good articles on history of LSD...know any?

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

soooo

for one of my classes, i have to write a paper on anything to do with science, technology and inovation...

so since you know... i like going to festivals and feeling the vibes... i figured i'd do it on lsd.

hook it UP.

[captainsunshine]

Be Here Now by Richard Alpert/Ram Dass is awesome..

It's a book, might be hard to find.. But the first (pretty short) section is about his first experiences with Timothy Leary/LSD.. Also tells how he promoted it to his students then went to India..

VERY interesting..

[captainsunshine]

Oh shit.. Also, I have a book in my possession that's called "Mind Drugs" by Margaret O. Hyde...

Actually, I might have a ton of books about that.. My hippie dad has passed on a lot of interesting books to me....

[bradm]

I'd start at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lsd

first. I think one of the definitve accounts is LSD: My Problem Child by Albert Hofmann, who discovered/developed it.

Aloha,

Brad

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

u think it will help if i put some on my tongue?

[StoneMtn]

Out of curiosity, do you think this topic is likely to get you the best possible mark?

I realize you are doing it to amuse yourself, but if I were marking the paper I'd be inclined to be harsh with the author, purely based on the subject-matter.

The paper would have to be really good to get a good mark from me on that topic. Hopefully, you've considered your professor's disposition before choosing this topic.

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

The paper would have to be really good to get a good mark from me on that topic. Hopefully, you've considered your professor's disposition before choosing this topic.

As someone who's graded these kinds of papers in the past, I have to agree. If the instructor does have experience with it, you have to presume s/he's already given it lots of serious thought and has been through all the respectable sources; be familiar with these. If s/he's disposed to be disagreeable towards it, you have to mount that much more serious and sober a discussion around it before you get red-flagged as someone who's on the party train looking for cheap marks to get through school with. If you're going to do it, make it count.

If you get a sense that the instructor might not be reactionary around it, a good place to start might be Stanislav Grof; the work he started with LSD as a psychotherapeutic tool carried on after his practice was deprived of it, but remained very much informed by it.

Otherwise, I'd think that Hoffman would be your guy. You can work through the history of it through the perspective of someone who would know it best, and could give follow-up references that would be worth investigating.

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

i've given it quite a bit of thought, and the my prof is 80 years old and loved the idea because he knows little about the subject....and he says that he usually grades these kinds of free topic essays by how much he learns from it... he said he'd be intrested in what i have to say....i think i'll just staple a 10 strip to a blank sheet of paper and type "you'll find out my thesis in about 2 hours"

[djmelbatoast]

Ha! :laugh:

[allison]

I agree with Stone Mtn and Dr.Evil Mouse completley.

I think its a fairly adolescent topic-atleast in the basic form you've intimated you want to investigate.

Personally,I'd go with the psychopharmaceutical angle, leading into bioethics. For a Canadian/Ontario slant look into the work done through OakRidges treatment facilities and the attendant investigation and civil suit brought against the practitioners of Compressed Encounter therapies(tag word for lsd therapies).The investigation would have been done by the McGill Centre for Medicine,Ethics and Law

[dimafleck: the living legend.]

i don't want to talk about tripping out at a phish show...

its for a science class and i'm going to talk about the research programs that led to it, its intentions at first, and its social implications after the fact.

[captainsunshine]

i don't want to talk about tripping out at a phish show...

its for a science class and i'm going to talk about the research programs that led to it, its intentions at first, and its social implications after the fact.

I think it's a good idea dima..

[Baj]

drop, trip & write

GO

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

its for a science class and i'm going to talk about the research programs that led to it, its intentions at first, and its social implications after the fact.

Good . If I may, again wearing my professorial cap, I might suggest that you not take on too much in the essay; the first two points might work well together, but the third point really opens up too much for discussion (unless your point is that it has in fact opened up too much for discussion, which I do think is a valid point).

If he is as distanced as you say from the whole thing, the history of its development alone will probably be more than enough for him to take in. I'd say, educate him on just that for now. If any more needs to be said, catch him at the faculty club later after he's had a few scotches.

[paisley]

think its an excellent topic and due for a resurgence in public debate... on Albert Hofmann's 100th birthday a couple of years back, he discussed how a media frenzy followed by a legal over-reaction destroyed much of the good that could be gained from studying the effects of LSD on humans (at the time)... think its sad people only think of the drug as some sort of cheap thrill, physiologically speaking it speeds up the user's synapse activity levels to roughly 5 times their normal level without causing any notable damage (not for everyone, but a positive for many)... borderline telepathy and profound insights ain't cheap thrills from where I'm sittin

in any case, school is supposed to be about learning, particularly about things that you find interesting

here's Hofmann's book "LSD: My Problem Child" translated to english

LSD — My Problem Child

Albert Hofmann

Foreword

There are experiences that most of us are hesitant to speak about, because they do not conform to everyday reality and defy rational explanation. These are not particular external occurrences, but rather events of our inner lives, which are generally dismissed as figments of the imagination and barred from our memory. Suddenly, the familiar view of our surroundings is transformed in a strange, delightful, or alarming way: it appears to us in a new light, takes on a special meaning. Such an experience can be as light and fleeting as a breath of air, or it can imprint itself deeply upon our minds.

[Hal Johnson]

Theres also a great doc on Rogers if you have the box. Its like 3.99 or something. Its easier than reading. :thumbup:

[M.O.B.E]

maybe you could start at the very beginning with ergot??

[adambrot]

in my introductory biology courses when discussing fungi, the topic of ergot comes up. After I talk about the parasitic nature of ergot on rye grains I mention the story of the synthesis of LSD from ergot. In my experience, any mention of drugs in a university course is met with great enthusiasm.

However, what the students find most interesting is how ergot infections of grain storage over human history have led to periodic mass hallucinations as entire villages tripped out, completely unaware of the reason why. In order to rid the village of that apparent evil, a scapegoat was usually sought out, typically being a weird spinster lady who was labeled a witch and blamed as the cause of the LSD hex. Apparently, many witch hunts of the past were responses to widespread acid trips from inadvertent ergot poisonings.

Things that make you go hmmm....

cheers

adambrot

[boogieknight]

Try Storming Heaven: LSD & the American Dream by Jay Stevens

Good read.

[kookycanooky]

However, what the students find most interesting is how ergot infections of grain storage over human history have led to periodic mass hallucinations as entire villages tripped out, completely unaware of the reason why. In order to rid the village of that apparent evil, a scapegoat was usually sought out, typically being a weird spinster lady who was labeled a witch and blamed as the cause of the LSD hex. Apparently, many witch hunts of the past were responses to widespread acid trips from inadvertent ergot poisonings.

I love this theory. I always chuckle at the thought of someone thinking their neighbour is flying, and yelling out in town square "SHE's A WITCH!!!" To live in the pre-LSD world, with no knowledge of psychadelics or why the fuck your walls are melting...this seems like a very acceptable conclusion. A sad one at that, but undoubtably comical by today's standards.

[CyberHippie]

i think i'll just staple a 10 strip to a blank sheet of paper and type "you'll find out my thesis in about 2 hours"

Shit, I'll mark it!

I'm assuming you'll probably want to cover some of the therapeutic potential for LSD, like with alcoholism etc...

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

To live in the pre-LSD world, with no knowledge of psychadelics or why the fuck your walls are melting...this seems like a very acceptable conclusion. A sad one at that, but undoubtably comical by today's standards.

I came to the working conclusion some time ago that St. John must have run across some pretty heavy decent shrooms (or moldy bread) on Patmos when he was writing up the Book of Revelation.

The sad thing, as it were, by today's standards is that all those Biblical literalists would really do well for themselves to have a good trip and put it into better perspective.

[Kanada Kev]

There was a study that came out last year that tested those who have "religious" experiences. They did a blind test and dosed some participants that attended church services. Some were already religious and other were not. The study showed that many felt like they had a super special connection/experience that day like no other. I know it's out there somewhere, i can't seem to find it right now.

In the meantime, here are some interesting links that discuss mushrooms and their enlightening effects on people:

http://deoxy.org/bmushrmd.htm

http://www.egodeath.com/amanita.htm

http://www.freedomdomain.com/relig.htm

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/wong/BOT135/Lect20b.htm

Mushrooms (Particularly Aminita Muscaria) : Yes these little things were also quite a wonder. Where did they come from. The ancient people had no immediate concept of spores. So a mushroom was considered a "virgin birth".

Also they immediately noticed that mushrooms came after the rains and they would pick them in the early hours of the morning. This was the "MANNA

FROM HEAVEN" that the Israelites would gather. The word "Manna" means "What is it". Well, after consuming it you would probably be wondering "What is it" as you were talking to God.

(Gen 3:3 KJV) "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it,

lest ye die." (Gen 3:4 KJV) "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:" (Gen 3:5 KJV) "For God doth know that in the day ye eat

thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

Edited March 1, 2007 by Guest

[allison]

The Sacred Cross and the Mushroom by Dr.Allegro was pretty much the first book(or first widely known book anyway) to investigate the theory of Judaism and Christianity springing from a mushroom based cult.

[Kanada Kev]

LSD: The Beyond Within

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5904240612788659431&q=documentary+-rose+duration%3Along

Edited March 1, 2007 by Guest