I was reading a back copy of The Journal of Drug Issues looking at an article
on additiction when I came accross annother article. A chemistry for world
peace. Willam H. McGlothlin, Journal of Drug Issues, Spring 1985, 225-245.

Ok so it is a twinkie title, however it is perhaps the best article I have
ever read on acid. The abstract;

         This paper presents an argument for research into
         the means of altering individual attitudes, values,
         and communication abilities in the direction of
         increased social empathy, which , inturn would
         produce a more favorable enviroment for resolving
         differences and facilitate peaceful negotions
         between individuals and nations. It is proposed
         that prior research with the drug d-lysergic acid
         diethylamide (LSD), shows sufficient promise in
         producing relatively long-lasting changes in the
         above areas to merit further research. Furthermore,
         the use of LSD has been demonstrated to be quite
         safe _under supervisory conditions_, i.e. the
         guided "trip." LSD is also non-toxic and
         non-addictive.
             A brief history of psychedelic drugs is
         provided along with a description of thier
         psychological effects. Some possible modes of
         action are discussed. LSD and other psychedelics
         are seen as a possible means of tapping mental
         resources which are not ordinarily available, but
         which may be of great value to the individual and
         ultimately to the society.

The man who wrote it is unfortunantly dead, he was a well recognized scholar
with a number of awards from academia and the government. He worked for RAND
for a number of years and was no brainless yammerhead (despite the twinkie
title).

The article is full of all kinds of interesting things, A very good brief
history of LSD and other psychedelics, one of the dest descriptions of an LSD
experience I have ever encountered here is part:

             About 30 minutes after ingesting LSD the
         subject normally experiences a feeling of dizziness
         or intoxication. One of the most common early
         emotional reactions is smiling and laughing, which
         sometimes develops into uncontrollable laughing
         and/or crying. With closed eyes there is a
         lightening of the normal gray-black expanse and
         almost invariably colorful and luminous geometric
         designs appear in the field of vision. They may
         change into architechtural structures which
         freaquently are in very saturated colors and appear
         to be glowing from an internal light.

He goes on to discuss changes resulting from the LSD experience (almost all are
beneficial), and then talks about side effects. One nifty factoid;

Estimated rates of Major Complications Associated with LSD

		Attempted	completed	psychotic reaction
		 suicide	 suicide	 over 48 hours

experimental
  subjects-	0/1000		0/1000		0.8/1000

patients 
  undergoing 
     therapy- 	1.2/1000	0.4/1000	1.8/1000

(w/o psychobabble that means like really fucking good)


There are also three and a half pages of cited references which alone is worth
diggin up the article.