LSD Spring Grove Experiment

Haven't seen that in 50 years or more.

Marijuana and LSD appeared on my college campus in September 1967, at the start of junior year. There had been some talk about the hippie drugs the previous spring, but I never actually saw any. Things had changed over the summer, evidently, because drugs were now readily available and affordable. And we jumped right in.

Unlike the patients in the video, us hippies had no psychological preparation of any kind, other than a warning that you might be asking for trouble if you did acid when you were too tired. We just did it and (mostly) had a good time, but didn't assign any real significance to it.

However, I do agree with the patients that afterwards, after my first acid trip, something was different, something had changed in my sense of consciousness or my awareness. Or something. I could never really put it into words. But, unlike the patients, who said it was a long lasting effect, for me it faded away and I was soon back to normal. Perhaps "it" was just a temporary residual effect of the drug.
 
I got a taste of "IT" in my early twenties. Found "IT" again full-time in my mid-fifties. Question everything
 

I had a couple of bad trips in college and stopped using all drugs. I would never take LSD or Shrooms under the advice of a therapist. I'm very skeptical of the new wave of excitement. There was a wave of psychiatric excitement back in the 70s too. It died.
 
I don't expect to die, but there is truth in expecting the unexpected. I plan to use shrooms therapeutically at some point, however, searching and acquiring are two different things.
 
Paco Dennis said:
Maybe the LSD phase is so the user sees and experiences a different reality. This one were in really sucks these daze. I could see the world accepting the mantra " turn on, tune in, drop out", and really take off again. This time I'm afraid there would be violence involved though.
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Given the nature of psychedelics I do not believe there would be violence
 
As the presenter pointed out at the end, two success stories out of an overall study with mixed results, is not enough to judge the value of a therapy. I can certainly appreciate that such a therapy will occasionally provide positive results, but we don't know that the same results could not have resulted using other methods with the same subjects, and possibly with less risk.

I'm OK with further research, however.
 
Mr. Ed said:
Given the nature of psychedelics I do not believe there would be violence
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I never experienced violence to myself but I have seen it and know of many trips that turned violent enough to kill. The tripper is completely vulnerable to their environment, so if it becomes charged with adrenaline and psychosis sets in, oh boy. Remember the whole Charles Manson murders and LSD cult stuff.

Personally I had a few bad trips, and eventually it lost its appeal. I know I have experienced this world in a very altered state and much of what I experienced I can recall. Which gives me a unique perspective on reality. I don't feel it is better than others or worse/counterfeit. :)
 
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While LSD "can" contribute to extreme psychological states that might lead to violence in rare cases, it is not considered a drug that directly causes aggression in the way some other substances do. Most violent incidents linked to LSD are extremely uncommon and often involve pre-existing mental health issues or unsafe environments.
 
I'd never seen this video before but it was very interesting to then see this on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle this morning.

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I took LSD outside of any controlled conditions in the mid 70’s and, looking back I think it was one of the most profound experiences of my life.

Before experiencing that I just couldn’t imagine how I or anyone could actually experience themselves any differently than I always had. I have no doubt but that the experienced has shaped who I’ve become and if I hadn’t done it I don’t think I’d appreciate my life as much as I do. I don’t think everyone should but I’m sure glad I did.
 
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My experience with LSD was positive and it largely contributed to who I am today.
Many people still believe the propaganda about drugs they were taught in the 70s, which is unfounded and false. The problem with taking drugs in the 70s was there were no guidelines on dosages, and or research about the drugs that were available at that time.

Todays drug user hopefully are more knowledgeable about the quantity and quality of drugs before they take them, although there is no getting around stupidity and that’s when using drugs can cause irreparable damage and death to an individual.

I am 100% in favor of legalizing drugs if consumers take drugs responsibly however, as far as legalizing drugs goes it is more about money and prisons than the safety of the people who use drugs for recreation and research.
 
I tried it with friends as a teenager. We just experienced some strange trips, even fun trips and came down. Nothing provactive or life changing.
 
Mr. Ed said:
Each person is different, wonder why that is?
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I'll guess, and it's only a guess, is that those kinds of drugs open pathways to the subconscious. (That's why psychiatry is investigating them right now). The subconscious is a jumbled soup of illogical notions and emotions of varying intensities. In such a chaotic soup, we can't expect one person's soup to be identical to anyone else's. Therefore, we can't expect everyone to react like the guy standing next to him. LSD opens a door to the subconscious, but has no control over what comes through that door.
 
JustDave said:
The subconscious is a jumbled soup of illogical notions and emotions of varying intensities.
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It certainly appears that way from within the perspective of our conscious, deliberating minds. But I don't think that indicates a lack of meaning but only a kind of meaning not communicable from our practical perspective. There may be a higher logic in play that we can't generally access.
 
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