MovieChat Forums > Hofmann's Potion Discussion > Interesting documentary but disturbing

Interesting documentary but disturbing

posted 16 years ago by TheJesusAndMaryChain
2 replies | jump to latest

I want to preface this by saying I found this documentary interesting and thought-provoking, however it did hit a nerve with me.

It condones the use of LSD. I want to tell my story so maybe you'll understand the root of my anger.

When I was a teenager, I experimented with drugs. I dropped acid periodically. It wasn't a regular thing but every now and then I wanted to leave my current plain of existence and tap into the uncharted territory of my brain. I was young, immature, stupid, rebellious and didn't really think about my future. I lived for the moment. Too much was never enough and tripping was an escape from my reality.

I started having seizures when I was 21. My neurologist insists it was the recreational use of LSD. As a result, I have been on meds for the last twenty years. If I don't take my medication, I will have seizures. Sometimes I've taken my medication and still have had seizures. Supposedly the acid caused some sort of brain disorder. I have blocks of memory that are lost to me. Watching television can sometimes trigger a seizure (if there are flashing lights of any kind, I will have to turn away). I have a college degree from a prestigious university but over the years, I have been dumbed down by the drugs and by the seizures.

I have a friend who also experimented with hallucinogenics. He ended up getting encephylitis from mushrooms. He now has lesions on his brain and has never been the same.

It's really hard to condone the use of hallucinogenics at this phase in my life I don't want to sound like Florrie Fisher but I want to share my story with as many people as possible. I realize it was my choice and ultimately I did this to myself and now I am paying the consequences.

This documentary not only covered the history of LSD but the benefits of LSD. It didn't talk about the consequences of taking LSD.

So that was my problem with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzuFeXYbOOo

[–] bizzy786 15 years ago

I definitely feel for you and I am deeply sorry for what happened to you but the issue at hand is that LSD should definitely not be used as a recreational drug. The film is not condoning recreational drug use it is condoning its use a medical drug that can correct a vast number of psychological disorders. Tim Leary himself said "I am 100 percent in favor of the intelligent use of drugs, and 1,000 percent against the thoughtless use of them, whether caffeine or LSD". Every drug has its consequences. Take enough Tylenol and you will overdose and die. I understand your anger at the movie and at LSD but your circumstance was caused less by the drug itself and more because you were using it as a recreational drug which is dangerous with any drug. Once again, my deepest sympathies go out to you.

[–] hoboboxerjoe 14 years ago

On top of that, while I have only been studying the effects of LSD for about 5 years (and not professionally, nor am I a doctor of any kind, just a young man who is interested in truth. I have yet to try LSD, although I have tried mushrooms and DMT), I haven't seen anything too concrete on what type of brain damages you can get from the drug. I know you can overdose on it, and that many have taken it without even a modicum of knowledge, and that is why I have waited. I had a bad trip with mushrooms, twice, and both times were within a week of each other.
I guess I was lucky I never suffered anything too permanent. Yet at the same time, I have to wonder how many people had dozens of bad trips in their life, but kept doing it. I never was too fond of taking mushrooms anyway, so it didn't take much for me to lose interest.

However, I think LSD and DMT and well grown mushrooms and their the specific molecules in them being seperated and used should be researched again. With the hindsight we have today and a rational team of impartial researches, I think we'd have a good chance of finding more truth than lies when it comes to the subject. As well as all the mental health benefits.