Well, if you and/or your son are interested in what this community has to say on the matter—I have been a member of Less Wrong for over a decade, and I strongly advise against doing any of the following of the drugs that you have mentioned (except in rare circumstances, as closely monitored by an appropriate medical professional):
heroin
opioids of any kind
LSD
peyote
psychedelics of any kind
(Note that none of the above can reasonably be described as “nootropic” except by stretching the term well past usefulness.)
The following drugs seem less immediately bad, but seeking the advice of a medical professional is still a good idea before using them:
amphetamines
alcohol (in quantities beyond “a drink or two at social gatherings”)
And these drugs are almost certainly fine to partake in on a regular basis, though using common sense and discontinuing use if detrimental effects are experienced is still a good idea:
caffeine (in quantities such as found in ordinary tea or coffee)
(I am not a doctor and this is my personal opinion.)
In summary, not everything that is referred to as “drugs” in some context is the same sort of thing, nor does the same approach suffice when dealing with all “drugs”. Failing to appreciate this is a classic bucket error.
Putting heroin and LSD in the same category seems bad. Mostly, adults without preexisting mental health issues can do LSD (and other commonly used psychedelics) safely without it causing issues. I am worried that a young person would come across advice like yours, end up trying psychedelics anyway and use that to conclude that the risks from trying the more harmful substances you mention are also overblown.
Mostly, adults without preexisting mental health issues can do LSD (and other commonly used psychedelics) safely without it causing issues.
The evidence against this claim has mounted steadily, and is now overwhelming.
I am worried that a young person would come across advice like yours, end up trying psychedelics anyway
That would be unfortunate, as it is exactly what I am advising against. Then again, someone who tries psychedelics runs a substantial risk of breaking their brain and destroying their rationality even after a single use (never mind multiple or regular use), so trying to calibrate advice on the basis of what people who’ve done psychedelic drugs will think seems to me to be a losing proposition.
Do you have any links to papers on the negative effects of psychedelics? I’d love to see the empirical “overwhelming evidence”—I think that has potential to push him back into a more cautious stance
Well, if you and/or your son are interested in what this community has to say on the matter—I have been a member of Less Wrong for over a decade, and I strongly advise against doing any of the following of the drugs that you have mentioned (except in rare circumstances, as closely monitored by an appropriate medical professional):
heroin
opioids of any kind
LSD
peyote
psychedelics of any kind
(Note that none of the above can reasonably be described as “nootropic” except by stretching the term well past usefulness.)
The following drugs seem less immediately bad, but seeking the advice of a medical professional is still a good idea before using them:
amphetamines
alcohol (in quantities beyond “a drink or two at social gatherings”)
And these drugs are almost certainly fine to partake in on a regular basis, though using common sense and discontinuing use if detrimental effects are experienced is still a good idea:
caffeine (in quantities such as found in ordinary tea or coffee)
(I am not a doctor and this is my personal opinion.)
In summary, not everything that is referred to as “drugs” in some context is the same sort of thing, nor does the same approach suffice when dealing with all “drugs”. Failing to appreciate this is a classic bucket error.
Putting heroin and LSD in the same category seems bad. Mostly, adults without preexisting mental health issues can do LSD (and other commonly used psychedelics) safely without it causing issues. I am worried that a young person would come across advice like yours, end up trying psychedelics anyway and use that to conclude that the risks from trying the more harmful substances you mention are also overblown.
The evidence against this claim has mounted steadily, and is now overwhelming.
That would be unfortunate, as it is exactly what I am advising against. Then again, someone who tries psychedelics runs a substantial risk of breaking their brain and destroying their rationality even after a single use (never mind multiple or regular use), so trying to calibrate advice on the basis of what people who’ve done psychedelic drugs will think seems to me to be a losing proposition.
Do you have any links to papers on the negative effects of psychedelics? I’d love to see the empirical “overwhelming evidence”—I think that has potential to push him back into a more cautious stance