From: wisner@aiag.enet.dec.com
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: CBS 48 hours on LSD ;)
Date: 7 Jan 93 21:19:33 GMT
Reply-To: wisner@aiag.enet.dec.com ()
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation, Marlboro, MA


          This is part of a review I am developing.   This version has most
          of my comments removed because I haven't had time to gather 
          references and verify my statements. 
 
          In some places I put questions inside of quotes.   My questions
          are enclosed with square brackets.

	  I wanted to post it right away to hear your comments.

	  -Paul

          Rough Notes on 48 Hours program "LSD the Return Trip"
          -----------------------------------------------------
          Crisis! Epidemic! concluded NBC anchorman Dan Rather over a
          recent percieved resurgence of the  *illegal* drug LSD.   The 48
          Hours episode tells a few anicdotes where people have been hurt
          by LSD abuse

          In the first segment, "Night Scene", they interviewed a lot of
          kids in the San Francisco Rave scene who looked to be having a
          lot of fun, without any problems, using LSD and MDMA.

          In an interview with Alex Stolkoff (sp?), a psychiatrist who
          treats "rave casualties", tells a story that seems intended to
          implicate LSD.  "There is the case of a young man in the
          marathon rave scene; where for two, three, four days on end he's
          up around the clock using A MIXTURE OF DRUGS, dancing, partying,
          not eating very much.  On the fourth day of this he has a
          complete psychotic break."    Obviously, this quote is intended
          to persuade the viewer that LSD was the cause of an acute
          psychotic reaction.   Only the observant viewer questions the
          meaning of "a mixture of drugs".

          The segment titled "Crack Down" tells the tragic storey of an
          eighteen year old kid who was involved in a single drug sale  to
          a friend. He made $200 and got a     ten year prison   sentence.
          That's ten years!    More than most convicted killers get.
          They showed DEA agents busting another kid.   The kid is in the
          middle of talking about how he's gonna use the money to fix his
          car.   Doesn't sound like very much money.  We're talking about
          a  very small time dealer here.   Well, the DEA heros bust in
          shouting "Don't f?ckin' move man or I'm gonna blast your f?cking
          head!"

          There was an interview with Bob Bender, "a special agent
          created by federal authorities to crack down on LSD"- [er... is
          that the FBI or something else?].   Bob "has no empathy for drug
          dealers".   "...go out in the community [and] ask some of these
          people whose son or daughter have abused LSD and either are in a
          state psychiatric ward or who are dead."

          48 Hours also interviewed LSD profit Timothy Leary.   The
          interviewer ask "Do you feel any sense of responsibility for the
          people whose lives have been ruined by LSD?"    I watched as Dr
          Leary tried, IMO, to explain that it is not clear that LSD is the
          cause of any such destruction, but the interviewer interupted
          with "...[no. no.  no.]   Do you feel *responsible*?"   Dr Leary
          came back weakly with (paraphrasing) "I will gladly take the
          credit or the blame when the battle over psychedelic drugs is
          settled."

          The final segment called "Russian Roulette" tried to show that

          LSD use can lead to perminant brain damage and mental disorders.
          First, there is Carl Potter, a patient of Dr Henry Abraham, who
          took LSD 500 times.   Carl has brain damage.   He suffers from
          post hallucinegin sensory disorder   (PHSD).    He still sees
          trails.

          Narator: "LSD can cause powerful problems such as flashbacks and
          bad trips."
          Dr Henry Abraham has treated former LSD users with this problem
          for 25 years.     Here are some of the shows concessions "The
          connection between the visual disorder and LSD is
          controversial", "LSD does not cause chromosomal damage" and "the
          PHSD disorder is rare".  Dr Abraham has treated several hundred
          PHSD patients and has 45 current patients.

          The disorder can happen to someone whose done LSD once or done
          LSD 100 times. [or done LSD zero times?]
          Dr Abraham "LSD produces a profound psychotic state".

          "3 out of 100 users [was there a study?] are likely to suffer a
          prolonged psychotic effect."
          The show mentions in passing that there is a possibility of
          "...long term mental illness from LSD."

--
==============================================================================
                 Paul Wisner,  wisner@aiag.enet.dec.com
         Views expressed and statements made are mine and not those
                    of my employer.
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