This is not necessarily the case. Means may be different from medians may be different from tails, various populations might be at higher risk, rare downsides might be large enough to make up for their rarity, etc.
“One guy has presented evidence that I won’t even link, so this post should be weakened” is not a sound principle, either.
Worth also reading the intro section of the first paper for more references:
Over 30 million people living in the US have used lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin (magic mushrooms), and mescaline (peyote and other cacti) [4]. Common reasons for using psychedelics include mystical experiences, curiosity, and introspection [5]. The classical serotonergic psychedelics are not known to cause damage to the brain or other organs of the body, or cause withdrawal symptoms, elicit addiction or compulsive use [3], or cause birth defects or genetic damage [6]. Psychedelics often elicit deeply personally and spiritually meaningful experiences and sustained beneficial effects [7]–[12]. Psychedelics can often cause period of confusion and emotional turmoil during the immediate drug effects [13] and infrequently such adverse effects last for a few days after use. Psychedelics are not regarded to elicit violence [14] and dangerous behavior leading to suicide or accidental death under the influence of psychedelics is regarded as extremely rare [15]. LSD and psilocybin are consistently ranked in expert assessments as causing less harm to both individual users and society than alcohol, tobacco, and most other common recreational drugs [16]–[19]. Given that millions of doses of psychedelics have been consumed every year for over 40 years, well-documented case reports of long-term mental health problems following use of these substances are rare. Controlled studies have not suggested that use of psychedelics lead to long-term mental health problems [8], [9], [13], [20].
I’m under the impression that this kind of summary is a reasonably fair characterization of the prevailing view among researchers.
[Edited to add:] I should probably clarify that I’m definitely not saying that psychedelics would be entirely safe or risk-free, especially not when used by a population that seems to have additional risk factors that are overrepresented relative to the general population. I was just pointing out that some of the more hyperbolic statements of “100/101 persons who try psychedelics fuck up their lives” were a bit, well, hyperbolic. If you’re considering using, do at least get familiar with the risks and follow responsible use protocols (e.g. 1, 2).
I was just pointing out that some of the more hyperbolic statements of “100/101 persons who try psychedelics fuck up their lives” were a bit, well, hyperbolic.
I read Viliam as at least implying it, or some comparable ratio.
I think the long-term effects of LSD and other drugs are documented sufficiently. It’s just, if there are 100 boring statistics about people who fucked up their lives, and 1 exciting speculative book by Timothy Leary, everyone will talk about the latter.
I don’t think Viliam believes that everyone who takes LSD has a major effect and either fucks up their lives or has an impact comparable to Timothy Leary.
This is not necessarily the case. Means may be different from medians may be different from tails, various populations might be at higher risk, rare downsides might be large enough to make up for their rarity, etc.
“One guy has presented evidence that I won’t even link, so this post should be weakened” is not a sound principle, either.
Alright, I’ll copy the evidence for psychedelics being safe:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/back-to-the-future-psychedelic-drugs-in-psychiatry-202106222508
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747247/
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881114568039
Marijuana is not what people intend when they say “psychedelics.” For other readers who are confused: these links seem to be about LSD and psilocybin.
Alright, I’ll edit that to say psychedelics.
Worth also reading the intro section of the first paper for more references:
I’m under the impression that this kind of summary is a reasonably fair characterization of the prevailing view among researchers.
[Edited to add:] I should probably clarify that I’m definitely not saying that psychedelics would be entirely safe or risk-free, especially not when used by a population that seems to have additional risk factors that are overrepresented relative to the general population. I was just pointing out that some of the more hyperbolic statements of “100/101 persons who try psychedelics fuck up their lives” were a bit, well, hyperbolic. If you’re considering using, do at least get familiar with the risks and follow responsible use protocols (e.g. 1, 2).
Who made that claim?
I read Viliam as at least implying it, or some comparable ratio.
I don’t think Viliam believes that everyone who takes LSD has a major effect and either fucks up their lives or has an impact comparable to Timothy Leary.