How old were you when you stopped tripping

[mellowgerman]

I rarely have bad trips. I'd guess in terms of ratio I end up with about 1 out of 10 being "bad" although it's hard to define it. I've never found myself being chased by monsters, felt any pain, or saw any hellish scenes of gore... they're usually just characterized by overthinking things that are going on in my life, leading me to be really depressed for a few hours. However, I think of my "bad" trips just like I think of winter. Although they can be pretty lame, they help me acquire an even greater appreciation of any state of not having a bad trip -- i.e. being sober, having a good trip, or any other state of mind (just as I loathe winter, but it makes me appreciate the other seasons all the more). Also, so far there's always been something I learn (about myself, other people, life in general, etc) from every trip, good or bad. So, I'd say there's technically no such thing as a bad trip. I'll just call the phenomena "temporarily unpleasant" trips...
I hope I'm making sense.

[babson]

Makes perfect sense to me, mellowgerman. The only times I was pretty scared, was when I took too much and went into total hallucination. This is when everything around you goes away, and all you see are hallucenigenic swirls of patterns and colors. I would get a little worried it might not go away, in other words, might not see the world again as I knew it. It always wore off though, and everything came back. This only happened 2 or 3 times out of several hundred trips. I found that if I was scared of it, it intensified and time slowed down to a crawl, but if I dug it, it went away too fast.

[mellowgerman]

Oh wow. I've never had that kind of trip. Probably because the acid isn't what it used to be? I can see how that would be pretty exhausting though.
The most intense trip I've experienced was actually off of morning glory. We got bulk seeds and I had a lot. It's a very different trip than LSD and I wasn't sure what to expect. Needless to say I saw a street with cars and people in the window sill
Intense, but definitely one I'd consider one of my good trips.

[babson]

We used to sprinkle morning glory seeds on a pizza. I remember going to a Mothers of invention concert. They are pretty nice when you have nothing else, but you have to eat a lot of them.

Hawaiian woodrose seeds are better because you only need 5 or 10 seeds, and provide a bit more of a high. After they are out of the shell you have to scrap the outer layer, as it is poisonous I'm told.

Both contain pure lsd 25.

One total hallucination trip was on a 4 way tab - the whole thing

Another was a half tab of Orange Owsley.

[mellowgerman]

Oh man, if only the orange owsley was still around!
Haven't gotten a chance to try the hawaiian baby woodrose seeds yet, though I've heard good things. How's the nausea factor with those?

[Susan Butcher]

I remember the first time I took the local mushrooms. I seemed to fall out of normal space into a world of dayglo electric tentacles. I was terrified I'd never make it back. And you're right, it seems to go for ages when I'm scared. Now I'm slightly disappointed that nothing quite as weird happens anymore!

I've used woodrose once or twice for a mild trip, and there wasn't any problem with nausea.

[redrabid]

Well, well, well, doesn't tripping make your life a rose coloured wonder?
But I for one would like to advise to take notice of the risks and dangers involved before one starts tripping. Depending on where one lives there are legal issues and its consequences to consider, but one shouldn't think too lightly about the dangers to your mental health.
Don't believe the hype, make your own choices. Choose wisely!

[babson]

from a song - You oughta try a little bit of lsd - only if you want to.

seriously - it's better if you know what to expect and you are among friends.

I had 2 friends who were not novices that had to turn themselves into a psych ward for a couple of days. One had run away from home and was 3000 miles away in Haight-Ash. The other was building his high by taking more of it each time. Another aquaintance did 5 hits of purple Owsley, and well, - he wandered the country for 2 years with the mind of a 5 year old. Now they let him out of the psych ward for a couple weeks at Christmas. This was out of quite a lot of people though. So there are dangers, but you can get the unrealness and insanity of war without actually going to war. Or you can sign up for Afghan. Think the Iraq cake walk is gonna end soon.

One of these friends earlier in his life, also drank a fifth of vodka in one drink. He almost died and had to have his stomach pumped. So drink alcohol wisely.

In my neighborhood, there were way more casualties from VietNam than from lsd, in fact the lsd casualties would be negligible when compared to VietNam.

I would also venture to say that there were way more casualties from alcohol than there were from lsd.

But the American government encourages you to go to Afghan, even pleads with you, but they discourage lsd.

[redrabid]

Thank you, babson, a bit of antidote was needed. Not very often, but too often for my liking, I saw people having very bad trips. I found those experiences very frightening, even though many weren't affected in the long run. But one experience I thought much more disturbing: the girlfriend of one of my best friends back then went (hardly recognizable at first) totally mad during one of her first trips. She was tripping seemingly quietly, but afterwards she told us that she had turned her ears inwards while tripping, to hear "inner truths". Problem was, that she couldn't turn her ears outwards again. Never. She still is weird, very weird. What a waste of a life. I decided that those chemically induced experiences just weren't worth the risk.
And yes, alcohol is a dangerous drug too.

[babson]

Probably something like one in a thousand. But yes, it would really suck if you were that thousandth person.

[Susan Butcher]

Too right. Unless you want your world turned upside down, don't do it. The risk of inducing long-term mental illness is small, but a drastic reassessment of your life is fairly likely. That has its consequences. You'll be on the path, whether you like it or not. Personally, I don't mind now, but it was troublesome for a while. It's hard to find someone who's been through it and can offer you good advice. That said, I still think LSD should be legalised.

RR, was your friend's girlfriend happy to be weird? That's the main thing. Voices aren't always a problem for the person who hears them.

[babson]

Nixon was convinced that it was LSD that was making the Hippies so fearless. So he made it a schedule 1 drug with all hallucenigens, even peyote.

It was a war on Hippies, not drugs.

I tried to tell him it wasn't the LSD, it was his murderous war, but he didn't want to hear that.

I think if LSD were legal it would be a good deterant to war. I myself, at 60 years old, may not do anymore. The door remains open though. So listen to Susan Butcher. She knows her stuff and has a great summation.

There is a world wide manifesto at Country Joe's website, that proposes the military draft be eliminated worlwide as a deterant to war.

[babson]

A song called Playing with Fire - good song on the pitfalls

Playing with Fire by Country Joe McDonald - Hold on It's Coming

Dynamite Charlie was a loser
Building bombs in his flat
Filled up his head with too many words
You know where that's at.
One day while he was working
He made a bad mistake.

He was playing with fire
Playing with fire, yeah,
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

Said he was playing with fire
Playing with fire
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

Double Head Danny was a heavy
He would try anything.
He thought he would take a good look at himself
Dropping some L.S.D.
When the doors were open
He knew he made a mistake.

Hey he was playing with fire, ha,
Playing with fire, yeah
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

I said he was playing with fire, huh uh,
Playing with fire, yeah
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

Alright come on play it one time!
Oh come on!
Yeah!

Acid Mary was a dealer,
She had a mission in life.
Soon as everybody was turned on
Everything would be alright.
When she sold speed to a narc girl,
She made a bad mistake.

Yeah she was playing with fire, ha!
Playing with fire, yeah
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

Said she was playing with fire, huh uh,
Playing with fire, yeah
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

I said she was playing with fire, huh uh,
Playing with fire, yeah
Playing with fire
But it was too late.

Alright, playing with fire, now now now
She was playing with fire, huh huh huh,
Said she was playing with fire, but it was too late...

In the interest of honesty, these were exceptions and not the rule. Most people would complain when the trip was over and we would have to console them by saying - It doesn't last forever!

[redrabid]

To be honest, Susan, I think your question is a bit unsettling. She was a very promising person, but couldn't finish her studies. She wasn't able to work anymore and is completely dependent on state welfare. Intimate relationships are impossible. So, is she happy? I dont think she is able to answer that question. And I wouldn't trust her answer. Those around her know the painful reality too well.

[Susan Butcher]

I hope I didn't sound callous asking that. It does sound like it was a disaster for her. But so many people get written off and rejected because they can't find someone who understands... well, where they're at. (Can't think of a better way to express this, sorry!)