J. Alfred Prufrock said:
I think the DOSRS Rating Scale is what would appeal to someone looking to get fucked up. Maybe that's exactly what's needed and what you intended.
You say "While there are currently several accepted scales that can roughly quantify overall level of drug effect, no scale in regular use relates the subject’s overall personal judgment of a material’s worth."
I'd like to hear about these "several accepted scales" to see how they wouldn't measure a material's worth. For example this one:
"Dose-Response Study of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine in Human. II. Subjective Effects and Preliminary Results of a New Rating Scale," Archives of General Psychiatry 51 (1994): 98-108 Rick J. Strassman, Clifford R. Qualls, Eberhard H. Uhlenhuth, and Robert Kellner.
Since you say that there are "several accepted scales", you must have references for them. What are they?
A couple of points…
In the above quote ‘in regular use’ really pertains to general non-specialist discussion of ‘Research Chemicals’ on boards such as this or in Trip Reports. One is quite aware of many alternate scales/ways of quantifying drug effects that may be used in academic research or Rx drug trials. One just does not see something like the ACRI Amphetamine Scale or some similar measure catching on in non scholarly discussions. So one created their own scale that met a couple of criteria 1) Simple to apply and understand 2) Fixed data point anchors that are sensible and realistic 3) Small number of response choices with a midpoint and two extreme points 4) Little extra effort required in order to type 5) Communicates important data.
In regard to ‘several accepted scales’ for rating psychedelic compounds one is aware of several scholarly and non-scholarly scales relevant to discussion of psychedelic drugs. Strassman’s Hallucinogen Rating Scale (HRS) (up through version 3.06 anyway), Metzner’s Altered States Graphic Profile (ASGP), Shulgin’s Rating Scale, Graeme Carl’s Psychedelic Level System, Siebert’s SALVIA Experiential Rating Scale, ‘Plateaus,’ etc.
The problem with most of the scales is that they address intensity, types of effects, duration, etc. or discus a specific experience, but do not really specifically focus on the subject’s subjective valuation of the compound in total… or if they do they tend to do so in an unwieldy manner. The 2 scales included above address 2 different things intensity of an acute experience and overall assessment of the compound in question. They may not be perfect or the only such scales, but they are compact and easy to use. Nothing like the DOSRS appears to be in general use on drug discussion boards, so there it is. In specific regard to the other scales mentioned above: Strassman has a beautiful scale… but 100 item questionnaires will not happen outside of clinical trials. Metzner’s scale is ideally for graphing over time. Shulgin’s scale gives an overview of effect intensity but does not say if a compound is worthwhile. Graeme Carl’s System may be particular to a few tryptamines. Siebert’s SALVIA Scale is clearly very drug specific. Etc. At any rate, there is really no compact way that people in a forum like this can communicate their overall subjective rating of a compound other than the DOSRS (so far as one is aware or fits the ideal criterion etc.).
Overall though, one is looking to make a better end product, so if you have some alternate suggestions in the area of scales etc. would love to hear them. Any other feedback would also be greatly appreciated.
I B
(PS Bear in mind that the above treatise was composed rather quickly so one is sure there is plenty of room for both pruning and growth)