THE TRIP

We hope you make it back!

Posted By: Paul - Sat Jan 27, 2018 - Comments (1)
Category: Drugs, Psychedelic, Movies, Music, Pop Art, Surrealism, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1960s

Smoking Ants

The earliest report I can find of people in the Persian Gulf smoking ants is the one below, from 1994. But news stories have continued to report this practice. This one from 2008 explains that it's specifically the red samsun ant that's smoked, and explains, "Smoking the red ant gives a similar sensation to smoking marijuana and sniffing glue because of the high concentration of formic acid found in the ants."

Honolulu Advertiser - Sep 11, 1994

Brachyponera sennaarensis
Image via antweb

Posted By: Alex - Sat Jan 06, 2018 - Comments (7)
Category: Drugs, Smoking and Tobacco

The Door From Which There Is No Escape

Original ad here.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 12, 2017 - Comments (6)
Category: Drugs, PSA's, 1970s

Hippy Sippy

Hippy Sippy consisted of tiny chocolate balls packaged in a container that looked like a hypodermic needle. The chocolate balls were sucked out through the "needle." The candy was introduced in 1968, but was pulled from shelves within a year because of popular outrage.

It reminds me of the Chilly Bang! Bang! juice-filled squirt gun.

More info: Box Vox

Camden Courier-Post - Oct 19, 1968

Posted By: Alex - Fri Jun 30, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Drugs, Candy

Blind Man’s Penis

The full story here.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jun 27, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Drugs, Music, Bohemians, Beatniks, Hippies and Slackers, 1970s, Eyes and Vision, Genitals

Caffeinism

March 1985: Sgt. Joseph Mitlof of the NYPD realized that the 30 cups of coffee a day he was drinking might have been contributing to his anxiety problems. In fact, he was suffering from "caffeinism."

Tallahassee Democrat - Mar 20, 1985

I had never heard of such a thing as "caffeinism," but it turns out the term is over 100 years old. A 1979 article in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis offered the following definition:

Burlington Daily Times - Mar 5, 1968

I only drink one cup of coffee a day, first thing in the morning. I think I'm good.

Posted By: Alex - Mon Jun 19, 2017 - Comments (3)
Category: Drugs, Health

Drug-Carrying Pigeons

Same method, 95 years apart.

The Pittsburgh Press - Mar 8, 1922

Pigeon caught with backpack of drugs
BBC News - May 25, 2017

Posted By: Alex - Fri May 26, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Animals, Drugs

Runaway Groom

Original article here.

Posted By: Paul - Sat Apr 01, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Drugs, Marriage, 1950s, Brain Damage

Reverse Tolerance

I had never heard of "reverse tolerance" before, but apparently it's a real thing. It describes a condition in which some habitual users of a drug will, over time, require less of the drug (instead of more) to achieve the same effect. It's most often discussed with reference to marijuana, but sometimes alcohol also.

One theory is that marijuana accumulates in the body for a long time and that's what produces the effect -- i.e. you think you may be having just a little, but you've already got a lot in you. Another theory is that it's just a psychological illusion. As users become more familiar with how to smoke it, they do so more efficiently and learn to identify the effects earlier. Therefore, they think they need less to achieve the same effect.

When people develop a reverse tolerance to alchol, it's usually because of liver damage. They lose the ability to break down alcohol, so a little bit produces a big effect.

Minneapolis Star Tribune - Dec 18, 1970

St. Cloud Times - Feb 17, 1973

Posted By: Alex - Wed Mar 22, 2017 - Comments (0)
Category: Drugs

Timothy Leary:  While Birds Sing

Album info and track listing.

Let me know when you bail!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Mar 09, 2017 - Comments (2)
Category: Drugs, Psychedelic, Music, Surrealism, 1960s, 1970s, 1990s