One of the most dangerous illicit drugs now used by US residents is LSD or lysergic acid diethylamide. Its major distinctive feature is having quite specific hallucinations after the drug use. Although there are many varieties of hallucinogens, “acid” is still considered the most popular among the country’s population. Nowadays, the frequency of LSD consumption is relatively lower than in the middle of the 20th century, when there were even festivals dedicated to LSD and aesthetic outcomes of its use (Levinthal, 2014). On the one hand, such drugs as LSD are extremely dangerous due to people’s reaction to the drug. Sometimes people suffer from paranoia and panic attacks to such an extent that they commit suicide or do harm to themselves. Moreover, such hallucinations are difficult to control as the abuser’s mood can change in a split second.
On the other hand, however, hallucinogens have been regarded as a major source of creativity and inspiration for over a century. Without LSD, humanity would not have known Steve Jobs’ iPhone interface or the greatest hits of the Beatles. These celebrities, along with many artists and actors, acknowledged that their most prominent works would not be possible without using hallucinogens. Moreover, many experiments show how the human brain can be modified in the process of LSD consumption as people see regular things from an entirely new perspective. However, such a side effect does not justify drug consumption as people may lose their lives for a simple act of creation. Thus, the question here would be whether there are legal ways to achieve such levels of creativity without LSD, or people will continue putting their lives at risk in order to achieve the desired effect.
Reference
Levinthal, C. F. (2014). Drugs, behavior, and modern society. London, UK: Pearson Education.