[4 articles]
Are Kids Getting High Off of 'Digital Drugs'?
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/07/16/idosing/
By: Kayla Webley
July 2010
D.A.R.E. to keep kids off headphones.
It's no secret that music can have psychedelic effects (ever heard of
the Pink Floyd laser show?), but these days teens are taking things
to a whole new level with I-dosing. Dubbed "the latest Internet
trend," I-dosing involves listening to two-toned audio files meant to
alter your brain waves in the same way that alcohol, marijuana or
other drugs might.
A quick YouTube search for "idoser" turns up pages of videos, some of
which have hundreds of thousands of page views. One video shows three
boys after they "take a hit" of digital drugs said to induce hard
laughing and shaking (and, unless these boys are faking it, they do).
Other videos show I-dosers laughing incessantly on nitrous and
seemingly tormented by an I-dose of Gates of Hades.
Though the websites tout the downloads as a safe, legal way to get
high, the digital drugs have parents crying "gateway." Concerns that
I-dosing could lead to experimentation with other drugs has lead to
the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics issuing a warning to parents. "Kids
are going to flock to these sites to see what it's about and it can
lead them other places," one official warned. But how is it possible
for parents and schools to crack down on a "drug" that kids can
access online, for free? After all, the only necessary supplies are a
computer and a set of headphones no bongs required.
But, seriously, sitting in a dark room listening to binaural tracks
hoping to get high? No thanks. I pass on digital grass. And, kiddies,
you should too.
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Digital Drugs: high or hoax?
http://www.kxii.com/news/headlines/98638834.html
Jul 16, 2010
by Heather Sahr
SHERMAN, TX-- Some call it I-dosing, others refer to it as
recreational simulations; videos called "Digital Drugs" are popping
up across Youtube.
They claim to give those who watch or listen, a high similar to that
of drugs like LSD, cocaine or marijuana.
The catch is- it's legal.
If you don't know what you're listening to, it may just sound like a
bunch of random noise.
But, some claim this series of sound waves travels through the brain,
providing a desired high.
Others, like psychologist Jill Schurr, say you shouldn't fall for the
digital drug fad.
"The research on the effects of music on mood in general are mixed,
inconclusive at best," Shurr, said.
But, it's not the method of trying to get high that has authorities
worried, it's the fact that teenagers are being targeted, and that
they're looking for the experience in the first place.
"Drugs are illegal because they're dangerous," Sergeant Bruce Dawsey,
with the Sherman Police Department, said. "That's the bottom line. If
your kids are wanting to see what it's like and think this is a safe
alternative, then they're getting pretty close to actually trying it."
Youtube is full of kids from across the country, claiming to
experience highs from digital drugs.
There's even a website that plays a variety of different audio
samples depending on the high a user wants to simulate.
But, psychologists say the mood changing effects of sounds, are not
much different than the Placebo effect.
"When they talk about something having the same effect as cocaine,
marijuana, opiates, those are three completely different classes of
drugs, with three completely different chemical effects on the brain.
There's no way that music would be able to mimic the chemical effects
on the brain," Shurr, said.
And no matter how legal the recreational simulations are, authorities
say they can still lead to behaviors that are dangerous.
"The reason these illegal drugs are illegal is because they can hurt
you, so trying to find a safe alternative, there's no such thing,
because anything that's going to have the same effect, is going to
have a negative effect on the body," Sgt. Dawsey, said.
--------
I-Dosing: Digital Drugs and Binaural Beats
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-20/201007/i-dosing-digital-drugs-and-binaural-beats
Are kids getting high on digital drugs?
July 14, 2010
by Ron S. Doyle
Forget the medical marijuana dispensaries popping up on every street
corner in California and Colorado. There's a new drug in town: it's
called Idozer.
Simply put, i-dosing is the attempt to achieve a perceived drug
"high" from listening specially-engineered sounds and music.
Purveyors of this new market of "legal drugs" claim that different
"digital drug recordings" can simulate the euphoric effects of
marijuana, anti-depressant prescription drugs, LSD, ecstasy,
cocaine... if Keith Richards tried it, they've got a song for it.
But really, Idozer (or I-doser as it is also known) is an extremely
old "drug" in a new package. And breathe easy my fellow
parentsbecause it's not really a drugit's binaural beat therapy.
In 1839, Heinrich Wilhelm Dove discovered that two constant tones,
played at slightly different frequencies in each ear, cause the
listener to perceive the sound of a fast-paced beat. Calling this
phenomenon "binaural beats," Dove helped launch two centuries of
legitimate research and, as is almost always followed by exciting
empirical study, money-grabbing pseudoscience.
First, the facts: Binaural beat therapy has been used in clinical
settings to research hearing and sleep cycles, to induce various
brain wave states, and treat anxiety.
But there are more controversial (dare I say dubious?) claims
associated with binaural beats: Increased dopamine and beta-endorphin
production, faster learning rates, improved sleep cycles, and yes, if
you dig around less scientific communities like, oh, MySpace and
YouTube, you'll find kids telling each other that "dude, those beats
get you like totally high."
If you've wandered through a Brookstone or Sharper Image store in
your local shopping mall and noticed sleep therapy or
"brain-controller" devices for sale, that's just an upper middle
class, "I need to stop thinking about my 401(k)" version of the same
digital drug that the new crop of seedy i-dosing websites are
offering to teens.
Is it a real drug? Probably not.
Is there a decent chance that you'll hear more about this in the next
couple of weeks as the media and the easily excitable public gets
whipped up into a fast-paced, dissonant frequency frenzy? Yeah, most likely.
Is it a sign that teenage culture is still obsessed withand actively
seekingexperimentation with drugs and altered states? You bet.
With all the truly dangerous drugs out there accessible by your kids,
I'd place Idozer on the low priority list for now. But if you happen
to notice that your teenager has stopped listening to Tokyo Hotel or
Timbaland and started listening to mind-numbing pink noise, perhaps
it's time for a mature dialogue about the source of their motivations.
Or, you can just sneak into their iTunes playlist and upload Pink
Floyd's Atom Heart Motherbecause truly drug-induced music can be
enough to scare anyone straight.
--------
Experts Skeptical About 'Digital Drugs' Claims by Teens
http://www.livescience.com/technology/experts-skeptical-about-digital-drugs-claims-by-teens-100715.html
By Stuart Fox
15 July 2010
Between smoking banana peels, suffocating each other and eating
nutmeg, it seems like teenagers will do nearly anything to get the
high associated with illegal drug use. But if educators at Mustang
High School in Mustang, Oklahoma are to be believed, an even more
unlikely pseudo-drug has found its way into common use: psychedelic
music and tones that can be downloaded through the Internet.
But drug experts are highly skeptical that such "digital drugs," or
"i-doses" as some are calling it, are actually harmful or addictive.
Teenagers at the high school claim that listening to these
monotonous, layered sounds in a dark room can cause the same effects
as ingesting illegal drugs like marijuana or LSD. The problem has
reached the point where Mustang High School recently sent a letter to
parents warning them about this growing trend.
However, the parents shouldn't worry, as the music almost certainly
does not cause a high, or encourage future drug use, said Harriet de
Wit, the principle investigator of the University of Chicago's human
behavioral pharmacology lab.
Although experiments show that the expectation of getting high can
enhance the symptoms associated with drugs, even when someone takes a
placebo instead, no sound or music could trigger the exact pathways
activated by specific drugs like PCP or Quaaludes, de Wit said. [Read
"12 Trippy Apps for your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch"]
http://www.ipadnewsdaily.com/12-trippy-apps-for-your-iphone-ipad-and-ipod-touch-0702/?option=com_content&view=article&id=0449
Similarly, even if the teenagers did experience some form of placebo
effect, it wouldn't be strong enough to cause addiction or the
decision making and coordination impairments that results from taking
drugs like ketamine and peyote, de Wit said.
"It's unlikely to cause any problems," de Wit said.
The Placebo effect "is a very moderate effect, and the problems you
see with drugs are associated with high dosages."
.
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