White Rabbit
A psychedelic holiday.
One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she's ten feet tall
Songwriter: Grace Wing Slick.
Morena, all, and a happy Bicycle Day to you.
Today is an unofficial celebration of the dawning of the psychedelic era, commemorating the first LSD trip, taken by chemist Albert Hofmann in 1943 while working in the laboratory. The effects of this first dose were experienced on his ride home from work, which was by bicycle, due to wartime restrictions.
“Hofmann became anxious as objects in his field of vision wavered and distorted as if seen in a convex mirror. Upon arriving home, Hofmann's condition rapidly deteriorated as he struggled with feelings of anxiety, alternating in his beliefs that the next-door neighbour was a malevolent witch, that he was going insane, and that the LSD had poisoned him.”
Dr Hoffman’s first trip wasn’t actually on the 19th; it took place on the 16th. However, in 1985, when the name “Bicycle Day” was chosen, that date fell midweek, so they opted for the 19th instead as a better day to have a party. It’s hard to fault the logic.
Interviewed shortly before his 100th birthday, Hofmann, who continued to take small doses of LSD throughout his life, called the drug “medicine for the soul”, and he was frustrated by its worldwide prohibition. Albert died at the age of 102 from a heart attack in 2008.
Apparently, and this was news to me, Bicycle Day is celebrated by taking psychedelics and riding a bike. Wikipedia states that sometimes this bike riding is part of a parade, although I’m unclear whether the parade is real or being experienced, as Mr. Hendrix might’ve said.
“LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide, is a powerful psychedelic drug that intensifies thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. It is often referred to as "acid" and can lead to mystical, spiritual, or religious experiences. LSD is typically taken by ingesting a blotter paper tab.”
The use of the drug expanded during the 1960s, from the Beatles’ evening with Doctor Robert to the psychedelia of early Pink Floyd, the tragic casualty of Syd Barrett, and the Grateful Dead. The mind-altering acid has influenced much music and on-screen entertainment.
Hold on tight!
Roll forward more than half a century, and consideration is being given to the therapeutic effects of psychedelics and the use of small, microdoses to assist with depression, anxiety, and other conditions.
The 2024 New Zealand drugs trend survey indicated that “around a quarter of new users of psychedelics, ketamine and MDMA (ecstasy) said they were doing so for therapeutic purposes, rather than recreation.”
Of course, LSD is a harder sell to a conservative public than medicinal cannabis, but gradually, governments are opening their minds to the possibilities.
Around the world…
Colorado has recently begun issuing licences to provide psychedelic mushrooms. In 2020, Oregon passed a ballot measure that decriminalised psilocybin and legalised supervised use for non-medical purposes. In the Bahamas, you can possess psilocybin but not sell it. Magic mushrooms have never been illegal in Jamaica.
The Czech Republic has decriminalised personal possession of small amounts of psilocybin, MDMA, LSD and peyote. Portugal has long decriminalised the personal possession and use of all drugs. And in Albert Hoffman’s Switzerland, he of the famous bicycle trip, substance use is decriminalised.
On our side of the planet, the Aussies have made significant changes to the law, while matters are still under consideration here:
“Australia has become the first country to classify psychedelics as medicines at a national level in an attempt to address mental health illnesses, with one prominent New Zealand ED doctor saying they could potentially be used here.”
The ED doctor mentioned in the article from two years ago is none other than Dr Gary Payinda, who many of us now recognise as someone worth listening to. He expressed concerns as well as enthusiasm for the clinical benefits, saying:
“They should be introduced into clinical practice as part of a rigorously controlled clinical trial or at the very least a clinical registry. Instead, Australia is opening the door to clinical use with the most minimal of record-keeping requirements. And no real clinical oversight, uniform guidelines, or supervisory authority.
We don’t want to repeat with MDMA and psilocybin, the regulatory failure that is the child vaping epidemic in New Zealand. Allowing private for-profit clinics to sell the drugs means profits over patients, and private clinics replacing drug dealers as the suppliers of choice.”
In my view, the legalisation of Cannabis is a no-brainer; it’s less dangerous than alcohol, but there are clearly risks associated with taking hallucinogens.
More progressive jurisdictions are recognising that drug use should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal one, especially when there is potential to utilise treatments to improve lives.
And let's be honest, there are benefits to seeing the world in different ways; I mean, this image might not be real, but doesn’t it make you like Christopher Luxon a little more?
How about Nicola, in the bunny suit? You didn’t think that was Amanda, did you? As you might've seen this week, she’s far too busy with BFF Paddy Gower.
I don’t know what Paddy’s on, but surely this can’t be real. I mean, who the hell would listen to a Petra Bagust podcast?
I thought perhaps Gower had hit rock bottom before stopping drinking, but this was seriously grim and made you wonder just how desperate Stuff is to fluff the Luxons.
In fairness, on occasion, Paddy has had something sensible to say; for example, this from a couple of years ago:
Speaking of cancer patients dealing “with anxiety, depression, pain, regrets and fear,” Paddy said:
“MDMA can help with all that. That's why there are clinical trials about to get underway for terminal cancer patients here in New Zealand.
With 40 years of the 'War on Drugs, ' the World had its blinkers on. Nobody looked at the good this stuff could do. Now there's a global revolution of science. And it's not just MDMA but other potential medicines like LSD, Ketamine, and Mushrooms.”
You might recall Paddy ambushing Luxon and Chippy during the election debates, asking them whether they had taken MDMA:
Hmm, now I’m concerned about the power of suggestive marketing.
If you’re feeling warmly towards Luxon, associating him with chocolate eggs and considering voting for him next year, maybe check out the following video.
Would you buy deodorant from this man, much less elect him to run your country?
The accent is quite a trip, eh? Although I can’t pick the destination, I suppose it’s somewhere in the mid-Pacific.
It makes the one affected by David Seymour in Canada seem authentic. I am kidding, Seymour’s was hilarious, if you missed this a year or so back:
Well that’s probably enough nonsense from me for today. Have a great day all of you lovely people. To end, it’s White Rabbit, by Jefferson Airplane, from Woodstock.
I watched that Paddy Gower bit on Amanda Luxon. If nothing else, I know I am conscious of the rising contempt inside me and the temptation to 'hate on' people. I don't want that kind of shit going on in my mind /body and I am trying to not personalise my political beliefs. But it's soooooo hard.........
Yeaterday when I saw Luxo and the white rabbit I wondered first of all if he had had it created. I'm assuming ing not.
Part of the stress of current times is knowing which images capture real people and events and which are phtotoshopped or AI. Some folk like you Nick inform us of the source but others don't.
Psyshodelic drugs, particularly LSD pervaded the social environment when I was at University in the early 70's. A number of friends 'tripped' regularly. I didn't at that time. I was involved in a dance group at weekends and had fairly full on weeks with science study so little spare time for 8 hour trips and 8 hour recovery. I also had a relative who had visual and auditory hallucinations without chemical enhancement, so was skeptical about the wisdom of embarking on inducing these.
I listened to many experiences of good trips and bad trips and thought that for any who struggled with keeping hold of reality then it certainly wasn't to be undertaken lightly. Psychedelic colours pervaded the fashion trends.
A bit later while traveling I did eat magic mushrooms, with a friend who had quite a lot of experience. I found it an intense but not unpleasant experience. I think probably more earthed than trips that others had reported on acid. The day after felt fresh and bright and a bit like a 'vacuum cleaner' had been through my brain. I think if people have good guidance and know what to expect then the possibility of helping those stuck in depression is a possibility.
In a world that presents daily 'is this really happening moments?' I think being able to differentiate real Information from disinformation and real images from generated images is increasingly important.
As for luxo I think he really is still selling deodorants and Seymour will say anything to gain power for his Atlas sponsors.