I think this comment is particularly relevant to psychedelics, but also to drugs like amphetamines and cannabis. There are aspects of my experiences with these drugs that I cannot articulate to a potential user.
Amongst drug users, it’s my experience that there is a great deal of specialized language that is difficult, if not impossible, to truly understand without yourself having had the experiences that the language originates from. However, its easy for prospective users to believe they understand the language being spoken, and to believe they have an understanding of the risks involved with certain drugs.
Your son sounds like an extremely clever young adult; but also extremely overconfident. When I was young I was extremely overconfident. My overconfidence led to me disrespecting the substance. Disrespecting the substance resulted in me having a very bad time. The only confident statement I can make now is that I am a broken person as the direct result of drug use; in ways that I never imagined I could be.
I thought I had done a great deal of research, but in fact, it takes years to grasp the available literature, which itself is woefully inadequate. Not only do I still not grasp the scope of the risks, but it seems to me that no one does. Neuroscience is still in it’s nascent stage, and its a frightful experience when you realize the ‘adults in the room’ don’t know how to fix you.
If I were you, I would seek to find out exactly what he wants out of these potential drug experiences. What is his end game? What drugs does he think will take him to that end game, and why? What alternative, safer paths might lead to the same destination?
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I think this comment is particularly relevant to psychedelics, but also to drugs like amphetamines and cannabis. There are aspects of my experiences with these drugs that I cannot articulate to a potential user.
Amongst drug users, it’s my experience that there is a great deal of specialized language that is difficult, if not impossible, to truly understand without yourself having had the experiences that the language originates from. However, its easy for prospective users to believe they understand the language being spoken, and to believe they have an understanding of the risks involved with certain drugs.
Your son sounds like an extremely clever young adult; but also extremely overconfident. When I was young I was extremely overconfident. My overconfidence led to me disrespecting the substance. Disrespecting the substance resulted in me having a very bad time. The only confident statement I can make now is that I am a broken person as the direct result of drug use; in ways that I never imagined I could be.
I thought I had done a great deal of research, but in fact, it takes years to grasp the available literature, which itself is woefully inadequate. Not only do I still not grasp the scope of the risks, but it seems to me that no one does. Neuroscience is still in it’s nascent stage, and its a frightful experience when you realize the ‘adults in the room’ don’t know how to fix you.
If I were you, I would seek to find out exactly what he wants out of these potential drug experiences. What is his end game? What drugs does he think will take him to that end game, and why? What alternative, safer paths might lead to the same destination?
Request permission to quote pieces of this comment in an upcoming essay and (if permission given) want to know what sort of attribution you want (none, username, real name, etc).