Albert Einstein would be proud

shotgun

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001304.html

[ QUOTE ]
If the generally positive effects of the drug are confirmed by other studies, the research is likely to raise the question of whether people should be allowed access to psilocybin for self-improvement or recreation.

[/ QUOTE ]

honestly I'm surprised the general media says things like that. 40 years after Leary blew it, are they giving it another chance?

can't argue with science.

Zergxes

That isn't suprising. Drugs and mysticism have been intertwined for millenia- hell the Greek word for sorcery is where we get the root for 'pharmacy'. Sounds like normal media sensationalism to me.

Tulkamir

I'm surprised the media would say that when right below the researcher who did the study said he did not want people to take it recreationally.

Seemed kind of lame overall to me. And that people are putting taking a drug on the same level as having a child born or a parent die is fairly disgusting, and shows that the quality of those people's answers is completely irrelevant to me.

Vailias

All I can say is its about time someone started re-researching the overall effects of it, especially the actual neuro-chemical changes.

and this:
[ QUOTE ]
One-third of the subjects, however, said they experienced "strong or extreme" fear at some point in the hours after they took the hallucinogen. Four people said the entire session was dominated by anxiety or psychological struggle.

Nichols thinks that last finding should give people pause.

"I think these drugs are potentially very dangerous,"

[/ QUOTE ]
really does have a point, and is (in my opinion) why the drug is still illegal and will remain so.

Also Tulk, I don't believe they are putting the taking of a drug on that level, they are putting the overall experience on that level. Personally, I can see how the intensity of the experience could be likened to a major even such as a birth or death. Different type of experience of course, but a similar level of intensity.

ElysiumGX

Playing with the brain chemistry of religious groups. What fun.

sledgy

You really have to experience it to understand how it can be likened to the birth of a first child or death of a parent. I have and it is. I can also see how it could be very dangerous to some people. Drugs don't change you, they enhance whatever feelings you are having. If you're a closed-up/introverted/paranoid person by nature to begin with you're probably going to have a very bad trip. Shrooms can open doors that some people shouldn't have opened.

That's why I have no tolerance for the "well I was drunk" excuse for acting badly.

Shrooms can also trigger latent schizophrenia which I have in my not-too-distant family so sadly I'll likely never use them again.

People have claimed that narcotics (shrooms, pot) can cause memory problems but I think that's really a lifestyle thing. I flex my brain all day and have no memory problems but in the past I've probably consumed more drugs than most people. If I were a couch potato, smoking herb all day in the Laz-E-Boy being fed by television, cheetos and beer I'd be as dumb as a sack of hammers pretty rapidly. For the record though, I don't do drugs anymore except caffeine and the occasional tequila sunrise.

SHEPEIRO

yeah shrooms are dangerous things, very interesting but dangerous things.

Tulkamir - they might not have as long a term effect as these events in your life, but the intesity of felling can be as intense as it is possible to feel.

shotgun

Sledgey: to accentuate what you said - psychedelics can trigger, but's that's all they do. like you've said, people can' blame the drug if they had a negative experience.

in another relation, the Elusian Mysteries (read here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_mysteries) were a traditional ritual that took place in ancient greek that most greeks and romans were initiated by. it lasted for 2000 years, and it's content were held secret, but we do know it was a "return to mother earth" kind of awakening for the people, a visionary reminder of where we came from and the repsect we owe nature.

a very interesting theory about this tradition suggests that a mystical psychedelic experience for the people already existed where our western civilization started - scroll down half way for the elusius part- http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v11n2/11222gro.html

Ferg

tulk, don't knock it till you've tried it

As has already been said, the quality and direction of the experience is based on the person, not the drug. If you're a stable, intelligent person that knows who they are and isn't afraid to peel away a few layers of conciousness, it can be a very rewarding and wonderful experience.

Anyway, I'm glad they're starting to look into this stuff again. Psychedelics do very unique things to the human brain. The chemical in DMT apparently triggers the production of large amounts of the chemical that is released when you dream. At the very least, giving people the chance to research these things, do MRI's on people who've taken them, could really give us insight into human awareness and our perception of reality (which is far more subjective a thing than many people think).