posted
A collegue recently told me a story about a school-friend of his who was a long-time LSD user. Apparently, this use of LSD caused his friend's spine to be weakened and resulted in his back breaking one day from the simple act of him standing up at his desk.
FOAF story I know, but my collegue seems to believe this story as the gospel truth since he heard it from a direct acquaintance who claimed it happened to him. Personally, I've never heard of such a thing in my life and was highly skeptical when he relayed the above story to me. I can't imagine why LSD would cause the spine to be weakened but no other skeletal structures.
Does anyone have any information on LSD and some of the effects it has on the human body? Is there any truth to this snapping spine story?
Apologies if this has been covered already. I just wanted to get some more informed opinions on this.
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Scary-lyn Monroe
The Red and the Green Stamps
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quote:LSD is a very potent drug, but is physically quite safe and non-toxic. Its effects include mild euphoria and anxiety, altered perceptions, and the ability to pass between states of consciousness. Visual hallucinations are the most noticeable by users. The acute effects taper off as time progresses and are usually gone by the next morning.
Chronic effects of the drug can be positive and negative. Positive effects include spiritual contact and self-exploration; the most severe negative effect is known as LSD psychosis. LSD has shown to have therapeutic usefulness, although research has been severely limited for the last several decades. LSD psychosis has been linked to forms of schizophrenia, and thus, to some physiological disorders -- it appears to be dependent on the user, and not on the drug.
I was always told that it stayed in your spinal column, and if you did it more that a few times, when your back popped, you would see colors, but if you took it more than 7 times, you would become legally insane because each time you take it, it eats a part of your brain. I never believed all that junk, though.
Here is a site with some info, and these are the Google results for the physical effects of LSD. Nowhere was it mentioned about bone or back weakness. In fact, it seems all the effects of the drug last only about 12 hours tops.
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the420
The Red and the Green Stamps
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Its bull.I used to do ALOT of acid. Like once or twice a week for a couple years (with a few weeks here and there going without, of course, but it was alot) I, like many of my friends, would take many at a time. (anywhere from 5-10 at once)
Never had back problems or any of the so-called permanent effects.
One of my friends was particularly bad. He'd drop every other day just about.He would do a quarter sheet at a time. (Sheet=100 doses) And he was doing it years before i ever started.
His only adverse effect aside from being a bit of an airhead is heroin addiction. Of course his heroin addiction has nothing to do with his acid consumption.
Acid is sometimes mixed with striknine(I know i spelt it wrong). This makes your back stiff and makes you clentch your teeth while you are tripping. I've never heard of any effects carrying over after some post-trip rest. But this could be where the rumors stem from.
posted
Hey.420.Could you maybe separate your sentences with two spaces, not just a period?It would make it really easier to read.Thank you.
Cervus, your friendly-yet-anal editor.
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quote:Originally posted by Cervus: Hey.420.Could you maybe separate your sentences with two spaces, not just a period?It would make it really easier to read.Thank you.
Cervus, your friendly-yet-anal editor.
Research reveals that long-term LSD use results in inadequate formation of end-sentence punctuation.
-------------------- "Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know." ~ Michel Eyquem de Montaigne Posts: 1382 | From: Toronto, Ontario | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
This is slightly old, but it's pretty comprehensive.
quote:Originally posted by the420: Acid is sometimes mixed with striknine(I know i spelt it wrong).This makes your back stiff and makes you clentch your teeth while you are tripping.I've never heard of any effects carrying over after some post-trip rest.But this could be where the rumors stem from.
Nope. That link is also a bit old, but here's another one that looks more recent. Lastly, there's this, which is an older site but gives a reference to a few books that go into detail about why this myth is untrue. They also note that the breakdown of LSD often leads to the body load that people think is because of strychnine.
-------------------- Kaylee Frye: Been more'n a year since I had anything twixt my nethers didn't run on batteries! -Serenity Posts: 503 | From: Utah | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
Here's a question for someone with more experience in acid than I have.
I've only ever partaken once, and I was expecting the hallucinations, tracers, colors, etc. But I also experienced something I've NEVER heard of in relation to acid: an improvement in my vision.
I am near-sighted, not horribly, but noticeably. We were watching a Kevin Smith movie, and he is very fond of putting a list of thank-yous in the end credits. From my sofa, I cannot read this print on my TV. I've watched these movies many times, and I always have to move closer to make them out.
The time I did acid, I could read these credits very clearly from a distance at which I normally can't.
Is this really possible? Is this something that other people experience?
posted
I'd expect LSD to produce reduced vision (or rather less depth of field) due to dilation of the pupils.
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Turing test failures: 6 Posts: 5481 | From: Decatur, GA | Registered: Nov 2002
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the420
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
quote:Originally posted by Cervus: Hey.420.Could you maybe separate your sentences with two spaces, not just a period?It would make it really easier to read.Thank you.
Cervus, your friendly-yet-anal editor.
Sorry, was getting ready for work and typed it up a lil quick. Sorry for the slow response too.
As for improving your vision I never really noticed true improvement. You do have a tendancy to "see things more clearly", which is really just a hallucination. I cant really explain what I mean, its something that you have to experience to understand.
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quote:Originally posted by Spooky Girl, College Freshman: The time I did acid, I could read these credits very clearly from a distance at which I normally can't.
Is this really possible? Is this something that other people experience?
What one frequently experiences during an acid trip is an "ability" to see intricate patterns based on little visual data (even when the patterns aren't really there). A typical example would involve looking at, say, a carpet or some wooden paneling, and seeing intricate patterns in the weave or grain (which usually evolve as you look at them). This would be my guess as to what you were actually seeing with the credits - some blurry shapes suggesting letters and/or words, and your mind filling in the missing bits.
buf 'watched an entire civilization of intelligent tree beings evolve and die on a side of plywood one afternoon' ungla
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George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra Posts: 4847 | From: Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2001
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Scary-lyn Monroe
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
I don't know if this answers your question, but my experience with it was similar. At night I have a very hard time reading street signs or even seeing things very clearly at all. While I was under the influence of the substance, everything was extrordinarily clear. I was able to read street signs from a distance better than if it were during the day. There was no funky distortion from the reflective properties of the headlights on the signs. I guess I should clarify that the signs I was able to see were those that labeled the street names. Go down to the Charles/Stuart picture to see an example of the signs I have a problem with. So, anyway. I could read them about as clear as they were in the picture, from about 2/10 of a mile, maybe more, and without the reflective distortion. I don't know why or how, but it made it easier to find what we were looking for.
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quote:Originally posted by Spooky Girl, College Freshman: Here's a question for someone with more experience in acid than I have.
I've only ever partaken once, and I was expecting the hallucinations, tracers, colors, etc. But I also experienced something I've NEVER heard of in relation to acid: an improvement in my vision.
I am near-sighted, not horribly, but noticeably. We were watching a Kevin Smith movie, and he is very fond of putting a list of thank-yous in the end credits. From my sofa, I cannot read this print on my TV. I've watched these movies many times, and I always have to move closer to make them out.
The time I did acid, I could read these credits very clearly from a distance at which I normally can't.
Is this really possible? Is this something that other people experience?
MG
I've personally never taken acid, but I've had similar effects with other hallucinatory drugs. Here's my completely unofficial explanation: you might have been seeing the credits as you remembered them from a previous viewing, or imagined them based on the movie/background knowledge/etc. The words you saw very well could have been similar/identical to the ones that are actually on the tape, but you didn't necessarily read them--you could have recalled/conjured them and thought you were seeing them, due to the overall feeling of heightened perceptions. Plus, weird things lurk in our memories that don't normally come out without a little pharmaceutical coaxing. Once (while high) I was able to recite huge chunks of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which I never made any effort to memorize, didn't read particularly thoroughly and didn't enjoy much either.
I remember our college handbook advised us to keep a supply of vitamin c handy if/when we used acid, in case we were having a bad trip (apparently the vitamin c will compress the remainder of a trip into a few minutes)--though we were emphatically warned NOT to use oranges as our vitamin c source. I haven't taken enough bio classes to understand that one.
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quote:Originally posted by Plurabelle: I remember our college handbook advised us to keep a supply of vitamin c handy if/when we used acid, in case we were having a bad trip (apparently the vitamin c will compress the remainder of a trip into a few minutes)--though we were emphatically warned NOT to use oranges as our vitamin c source. I haven't taken enough bio classes to understand that one.
That's because there's no true biology behind it. About the only thing that will put a dent (chemically) in an acid trip are antipsychotics such as haldol and thorazine, and there's some argument about whether they actually supress the hallucinations or merely tranquilize the subject so that s/he is not vocalizing about them. A much less drastic way of dealing with hallucinations is from the psychological side, which is probably what the vitamin C placebo is supposed to do.
buf 'easier to find in a pinch than somebody experienced enough to talk you down' ungla
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George Bernard Shaw, Caesar and Cleopatra Posts: 4847 | From: Washington, DC | Registered: Jun 2001
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Scary-lyn Monroe
The Red and the Green Stamps
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I was told to drink massive amounts of citric acid and that would make the drug last longer and more intense and if you had a bad trip, to drink a lot of milk and it would neutralize the acid in your system. Never had a bad trip, never tried it, but I did drink a very large bottle of lemon juice on one occasion and lime juice on another.
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quote:Originally posted by Scary-lyn Monroe: I was told to drink massive amounts of citric acid and that would make the drug last longer and more intense and if you had a bad trip, to drink a lot of milk and it would neutralize the acid in your system. Never had a bad trip, never tried it, but I did drink a very large bottle of lemon juice on one occasion and lime juice on another.
Same here. I've been told that vitamin C will intensify the effects of MDMA and LSD and milk will mellow you out. Though, iirc, I think I heard that vit C will help bring you out of a K-hole.
I think drug users just get their myths mixed up.
default "you were myth-taken!*"crush
*my last package of tiny tarts for the reference.
-------------------- Kaylee Frye: Been more'n a year since I had anything twixt my nethers didn't run on batteries! -Serenity Posts: 503 | From: Utah | Registered: Jun 2001
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BlackRiverFalls
The Red and the Green Stamps
posted
quote: But I also experienced something I've NEVER heard of in relation to acid: an improvement in my vision.
It's properly called Increased Visual Acuity.
I used to get it myself occasionally when I was taking Celexa (of all things), though never before or since.
When it happened to me it always also seemed that colours became more intense, kind of like watching a technicolour movie. It was way kewl.
It isn't imaginary, it's something to do with the focussing of the eyes being normally less than optimal, there was a great website I found where a guy described how he'd had a special pair of glasses made so that he could see like this all of the time, unfortunately I don't have the link anymore. I'm ~almost~ certain it was linked to from Michael Persinger's homepage, but that's down atm.
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quote:Originally posted by BlackRiverFalls: When it happened to me it always also seemed that colours became more intense, kind of like watching a technicolour movie. It was way kewl.
That sounds like increased saturation. You can get the same effect with polarised glass.
quote:Originally posted by BlackRiverFalls: It isn't imaginary, it's something to do with the focussing of the eyes being normally less than optimal,
But the dilation of the eyes would reduce your depth of field.
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Turing test failures: 6 Posts: 5481 | From: Decatur, GA | Registered: Nov 2002
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BlackRiverFalls
The Red and the Green Stamps
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Naw, focussing is all in the lenses, the pupils will only dilate/expand if the intensity of the light changes (or you take a drug to make them do that).
Depth of field is a product of binocular vision, the only way that will screw up is if your eyes fail to track with each other.
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