Funky Dave Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 I've never really used any illegal drugs, and as such I'm not really sure what the appeal is. Are the benefits really worth the risks (and what are the benefits)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Originally posted by Funky Dave I've never really used any illegal drugs, and as such I'm not really sure what the appeal is. Are the benefits really worth the risks (and what are the benefits)? That depends on a lot of things, namely a)which drug you are using/abusing b)whether you use it or abuse it. c)what it does for you personally d)whether and how much you have to pay for it e)what the risks are for using it. For example: Psilocybin and Psilocin are the main active constituents of Psilocybe Semilanceata, aka The Liberty Cap, aka 'magic' mushrooms. These drugs are available at no cost, and have a very good safety record (no recorded deaths , a good LD50:ED50 ratio in rats (lethal dose is many hundreds of times larger than an effective dose)) If taken in the correct circumstances and dose they can offer you 5-8 hours of sublime joy and profundity, after which you will never see the world the same way again. That's pretty good value, and they're not illegal either. Furthermore, different variants of psilocybean mushrooms, specifically psilocybe cubensis, can easily be cultivated at home for a never ending supply. The key, as in all things, is moderation and practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funky Dave Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 So you're not going to slice your face off and feed it to the dog then? Seriously though, specifically in what way do they affect your perception? I've been drunk, I've been high on one occasion, and I had to take prescription drugs for various reasons, and while they've all had interesting, not to say memorable, effects, I can't say they've really changed my life or made me want to continue experimenting (I drink regularly, but only to socialise). Is it just a relaxation thing, or do they honestly change your outlook on things? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fnkysknky Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Originally posted by fittdiva as a clubber i am faced with drugs every weekend. just wondering what your views on drugs are. do any of you take them? would you say you are well educated on drugs?? etc Personally I think people should be allowed to take drugs if they want to. The fact that people can tell me what I can and cannot put in my body disturbs me. Yes I do drugs and I would say I am very well educated on them - I wouldn't take them if I didn't know what to expect, having said that you always need to take care and never forget that they can be dangerous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Originally posted by Funky Dave So you're not going to slice your face off and feed it to the dog then? Seriously though, specifically in what way do they affect your perception? ... Is it just a relaxation thing, or do they honestly change your outlook on things? There are a lot of wildly varying theories about exactly what classical psychedelics do, and none of them can do justice to the experience which itself transcends language. That is to say, it is very difficult to find words to describe what you experience because what you experience is outside language and can only be alluded to by metaphor and simile. But in shorthand, it seems that our view of the world is a perception that is made up of memories, fantasies, real world sensory input and perceptive filters that screen out all the 'uninteresting' stuff and allow you to concentrate on single things. All of these 'inputs' are aggregated into the mind and splurged out to the 'ego' or 'I' as your picture of objective reality. LSD in particular seems to 'adjust', or even according to some people 'lift', those perceptive filters so that you actually take in quite different 'truths' as perceptions of the world around you. You pay attention to different things, rather than see things that patently aren't there. Visual disturbances are rarely confused with real world ones except in the relatively inexperienced users. Experienced users can, on mid range doses, screen them out to an effective degree. But you realise that reality isn't as hard and fast as you thought it might be, or at least, that reality is what you make of it, quite literally. These drugs can also have some startling visual effects, (seeing sounds fly through the air that sort of thing) that if you are unprepared, can leave you feeling disoriented. Also, it is possible to get 'stuck' in an almost obsessive/compulsive loop, unable to break out of a train of thought that repeats itself inescapably. This is the classic 'bad trip' and almost always results from taking the substance without any thought to the consequences. Left unchecked it could prove quite distressing, but more often than not it usually peters out of its own accord. And a good sitter will have no difficulty in jogging your needle back into the groove. But in the most part, well administered psychedelic drugs tend to have a positive life affirming affect, allowing the user to unlock a field of perception quite different to normal everyday 'making sense of the world'. They tend to be anti-addictive, in the sense that there is rarely a desire to take any more after an experience, as it can be quite tiring. (I'm not counting Ecstasy here - some people do the most stupid things with pills, not least eat them) What more can I say, other than Mushrooms Season is probably over until next year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abdul Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Thank you Phanerothyme, for your contribution to this thread If I could add my own views on drugs: Paracetamol Good for relief of headaches, and safe to be used by pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. There's even a baby version called Calpol infant suspension, a strawberry flavoured liquid and will relieve pain (including teething pain) and feverishness, without irritating the stomach. A sugar free variety is available Aspirin and Ibuprofen Good for relief of headaches and fever, but NOT to be used by pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The baby version of Ibuprofen is called Nurofen for children, a pleasant tasting ibuprofen syrup, suitable for children aged between 6 months to 12 years. Caffeine Drinking two cups of strong tea before retiring to bed is NOT recommended if you need a good nights sleep. Morphine The drug of choice! (...according to my younger brother, who was having his appendix seen to in hospital at the time) edited - I missed out a product name Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Yerbody Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 I concur on the above morphine-related point. Injured myself during a game of rugby an was given one of those self-administered morphine machines. I was in heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Paracetamol has a very low LD50:ED50 ratio, as low as 10:1, which makes it a very dangerous drug indeed. The only other class of street drugs I can think of with a ratio lower than that are barbiturates. Foxxx will be able to correct me on this (and the note below I suspect) Note:What is an LD50:ED50 ratio?LD50 is a much maligned test of lethality in toxicology and represents the dose at which 50% of rats injected with a given substance, die. The ED50 is just the same except it measures the dose at which 50% of the rats wig out (show measurable effects without dying). If you compare the two dosages you end up with the LD50:ED50 ratio - essentially the difference between a 'safe' dose and a 'dangerous' one. This is a pretty crude method of determining the actual safety of a given substance, but as a comparison between different drugs it is quite a useful tool. The real utility of the ratio is that most substances have been tested for both LD50 and ED50 making comparisons fairly straightforward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomme Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Originally posted by Phanerothyme Paracetamol has a very low LD50:ED50 ratio, as low as 10:1, which makes it a very dangerous drug indeed. The only other class of street drugs I can think of with a ratio lower than that are barbiturates. If I recall correctly the LD50/ED50 for alcohol is extremely low - something like 1:3. (I bottle of whisky (say) would get you very smashed 3 bottles would kill you). It's sufficently low that if alcohol was invented today there is no way it would be legalised. Nomme Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Originally posted by nommedenet If I recall correctly the LD50/ED50 for alcohol is extremely low - something like 1:3. (I bottle of whisky (say) would get you very smashed 3 bottles would kill you). It's sufficently low that if alcohol was invented today there is no way it would be legalised. Nomme The LD50:ED50 ratio for LSD is of the order of 16,000:1 So, to put it crudely, Alcohol is about 5000 times more biologically toxic than LSD - who'da thunk it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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