red22
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2009
- Messages
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This is a collection of things I've gathered related to this myth, including archive footage of concerned researchers talking about it.
The Mindbenders: Scary Drug Education Films from the 60's, volumes 1 and 2
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230530/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299036/
Downloads: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OSwyAgN0cy1JSMFD8itZ51CjcFQPgIEB?usp=drive_link (Downloaded from Something Weird Video)
Quotes from researchers:
Research concluding that LSD produced chromosome damage and birth defects appeared in prominent scientific and medical journals and was repeated often in the popular press. While these findings were soon discredited, the additional negative contribution to LSD’s reputation had been accomplished and there was no going back (Dishotsky, Loughman, Mogar, & Lipscomb, 1971; Presti & Beck, 2001).
Dishotsky, N. I., Loughman, W. D., Mogar, R. E., & Lipscomb, W. R. (1971). LSD and genetic damage. Science, 172, 431–440.
Presti, D. E., & Beck, J. E. (2001). Strychnine and other enduring myths: Expert and user folklore surrounding LSD. In T. B. Roberts (Ed.), Psychoactive sacramentals: Essays on entheogens and religion (pp. 125–137). San Francisco: Council on Spiritual Practices
Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens (Grob & Grigsby, 2021). New York, NY: Guilford Press. ISBN 9781462551897. Chapter 8: LSD (Kristine Panik & David E. Presti), p. 169, first column
When in 1967 a scientifically-flimsy report alleged that ʟsᴅ caused chromosome damage in human lymphocytes or white blood cells (Cohen et al. 1967), the National Institutes of Health seized the opportunity to mount a vigorous propaganda campaign, as outlined in the first chapter (Weil 1972). Significantly, this federally-endowed research organization ordered no tests to verify the preliminary report, which was taken at face value since it was welcome news to the government. The then-docile information media fell hook, line and sinker for the great chromosome-damage scare, and ʟsᴅ became the new scapegoat (Braden 1970). The media and the government played on fears generated in the public mind by the Thalidomide tragedy of the late fifties and early sixties, still a vivid and gruesome memory to ʟsᴅ users and non-users alike (see Chapter 1).
No scientific report, however, had ever demonstrated that ʟsᴅ was, like Thalidomide, a teratogen (a substance causing birth defects). When controlled studies were conducted with ʟsᴅ and chromosomes, and when long-time ʟsᴅ users were examined, it was found that there was no significant link between ʟsᴅ use and chromosome damage (Bender & Sankar 1968; Dishotsky et al. 1971; Tjio et al. 1969). It was also found that viral infections as well as many drugs, including caffeine and aspirin, could cause chromosome breaks in lymphocytes in vitro. Although ʟsᴅ use declined initially in the face of the big scare, the end result was the irreparable loss of the United States government's credibility vis á vis drugs (Weil 1972). The government attempted to foist a few other spurious scares on the public: the “flashback” scare, the ʟsᴅ-produces-psychosis scare, ad nauseam. Given the U.S. government’s lack of credibility on drug-related issues, it is not surprising that these scare tactics had only minimal, if any, efficacy at deterring the extra-medical use of ʟsᴅ.
Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Jonathan Ott, 1993, 1996
Chapter II: ʟsᴅ, Ololiuhqui, Kykeon: The Ergoline Complex
Section: LSD AND MORNING GLORY SEEDS AS LUDIBLE DRUGS (pages 136-137)
Because of my interest in natural ergolines, I recently uploaded this entire chapter: https://files.catbox.moe/58pcay.pdf And the full book is on the Internet Archive, but it's not directly downloadable, but one can manipulate the Sources feature in Chrome's Developer Tools (i.e. the pages pop up as one flips pages under ia804609.us.archive.org).
In the late fifties, a new tranquilizer known as Thalidomide was admitted for medical use in Germany and other countries. It becamse apparent that the drug was strongly teratogenic, that is, that it produced grave birth defects if taken at the wrong time by pregnant women. The tragic result was a generation of “Thalidomide babies” with hideous and crippling deformities. The drug was immediately taken off the market, and regulations concerning the introduction of new drugs were tightened considerably in many countries.
At this time, under the trade name Delysid, ʟsᴅ-25 was being distributed as an experimental drug by Sandoz ʟᴛᴅ. of Switzerland (see Chapter 2). Since the drug was thought to produce a “model psychosis,” Sandoz felt it might ultimately be an effective psychotherapeutic agent, and indeed it showed considerable promise in early trials. When in 1967 a report in the New England Journal of Medicine alleged that ʟsᴅ caused chromosome damage (Cohen et al. 1967), the scare was on. No matter that the report did not support this allegation, which in later controlled experiments proved to be false (Dishotsky et al. 1971; Tjio et al. 1969), nor show that ʟsᴅ is teratogenic (it is not). The media and governments seized this allegation as a means of attacking ʟsᴅ use, which was spreading rapidly. The media mounted a vigorous scare campaign against ʟsᴅ, which continues to this day.
ʟsᴅ users in the sixties were principally in their late teens or early twenties, and many had vivid memories of the well-publicized Thalidomide tragedy, which had been graphically and luridly chronicled by the press. Many people came to fear ʟsᴅ as a result of the scare campaign. Popular interest in ʟsᴅ had stimulated interest in other entheogenic drugs. One result was the reprinting of Huxley’s and Klüver’s hitherto obscure books on mescaline, and an increasing awareness that ʟsᴅ was not the only entheogenic drug.
Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Jonathan Ott, 1993, 1996
Chapter 1: Mescaline, Péyotl, San Pedro, Phenethylamines
Section: NON-INDIAN USE OF PÉYOTL AND MESCALINE (p. 97)
References:
Cohen, M.M. et al. 1967. “In vivo and in vitro chromosomal damage induced by LSD-25” New England Journal of Medicine 227: 1043.
Weil, A.T. 1972. The Natural Mind—A New Way of Looking at Drugs and the Higher Consciousness. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, ᴍᴀ. Revised edition in 1986. The Natural Mind—An Investigation of Drugs and the Higher Consciousness. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, ᴍᴀ. German translation, 1974. Das Erweiterte Bewußtsein. Svattgart, Germany. Translated into Portuguese, 1975. Drogas e Estados Superiores da Consciência. Ground, São Paulo, Brasil.
Braden, W. 1970. “LSD and the press” In: Aaronson, B. and H. Osmond (Eds.) Psychedelics: The Uses and Implications of Hallucinogenic Drugs. Doubleday/Anchor, Garden City, ɴᴊ. pp. 400-418.
Bender, L. and DVS. Sankar 1968. “Chromosome damage not found in leukocytes of children treated with ʟsᴅ-25” Science 159. Letter to the editor, 10 January issue.
Dishotsky, N.I. et al. 1971. “ʟsᴅ and genetic damage” Science 172: 431.
Tjio, J.H. et al. 1969. “ʟsᴅ and chromosomes: A controlled experiment” Journal of the American Medical Association 210: 849.
The Mindbenders: Scary Drug Education Films from the 60's, volumes 1 and 2
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230530/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299036/
Downloads: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OSwyAgN0cy1JSMFD8itZ51CjcFQPgIEB?usp=drive_link (Downloaded from Something Weird Video)
Quotes from researchers:
Research concluding that LSD produced chromosome damage and birth defects appeared in prominent scientific and medical journals and was repeated often in the popular press. While these findings were soon discredited, the additional negative contribution to LSD’s reputation had been accomplished and there was no going back (Dishotsky, Loughman, Mogar, & Lipscomb, 1971; Presti & Beck, 2001).
Dishotsky, N. I., Loughman, W. D., Mogar, R. E., & Lipscomb, W. R. (1971). LSD and genetic damage. Science, 172, 431–440.
Presti, D. E., & Beck, J. E. (2001). Strychnine and other enduring myths: Expert and user folklore surrounding LSD. In T. B. Roberts (Ed.), Psychoactive sacramentals: Essays on entheogens and religion (pp. 125–137). San Francisco: Council on Spiritual Practices
Handbook of Medical Hallucinogens (Grob & Grigsby, 2021). New York, NY: Guilford Press. ISBN 9781462551897. Chapter 8: LSD (Kristine Panik & David E. Presti), p. 169, first column
Code:
https://mcb.berkeley.edu/labs2/presti/sites/mcb.berkeley.edu.labs2.presti/files/u3/2021%20LSD%20Chapter%20Panik%20Presti.pdfWhen in 1967 a scientifically-flimsy report alleged that ʟsᴅ caused chromosome damage in human lymphocytes or white blood cells (Cohen et al. 1967), the National Institutes of Health seized the opportunity to mount a vigorous propaganda campaign, as outlined in the first chapter (Weil 1972). Significantly, this federally-endowed research organization ordered no tests to verify the preliminary report, which was taken at face value since it was welcome news to the government. The then-docile information media fell hook, line and sinker for the great chromosome-damage scare, and ʟsᴅ became the new scapegoat (Braden 1970). The media and the government played on fears generated in the public mind by the Thalidomide tragedy of the late fifties and early sixties, still a vivid and gruesome memory to ʟsᴅ users and non-users alike (see Chapter 1).
No scientific report, however, had ever demonstrated that ʟsᴅ was, like Thalidomide, a teratogen (a substance causing birth defects). When controlled studies were conducted with ʟsᴅ and chromosomes, and when long-time ʟsᴅ users were examined, it was found that there was no significant link between ʟsᴅ use and chromosome damage (Bender & Sankar 1968; Dishotsky et al. 1971; Tjio et al. 1969). It was also found that viral infections as well as many drugs, including caffeine and aspirin, could cause chromosome breaks in lymphocytes in vitro. Although ʟsᴅ use declined initially in the face of the big scare, the end result was the irreparable loss of the United States government's credibility vis á vis drugs (Weil 1972). The government attempted to foist a few other spurious scares on the public: the “flashback” scare, the ʟsᴅ-produces-psychosis scare, ad nauseam. Given the U.S. government’s lack of credibility on drug-related issues, it is not surprising that these scare tactics had only minimal, if any, efficacy at deterring the extra-medical use of ʟsᴅ.
Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Jonathan Ott, 1993, 1996
Chapter II: ʟsᴅ, Ololiuhqui, Kykeon: The Ergoline Complex
Section: LSD AND MORNING GLORY SEEDS AS LUDIBLE DRUGS (pages 136-137)
Because of my interest in natural ergolines, I recently uploaded this entire chapter: https://files.catbox.moe/58pcay.pdf And the full book is on the Internet Archive, but it's not directly downloadable, but one can manipulate the Sources feature in Chrome's Developer Tools (i.e. the pages pop up as one flips pages under ia804609.us.archive.org).
In the late fifties, a new tranquilizer known as Thalidomide was admitted for medical use in Germany and other countries. It becamse apparent that the drug was strongly teratogenic, that is, that it produced grave birth defects if taken at the wrong time by pregnant women. The tragic result was a generation of “Thalidomide babies” with hideous and crippling deformities. The drug was immediately taken off the market, and regulations concerning the introduction of new drugs were tightened considerably in many countries.
At this time, under the trade name Delysid, ʟsᴅ-25 was being distributed as an experimental drug by Sandoz ʟᴛᴅ. of Switzerland (see Chapter 2). Since the drug was thought to produce a “model psychosis,” Sandoz felt it might ultimately be an effective psychotherapeutic agent, and indeed it showed considerable promise in early trials. When in 1967 a report in the New England Journal of Medicine alleged that ʟsᴅ caused chromosome damage (Cohen et al. 1967), the scare was on. No matter that the report did not support this allegation, which in later controlled experiments proved to be false (Dishotsky et al. 1971; Tjio et al. 1969), nor show that ʟsᴅ is teratogenic (it is not). The media and governments seized this allegation as a means of attacking ʟsᴅ use, which was spreading rapidly. The media mounted a vigorous scare campaign against ʟsᴅ, which continues to this day.
ʟsᴅ users in the sixties were principally in their late teens or early twenties, and many had vivid memories of the well-publicized Thalidomide tragedy, which had been graphically and luridly chronicled by the press. Many people came to fear ʟsᴅ as a result of the scare campaign. Popular interest in ʟsᴅ had stimulated interest in other entheogenic drugs. One result was the reprinting of Huxley’s and Klüver’s hitherto obscure books on mescaline, and an increasing awareness that ʟsᴅ was not the only entheogenic drug.
Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, Their Plant Sources and History. Jonathan Ott, 1993, 1996
Chapter 1: Mescaline, Péyotl, San Pedro, Phenethylamines
Section: NON-INDIAN USE OF PÉYOTL AND MESCALINE (p. 97)
References:
Cohen, M.M. et al. 1967. “In vivo and in vitro chromosomal damage induced by LSD-25” New England Journal of Medicine 227: 1043.
Weil, A.T. 1972. The Natural Mind—A New Way of Looking at Drugs and the Higher Consciousness. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, ᴍᴀ. Revised edition in 1986. The Natural Mind—An Investigation of Drugs and the Higher Consciousness. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston, ᴍᴀ. German translation, 1974. Das Erweiterte Bewußtsein. Svattgart, Germany. Translated into Portuguese, 1975. Drogas e Estados Superiores da Consciência. Ground, São Paulo, Brasil.
Braden, W. 1970. “LSD and the press” In: Aaronson, B. and H. Osmond (Eds.) Psychedelics: The Uses and Implications of Hallucinogenic Drugs. Doubleday/Anchor, Garden City, ɴᴊ. pp. 400-418.
Bender, L. and DVS. Sankar 1968. “Chromosome damage not found in leukocytes of children treated with ʟsᴅ-25” Science 159. Letter to the editor, 10 January issue.
Dishotsky, N.I. et al. 1971. “ʟsᴅ and genetic damage” Science 172: 431.
Tjio, J.H. et al. 1969. “ʟsᴅ and chromosomes: A controlled experiment” Journal of the American Medical Association 210: 849.
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