I think you've hit the proverbial nail on the head David. It always
amazes me how many people believe the "LSD stays in your body forever"
myth who should know better. I mean, LSD is a relatively simple
molecule and like most every biologically active molecule (with the
exception of some like the heavy metals... and that's an entirely
different story), there are both active and passive degradation
processes. Why would LSD be any different? It's not just students who
erroneously hold some of these beliefs. I have met faculty with Ph.D.s
who have a vague "feeling" that LSD is somehow intrinsically different
than other molecules. It's weird.
On Oct 3, 2006, at 7:43 PM, David Epstein wrote:
Student B: I was told in rehab that LSD pools at the base of the
spinal cord, and that people try to pop their backs to release the
LSD and experience a flashback.
Wikipedia mentions that, though without the popping:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Drug_urban_legends#Retention_of_LSD_in_spinal_fluid>
I take it to be a potpourri of several different urban legends,
including these:
--"LSD stays in your body forever." It's not clear how that legend
began, except that people will believe almost anything about a drug
that induces an intense 12-hour experience at nearly microscopic
doses.
--"Ecstasy drains your spinal fluid." This is generally believed to
be a misreading of studies in which Ecstasy users are tested for
signs of serotonin depletion by undergoing spinal taps, which do
indeed "drain your spinal fluid." A variant of this one is "Ecstasy
stays in your spinal fluid."
Stir it all up, run it through a couple of schoolyards and
instant-messaging sessions, and you can come out with almost anything!
--David Epstein
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
---
To make changes to your subscription go to:
http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?
enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
========================================================
Steven M. Specht, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Utica College
Utica, NY 13502
(315) 792-3171
"Mice may be called large or small, and so may elephants, and it is
quite understandable when someone says it was a large mouse that ran up
the trunk of a small elephant" (S. S. Stevens, 1958)
---
To make changes to your subscription go to:
http://acsun.frostburg.edu/cgi-bin/lyris.pl?enter=tips&text_mode=0&lang=english
