I recently came across an article on
Don Ausman, a 22-year-old college student who stabbed himself in the chest while tripping on Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds. The article is your typical news item about the dangers of legal hallucinogens like Salvia, but it made me wonder how often people on psychedelics try to stab themselves. There is an article from last year about a man who
stabbed himself in the neck with a broken bottle while doing mushrooms, and I recently heard an account of a Pacific Northwest group ayahuasca session where one of the participants (a veteran brew drinker) sliced his stomach open with a knife while high.
Until I read the story about the man who stabbed himself in the neck broke last year I had never heard of anyone trying to cut or stab themselves while tripping; now it is like a trend. Unlike jumping from a high place, which is attributed to people thinking they can fly, stabbing yourself is a very violent method of reality testing that does not compute with the popular notion of the psychedelic experience. I would like to think behavior like this only happens in cases of overdose when the subject goes completely psychotic, but there is no way to know for sure. Although it is impossible to say where this stabbing urge comes from, it is a good activity to put on the list of "things not to try" when you are tripping. Stabbing yourself may seem like a good idea at the time, but really it isn't. Don't do it.
You can read about it in his book "LSD Psychotherapy". Events like the ones described in the above article stress why it is so important to always have a sober sitter nearby, even if you're an experienced user.
2. Fire burns
3. You cannot fly. You'd think these would be good enough general rules, but hell - why not add "blood stays on the inside?"
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