Psychedelics in general and my personal experiences with them are discussed here.
Some people-who-must-not-be-named, with audiences numbering in the millions, promote the use of psychedelics without ever warning against the risk of hallucinogen persistent perceptive disorder (HPPD) – not even cursorily. This is not just irresponsible but also puzzling as these permanent perceptual distortions are by no means rare.
It is thought that about 4-5% of people who have ever used LSD develop HPPD – and over 50% of polydrug users are thought to have got it. As the psychiatrist Scott Alexander says in his article on the topic, if he were a “warrior on drugs” this would be included among his arsenal of major anti-drug arguments.
Weird that no one ever mentions this. The most common symptoms are visual snow (“visual static”) and perceptual geometric alterations (e.g., “breathing” walls). Below is a picture of what it is like to suffer from HPPD, created by a Reddit user.
There are two major theories on how HPPD arises:
The above is only a fraction of the article. This article is currently undergoing final revisions and is expected to be published within the next few weeks to months. To receive a notification upon its release, sign up for my newsletter.
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