BY LUCY CAULKETT

He is extremely lucky to be alive. The drug, known to cause hallucinations and a high level of euphoria, is used by millions world wide for recreational purposes, especially in many of Britain’s Universities. Many of its users often see moving objects when under the spell of lsd, and fell an extreme sense of ease, and reduced tension arising from the extreme high induced by the components contained in it.

 However,  some scientists have recently taking a fresh look at it and suggested it also has the ability to cure depression and anxiety, recommending that society and professionals review the way the drug is considered.

Whilst the drug has its obvious potential dangers, there is a case for saying that not everyone who trips on LSD behaves as stupidly as this man did, in the same way that people respond to the same proportion of alcohol differently.Some people act stupidly and violent when drunk, whilst others contain the buzz and simply act happy. There however is no dispute that alcohol is bad for the body.  The eye of media.com conducted an experiment on the drug by watching a couple of men high on the drug, which was bought on line, though mixed with other additives for the purposes of research.

Both men  demonstrated a high level of euphoria, though one of them was clearly more euphoric than the other, laughing more often than the other. One of them told me ” sometimes I feel like I am seeing things from the corner of my eyes, but when I look there, I realized it was an illusion and there was nothing there. When I eventually left my friend’s house, I forgot where I lived, and was surprised to discover that I walked past my house. I couldn’t remember where I lived, not the address or the number. I tried my keys on the wrong door first, before eventually identifying my house. Patterns on the walls seemed to move, but I wouldn’t have been stupid to jump over a balcony or cut off my penis”, he said. I think people who cut off their penis because they are tripping, have mental issues already”.

It is a known fact that certain drugs can reinforce an individual’s natural disposition, making them more paranoid if they are already paranoid people, or more violent if they are inherently violent individuals. However, this fact highlights the potential dangers of such drugs, even if it is correct to say there might be other influences that contribute to the behaviour of an individual high on drugs. Times change, and societal perceptions shift often with the times, depending on the influences that bring about that change. The perception of cannabis for example, as changed over time, with many in past times calling for its legalization and decriminalization because of its effectiveness in remedying illnesses like arthritis. The legal class of cannabis has moved from B to C, back and forth over the years, showing an uncertainty as to how the ill effects should be balanced against the potential medical benefits it is claimed to have.  Attitudes with homosexuality have also changed in general over the decades.

The important thing to note about LSD or other mind altering drugs is that whatever the benefits it has, it is mainly it’s abuse and uncontrolled use that pose real mental and physical health risks, especially when thrown into the mix of other serious issues that may be going on in the life of the user. When drugs are used for recreational purposes, there is often no discipline or control involved, especially under the excitement and submission of peer pressure. This is why the restriction of  its use to medical purposes is the stance of the government. The government is certainly right, just hypocritical in that it chooses what to ban and what to legalize, a main consideration being what they gain from it.

For more information on lsd go to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide