‘Brit Tabloid Backlash Fury’ Over LSD’s Resurgence in Popularity

Scummy British tabloid ‘The Daily Star’ (considered by many to be a small step up from The Daily Sport in terms of journalistic integrity) ran the following story on their website today:

After we complained to the editor The Daily Star changed the article’s headline to the “more accurate” but equally misleading and disingenuous:

These sensationalist headlines come in the wake of reports that LSD usage has increased among young people in Britain (almost doubling in the last year).

The article then goes on to speak about totally unrelated deaths in the area that were caused by dodgy ecstasy pills, you know: the kind that end up floating around countries where prohibitions makes safety and regulation take a back-seat. Nonetheless, the article seems to use these tragedies to further an anti-LSD agenda the newspaper appears to have.

Now, whilst it is “accurate” to say that he is “fighting for his life after taking LSD” it would be just as accurate to replace LSD with any previous life event or action – this would be just as accurate. It’s a wording that allows the insult-to-journalism that is The Daily Star to make LSD seem dangerous even though there is no actual evidence that LSD has caused the medical conditions being associated with it.

It’s also interesting to note that ‘lysergic acid diethylamide’ is referred to as ‘hippy acid’, I wonder what the psychology behind that choice of language might be? A kind of tribalistic hatred of the peace-loving counter culture: the kind of counter-culture that, if it were normalised, would spell the end of the hate-mongering tabloid newspaper industry.

At least The Mirror, with an equally dodgy headline:

Wrote, “The hallucinogenic drug rarely leads to death, however the man, 20, was rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital at around 9.45pm on Friday.” and accurately clarified: “The drug is not known for being lethal, and drugs advice charity Talk to Frank said there is no evidence to suggest LSD does any long-term damage to the body or the brain, although it can have serious implications for people with a history of mental illness.”

Well, just to remind the writers at The Daily Star, and it’s unfortunate readers:

• “No well-documented human deaths resulting directly from the toxic effects of LSD itself have occurred”. (Haddad and Winchester,1990)
• Lethal doses of LSD are reckoned to be at least 100 times the regular dose, meaning accidental overdose is highly unlikely.
• LSD has repeatedly been deemed to be considerably safer than alcohol (and even cannabis!) and is considered one of the safest recreational drugs available:

• 

  Source: Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs

Well, the Oxbridge graduates who run these tabloids may have successfully deceived the young people of the 60s and 70s, turning them away from the profound tool for human development that is LSD: but young people today have the internet, they know to trust the science instead of tabloid spin, and they have access to an endless supply of positive trip-reports on websites like Erowid where they can find honest accounts of different drugs.

The Psychedelic Revolution took a big hit because of papers just like The Daily Star, but now it is being revitalised and there’s nothing the establishment can do to stop it. Lies and deceptions are temporary: but the truth remains; LSD is a tool for good.

Perhaps, given The Daily Star’s obvious concern for human safety, they should combat our country’s culture of drinking the far more toxic drug of alcohol? Or advocate for the regulation and control of drugs: the only way recreational drugs will ever become truly safe?