University of Virginia Library

Notes Effects

Expert Assails Drugged Culture

By Dave Hall

Speaking before an overflow crowd
Wednesday night John Buckman,
associate professor of psychiatry at the
University Hospital emphasized the
dangers of a drug dependent society.

Dr. Buckman spoke of the recent
depolarization of the drug world,
categorizing drugs as socially approved or
disapproved, dependent upon whether or
not they destroy motivation to work.

In development, Dr. Buckman
questioned the type of experience
drug-takers seek, and how they know that
the drug will produce the desired effect.
LSD, the strongest of the hallucinogens, was
chosen for discussion. He estimated the
strength of this drug to be upwards of 150,000
times as powerful as marijuana.

Migraine Cure

Dr. Buckman read some excerpts from the
diary of Dr. Hoffman, a Swiss scientist
searching for a migraine headache cure, and the
first person to experience the effect of LSD.

Within an hour after taking the drug Dr.
Hoffman noted motor unrest, cramps, coldness,
confusion, and most markedly auditory
experiences transformed into visual effects. Dr.
Buckman stressed the fact that these reactions
to the drug were subject to many factors.

He recalled instances from his own
association with the drug in the fifties, when he
had given LSD to some of his patients in
London to analyze mental disturbances through
therapeutic age regression.

In each case the reactions were different,
the only ones common to all being dizziness,
instantaneous reversals of emotions, and in
several cases, cannibalistic illusions.

Dr. Buckman reiterated that in order to
answer the question whether or not a drug is
safe - the question for whom, and under what
conditions must first be answered.

Decongestant Trip

He noted one of his cases that had been
through practically the whole range of
hallucinogens, from marijuana to LSD, and
came to him after a bad trip on a decongestant.
In one of the several light moments of the
evening Dr. Buckman compared this to Al
Capone being jailed for tax evasion.

Turning away from the psychedelics, Dr.
Buckman discussed our growing dependence on
amphetamines and their accompanying dangers.
Besides producing high tolerance, necessitating
greater dosage with continued use they were
described as highly addictive, and often lead to
psychotic breaks in the less emotionally stable.

Commenting on the barbiturates, Dr.
Buckman placed them number one on the list
of most favored methods of suicide, and also
responsible for more deaths during withdrawal
than any other drug. Dexamyls, combinations
of amphetamines and barbiturates were also
described as habit-forming and dangerous.

When the combination of alcohol and
amphetamines was brought up, Dr. Buckman
warned that this mixture of "raw courage" and
"psychic energies" has often proved to result in
highly anti-social tendencies.

250,000 Heroin Addicts

A quarter million heroin addicts in the
United States was the next topic for discussion,
as the doctor stressed the fact that control
could be achieved only on an international
level. He went on to say that the danger of
heroin was not only the drug, but the
accompanying drug culture, the excitement of
them, and the life as a fugitive.

Whereas the average age of a heroin addict
fifteen years ago was 19, it has now dropped
down to 13 or 14. In the light of a 12 year old
addict, Dr. Buckman questioned the drug's
present day use as rebellion against a
materialistic society.

Returning to the hallucinogens, the doctor,
described the stronger forms such as LSD and
mescaline as having a chemical composition
similar to the chemical conductors within our
nervous system. These drugs though their
similarity completely disrupt the autonomic
system leading to gross emotional disturbances.

Nomenclature

It was under these effects, with a loss of all
sense of time and judgement, that Aldous
Huxley first names these drugs psychedelics.

According to Dr. Buckman, these results
in the brain's inability to function properly
with its floodgates wide open. This leads to
what is known as autoxic psychosis.

This "insanity with insight" can be endured
only when the person is emotionally stable
upon consumption, and is assured of his return
from the trip. When asked if after repeated
successful trips a person could be confident of
continued success, the doctor said no, but
guaranteed a bad trip if taken alone and
depressed.

In commenting on the upcoming state
legislation, Dr. Buckman expressed optimism
concerning its passage. Under the new
legislation, punishment will depend more on
amount of drugs, than possession itself.

The proposed legislation classifies the first
offense of marijuana possession as a
misdemeanor, carrying with it a 0-12 month
suspendable sentence, at the end of which the
offense is removed from the record.

The second offense of marijuana possession,
and the first of hashish, is a felony, and is
punishable by a 0-40 year sentence. A bill
making it a misdemeanor to be in the same
building with someone smoking marijuana was
introduced but was defeated.