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In this spooky Halloween-themed blog post, we explore some of the most disturbing and shocking cases of psychedelic use gone wrong. From cults to MKUltra, these stories will make you think twice about psychedelic stereotypes!

In the corner of the dark, cold storage room of my family’s basement, a collection of fascinating books awaits. Broadly about altered states of consciousness, but mostly about psychedelics, this collection covers the history, science, and cultural impact of psychedelics and altered states. Almost entirely non-fiction – with the exception of the semi-fictional narrative portions of PIHKAL and TIHKAL – the collection contains diverse formats, including hardcopies, paperbacks, digital copies, a signed copy, and limited-edition publications. Stacked precariously on top of a dresser, they await their next psychedelic-curious reader. This is their story.

Psychedelics allow us to move away from this three-dimensional world – a place where we usually only believe what our five senses can perceive, where time plays out in chronological order, where our logical minds usually lead us to answers, and where we usually rely on proof and data over intuition – to a place of logical fallacy, mystery, wonder, magic, dreams, oneness, fullness, and more fantastical ideas.

As I continued deeper into NIO-5, my direct experience became akin to watching the falling of leaves. Just as my gaze cannot dictate the spin of falling leaves, I could not dictate movements of my body – yet, I moved forward.

As the ship approached NIO-5, the engine was turned off, allowing the ship’s inertia to carry it to the destination on the surface. Despite my best efforts to cultivate psychological poise in the face of this journey, I was occupied with a nervous habit of clicking my teeth together in a repeating pattern: twice on the left, once on the right, and three times altogether.

By Evan Laughlin
We know psychedelics can be helpful, but do we need to trip to get the benefits?

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