CONTRARY TO HERALD REPORTS, LSD IS BAD

To the Editor:

The "Psychedelic Art Extravaganza" ("Hallucination artwork stresses
connectedness, creators say," March 12) presents a limited picture of
both creative artistry and the use of psychedelic drugs. More than any
other drug, a person's mood and expectations will affect their
experience using psychedelics (usually LSD or mushrooms).

If people are anxious or upset, or they become anxious or upset after
taking these drugs, they will probably have a bad trip. A bad trip can
cause terrifying thoughts and feelings, despair, nausea, fear of
losing control and fear of death. These problems are worse for people
with underlying mental health problems like severe depression,
schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Fatal accidents can occur if a user hallucinates safe situations when
they are actually in danger. Flashbacks of a bad trip can occur long
after someone has tried psychedelics, and you can't predict when they
will happen.

Finally, equating drug use with good art undermines the reality that
hard work, talent and creativity are what make great artists great. I
have an artist friend who creates incredible video images with
psychedelic themes. You could look at his work and see the same
"interconnectedness," "mental stimulation" and "hypnotic imagery" that
these artists use to describe their work. And he never uses drugs.

Frances Mantak

Director of Health Education