Albert Hofmann discovers the effects of LSD (1943)
Disclaimer: I probably shouldn&#x27;t be posting this, even under a throwaway, but I&#x27;m on the other side of the
international date line, and I&#x27;ve had a few beers tonight. This post is in response to several comments on this
thread.<p>I&#x27;ve done quite a lot of LSD, and I feel that I have some anecdotal input that might be valuable to some.
First, some background regarding my usage:<p>I&#x27;ve been using hallucinogenic substances for about 20 years (I was sixteen when I had my first LSD trip); at this
point in my life, I like to have about four solid trips per year. In total, I&#x27;ve had around 200-250 trips on various 
drugs. At one point, I was doing mushrooms so frequently that they essentially stopped working (there was a week during
college when I dosed on high-grade cubensis mushrooms eight times - by the end of the week, it took a full ounce before
I could feel any effect). I&#x27;ve done most of the 2C drugs, DMT, ketamine, and every drug about which you&#x27;ve ever seen a
cautionary after-school special. I&#x27;ve micro-dosed on LSD, and I&#x27;ve thumb-printed raw crystal. I&#x27;ve had multiple &quot;level five&quot;
experiences. I&#x27;ve worked in tech for years, at companies that you&#x27;ve heard of.<p>First off: please be aware that hallucinogens are <i>very</i> powerful drugs, and they should never be taken lightly - I make no
pretense of being a role-model. I knew a man who was absolutely addicted to LSD (he tripped every day, give or take since the
early sixties - during the time that I knew him, he had a week or so when he couldn&#x27;t trip, and he was truly frightening to 
be around sober. If you&#x27;ve ever seen anyone go off of anti-psychotics cold-turkey after prolonged usage, it was similar.)<p>That said, I believe that hallucinogens, and particularly LSD, have profoundly improved my life. The shift in perspective
has helped me to defuse many emotional and psychological issues, and heightened my understanding of people, programming,
and society as a whole.<p>To the person who wonders if they are too old to try LSD, I think you most likely are not. Most people who I have seen lose
their shit on hallucinogens had it happen in their 20&#x27;s - if you&#x27;ve made it to 30 without issues with psychosis, you&#x27;re 
most likely in the clear.<p>All first time users should have their first experience in a comfortable setting, ideally with an experienced guide. I
think it&#x27;s tragic that modern society has all but eliminated the role of a shaman - it is very helpful to have someone
who has walked the path before you show you the way.<p>One point that I would like to emphasize is that you shouldn&#x27;t do hallucinogens to have fun. The experience is, of course,
very frequently enjoyable, but these experiences should not be taken lightly. Personally, I believe that there is no such
thing as a &quot;bad trip&quot;. Some trips are challenging, and unpleasant, but if they are viewed with the proper perspective, they
are still useful. Indeed, I have purposely taken trips in unpleasant circumstances in order to help me transcend various 
issues (again, if you have pre-existing psychosis, or are under ~25 years old, a trip might trigger some underlying issues).<p>If you&#x27;re curious, and reasonably stable, I strongly recommend that you give it a try. LSD is the safest option -
be wary of &quot;designer&quot; drugs, which can have much more dangerous side effects. As in all things, research is your friend,
do some reading on erowid.org before you try any new drug. Be wary of LSD look-alikes, namely 25-I, which is increasingly
common these days.<p>This is obviously a throw-away account, but I&#x27;ll try to respond to any questions or comments tomorrow (GMT+8).