Aye. Everything I've read seems to suggest that the various mental malfunctions I have would be greatly improved by occasional, monitored uses of MDMA, but I'm rather apprehensive about even approaching such a thing due to the fact that it is schedule one. It's a complete and utter shame that the DEA is clinging to now-discredited research as to why even research on the chemical shouldn't be performed.
Occasional, unmonitored use changed my life for the better no question about it, and I still feel that way even though I haven't touched it in years. I can't think of another drug that I could say that about.
If you're waiting around for the DEA to decide to write you a permission slip then you may end up waiting for the rest of your life. The government probably views this drug as the most dangerous one in existence and I'll try to explain why:
MDMA seems to have the power to help people heal psychological wounds and come together despite their differences, but that's a nightmare for a government who rather have populations remain afraid of one another, fighting with one another, and relying on the government to solve their problems. The government sees it's role as manifesting order out of chaos, and if people are not psychologically conflicted and fighting with one another then a day might come when they begin to feel that they can work together to solve problems on their own without the need for nearly as much government supervision.
My apprehension is more about finding a good quality source than about the actual legality. Given that so much MDMA is cut with meth, and that I have pretty hardcore social anxiety problems, I don't want to have to look around for a good source. I want the benefits of quality control that a legitimate market would bring.
Also, the monitored usage thing is more about finding someone capable of guiding me to talking about various traumas and stuff that trigger me in my day-to-day life. I've had bad experiences in the past of being the person to guide someone when trying to deal with their own demons, and have triggered my own in the process. I want someone I can trust, but is a relative neutral third party, who I can trust to guide me and help start to heal some deep-seated wounds. This is hard given the current framework, and something I do deeply want to help with my own healing process.
Well finding pure MDMA can be problematic but it's certainly not an insurmountable problem if you take your time and research it well. While it's true that there is a fair amount of "cut" product and even fake product on the market the DEA's own statistics do show that a large and growing percentage of seized "ecstasy" is testing pure, so statistically speaking you're more likely to find pure MDMA on the black market today than at any time in the past. With that said you do have to be careful. There are ways to rule out the presence of certain contaminants such as methamphetamine, you might try purchasing a kit which provides certain chemicals that test for the presence of methamphetamine and other contaminants:
(I'm not vouching for the above kit in particular, do your own research in this area)
If you feel like you need a third party to be there with you then maybe you do, each person is different. I will say that MDMA isn't like a psychedelic where you definitely want to have a "trip sitter" present, it's a much more controllable experience.
In my opinion MDMA may feel mystical, magical or sublime; but it doesn't feel weird. MDMA "provides a centering experience, rather than an ego diffusing experience" (Dr. Philip Wolfson).
If you decide to go ahead without one then let me advise you to try it outdoors in private setting, perhaps near a lake, or a mountain top, somewhere with a view where you can roam about enjoy yourself. If you have a significant other then I highly recommend taking it together. This drug is perfect for couples therapy.
Even reading a book for too long can feel "weird." And when you can't stop reading until the 6-8 hours is up, that could be a problem if you're in the woods on your own or something.
If you think you might need someone with you, you should probably have someone with you. These things can become self-fulfilling. Taking powerful drugs when in a state of (acute) apprehension or anxiety is not a good idea.
Obviously it might well be fine, by all accounts the stuff does tend to make you feel good, but doing any unusual activity for the first time on your own is very different to doing it with someone who's done it before.
This is MDMA we're talking about... not psychedelics. I've known people (SWIM and all that) who have taken it purely to abort a bad LSD trip. Pure MDMA is not going to produce anxiety. You can even be fairly functional on it, depending on the dose.
There are plenty of "I really wish this was over" drugs, and MDMA simply isn't one of them.
In sum, it must makes you feel more of what is good and most pronounced from within. For deep psychotherapy you may need a guide, but to simply explore it you don't. That said, you do want some friends (and a record player) around because, well, that's what its for :)
There is good cause to believe that MDMA will be legalized for therapy of ptsd. Veterans from iraq and afghanistan have ptsd in huge numbers, and it's expensive for the government. There are studies indicating it's highly effective in treating ptsd.
I respectfully disagree on the reasoning for keeping these drugs illegal. The most likely motivation is as a tool for population control -- look at who was targeted in making cannabis illegal and then how Nixon used the War on Drugs as a weapon against those hippie anti-war activists.
With significant brainwashing, many people today fear these drugs as directly dangerous, not as a mind opening tool.
Try asking people if they think LSD should be legal -- I bet a majority will say no.
I don't like the idea of lumping all "drugs" together. I don't like it when the government does it and I don't like it when well meaning individuals do it. While I generally don't approve of the practice of men with guns threatening violence to those who would ingest certain plants I do think that of all the drugs known to man LSD makes the strongest case for some form of restriction.
I think that perhaps it alone should be restricted in the same way that access to plutonium is restricted, with the aside that individuals who would like enough for their own personal use should of course be granted (free) access.
You see the problem with that particular problem child is that enough LSD to dose every man woman and child on earth could be produced in a single lab and held within a coffee cup which makes it uniquely dangerous as a weapon of mass oppression if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Also the fact that you can't easily test a substance for LSD increases the liklihood of individuals being exposed who did not wish to be exposed.
Therefor the risks that it will be used as a kind of weapon against unsuspecting populations is too great relative to other drugs. I'd also like to point out that LSD doesn't seem to universally help people in the way that responsible amounts of MDMA (and arguably cannabis) does.
I don't think there is a justification for the restriction of other psychedelics that don't have these risks of weaponization such as various mushrooms, cactai, certain vines, etc.
> You see the problem with that particular problem child is that enough LSD to dose every man woman and child on earth could be produced in a single lab and held within a coffee cup which makes it uniquely dangerous as a weapon of mass oppression if it were to fall into the wrong hands. Also the fact that you can't easily test a substance for LSD increases the liklihood of individuals being exposed who did not wish to be exposed.
How the hell would you use LSD in that way "for oppression" or "as a weapon"? The main effect seems to be to cause uncontrollable giddiness and happiness.
In short, LSD causes people to disregard authority, act chaotically and unpredictably, lose their ability to follow orders.
It's also highly volatile so likely to backfire on the people administering it, causing them to get high too.
From more direct experience, I can also say that LSD causes you to re-examine fundamental beliefs in quite an intense way. Not at all what you want to use on a population you want to control. In fact, if you were a dictator trying to retain control of an oppressed population, you should probably do everything in your power to avoid mass use of LSD in that population.
The details of how such a substance could be weaponized and how such munitions may have been deployed in the past is a sensitive subject not well suited for this forum. A wealth of information has been made available in the past decade or two via the freedom of information act but not much of it has found it's way into the 'for public consumption' version of history. My intention was merely to reference this unique "problem" associated with extremely potent psychedellics in broad terms without dredging up references to particular incidents or organizations. You can do your own research in this area.
Also your personal experiences only apply to normal doses of LSD you have no idea what it can do to someone at extreme doses, nor are you referencing experiments where such doses were tested.
again, I'm not aruging in favor of restricting individuals from access to personal doses, I think that would be a good thing. I just don't want to live in a world where any psychopath can get his hands of billions of doses. This is not something you have to worry about with most other drugs because with most other drugs you can't produce that many doses all at once and transport it easily. I just wanted to point out that this unusual property exists with respect to LSD and it complicates matters.
On the other hand, the synthesis of LSD is usually considered difficult and the molecule itself is quite unstable. So, there are already practical low-level constraints against some psychopath producing any doses (much less a billion) at once and transporting it easily.
Out of respect for Mr Shulgin I don't want to stray too far from his work towards a disturbing subject matter. In order to make my point about legalization I had to make it known that such dark areas of inquery exist, but that doesn't mean I want to expose people to such information who have not self-selected to learn more. It's not my area of expertise anyways.
I highly doubt the events in the article you linked are news to swombat, or any one else for that matter. The use of hallucinogens or drugs on the unsuspecting, like the military trials linked above, are well documented, but have little to do with the specific substance and more to do with the absence of morality of those involved. That is a political problem, not a pharmacological one. Were I an unwitting participant in such an experiment, I would much rather be given LSD than some toxic chemical or biological weapon. That too has been done, do you realise?
In certain parts of South America, a chemical derived from Datura is regularly used to zombify people, when they come to their senses 48 hours later, they've a hole in their memories and no possessions left. Again, nefarious people will always find a way to use the tools nature gave us for nefarious purposes.
Anyways I highly disagree with your assertion that discussing any of this, to any level of depth, would be considered disrespectful in any way by or to Shulgin. A man who dedicated his entire life to the exploration of pharmacology in all forms, such discussion is precisely the sort of thing I believe he aimed to encourage.
LSD is not unique in being of that sort of potency. There are several other related ergoloids that are of similar potency (though usually a bit less).
Some of the psychedelic amphetamines fall into this category too. Many have doses in the sub-1mg range. Some exotics (Bromo-dragonfly) are not only effective in the same dose range as LSD, but last several times as long and are far more toxic. The LD50 of LSD is quite forgiving as I understand it, with BDF it is not and people have died.
There are other substances that border on poison - carfentanil is an opiate used to stun elephants and is active in humans at the 1ug range.
I also dislike the catch-all term 'drugs', but LSD is not entirely unique in its potency.
