because of the danger they pose to the people around you.  If you're under the influence of any drug, your function is impaired, you make poorer decisions, your reaction times are slower, etc. etc.  You could get in a fight or crash a car under the influence of alcohol.  You become a burden on the medical system if you suffer physical or mental side effects from taking drugs or smoking, and take away time and money from people who haven't self-inflicted their health issues.

 

The immediate danger is particularly great if the drug you've taken is hallucinogenic, because not only can you not comprehend reality, you literally exist in another reality, and this is incredibly dangerous to people around you (as well as yourself, but hey it's your choice so I'm not factoring that in).  There are stories of people who seriously harmed or injured others because they thought they were monsters, or enemies, or because they just felt angry or thought they were invincible.  Plus, side effects such as schizophrenia can also be particularly harmful to the people around you, who have to try and support you through something you did to yourself.  The idea that there are no physiological effects is honestly wrong.  According to Drugs.com, "after an LSD trip, the user may suffer acute anxiety or depression, and may also experience flashbacks, which are recurrences of the effects of LSD days or even months after taking the last dose...LSD users may also manifest relatively long-lasting psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression".  

 

So I don't respect the choices of people who take dangerous drugs when they have the choice not to.  I feel the same about pretty much all drugs which pose health risks to a person, including irresponsible use of alcohol.  I'd much prefer you sit on the couch and eat junk food, because at least you don't have the chance to kill somebody else while you're out of your mind.

 

As I've stated before, the problems you've mentioned are usually as a result of pre-existing conditions people already possessed beforehand.

 

Regarding Jungian psychology, a person is made up of the persona, shadow, and other facets. The persona is the mask people show publicly and conform to social standards; the shadow is the true self which people oppress and keep hidden and may include concepts such as sexuality and desire. During use of hallucinogenic drugs, many users experience what is called "Ego Death" where their shadow surfaces and overwhelms their persona. Although you may find enlightenment and truth in Ego Death, unfortunately, dark parts of your personality that you chose to keep hidden such as anger, jealousy, and sadness may also surface and if not handled correctly can cause problems. Is that the fault the drug? No, it is your fault that you chose to keep it hidden instead of confronting it to resolve a real solution.

 

If you give, a thousand people LSD and they all become serial killers, you do not have a drug problem in society, you have a problem with society itself in the sense that a thousand people already had the potential to become serial killers. Hallucinogens don't create emotions, they merely enhance them.

 

The long-term side-effects that you've brought up have failed to take into account the pre-existing medical conditions and psyches of the subjects, and, therefore, cannot be considered reliable in the context of our debate. A recent study shows that when terminally ill cancer patients were given controlled doses of LSD-25, a significant amount of the patients started to accept their fates and had profoundly positive changes towards their levels of anxiety. 

 

Again I am not promoting the use of hallucinogens. If you have underlying psychological problems which you don't think you can handle, don't take them. Ignorance is bliss after all. 

 

However, to say that you do not respect the choices of all people who take them, rather than just the idiots who cause havoc while on them is the same as painting all drug users with the same brush and is complete prejudice. 

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As I've stated before, the problems you've mentioned are usually as a result of pre-existing conditions people already possessed beforehand.

Regarding Jungian psychology, a person is made up of the persona, shadow, and other facets. The persona is the mask people show publicly and conform to social standards; the shadow is the true self which people oppress and keep hidden and may include concepts such as sexuality and desire. During use of hallucinogenic drugs, many users experience what is called "Ego Death" where their shadow surfaces and overwhelms their persona. Although you may find enlightenment and truth in Ego Death, unfortunately, dark parts of your personality that you chose to keep hidden such as anger, jealousy, and sadness may also surface and if not handled correctly can cause problems. Is that the fault the drug? No, it is your fault that you chose to keep it hidden instead of confronting it to resolve a real solution.

 

If you give, a thousand people LSD and they all become serial killers, you do not have a drug problem in society, you have a problem with society itself in the sense that a thousand people already had the potential to become serial killers. Hallucinogens don't create emotions, they merely enhance them.

 

The long-term side-effects that you've brought up have failed to take into account the pre-existing medical conditions and psyches of the subjects, and, therefore, cannot be considered reliable in the context of our debate. A recent study shows that when terminally ill cancer patients were given controlled doses of LSD-25, a significant amount of the patients started to accept their fates and had profoundly positive changes towards their levels of anxiety. 

 

Again I am not promoting the use of hallucinogens. If you have underlying psychological problems which you don't think you can handle, don't take them. Ignorance is bliss after all. 

 

However, to say that you do not respect the choices of all people who take them, rather than just the idiots who cause havoc while on them is the same as painting all drug users with the same brush and is complete prejudice. 

 

I tried to format the quotes but it didn't really work, sorry.

 

Wherever the conditions arise from, psyches, pre-existing conditions, whatever, the truth is that taking drugs brings out problems which otherwise would not emerge.  And the more you take, the more likely that is to happen.  Since drugs alter your brain chemically, you don't know how they're going to affect the individual, and there are many stories of those who were perfectly fine mentally until they took too many drugs and began to suffer terribly.  Personally, I disagree that drugs themselves have no effect on mental health - and so does science.  Why would you willingly take something that could make you suffer for the rest of your life?

 

I must admit, I know little about this Jungian psychology you speak of, but I can tell you drugs do not make you "your true self".  They make you a different and irrational person because you become chemically different; they alter your perception of reality and they remove all of your boundaries.  The idea of them helping you find your soul has no basis in scientific fact.  

 

We have social boundaries for the safety of society as a whole.  That's why it's illegal to kill someone if you're angry at them.  But if your boundaries are removed through drugs, you just revert to animal-driven instinct which could cause you to do really dumb and dangerous things.  If you give 1000 normal people LSD and then try to make them functional, it's not going to happen.  This is because the drugs change who they are and inhibit their ability to be functional.  Likewise, if you gave 1000 people LSD, they will be more likely to murder people than those who haven't taken it.  Many of those who commit violent acts, against themselves or others, get drunk or high first, because it makes it easier to do, inhibiting inhibition.  We ALL have the capacity to be murderers - it's our morals and societal responsibilities which stop us doing it.  Hallucinogens remove those barriers and create inexplicable and very strong emotions which make it far more likely that you will be dangerous.

 

I'm glad the LSD helped those with terminal illnesses, but they're definitely not the norm and not only did they take (probably tiny) doses in a very controlled and regulated environment, they're also probably not people who don't know what they're doing and are taking it for all the wrong reasons.  This is a completely different situation, and I don't think it represents the norm even slightly.

 

Yep, I'm painting all drugs users with the same brush: making irresponsible and selfish decisions.  Call me prejudiced, but that's the way I see it - and it's the answer to your "why is there a stigma" initial question.  They're all very different people, but those are common traits which I see in all of them.

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