LSD-25 is a colourless, odourless, tasteless and virtually undetectable derivative of a rye mould called ergot. The use of sugar cubes as a medium was discontinued several years ago. Dosage is fantastically small, 50 to 1000 micrograms per dose, so capsules and tablets are used to reduce evaporation. Price varies from 3 to 7 dollars and it is only sold on the black market. Prior to 1964 the drug was administered by psychologists and psychiatrists. However, it is now illegal for them to do so. Despite its illegal status, LSD is very popular among teenagers and college students. An entire sub-culture of psychedelic (mind-manifesting) posters, light shows, and electronic music has emerged on the West Coast. Most of the Pop music has hidden drug references. A recent survey indicated that over 50% of the students graduating from the Los Angeles City School System had tried either LSD or marijuana.
Marijuana is the most popular of the psychedelic drugs. One ounce may be readily purchased for $10 and will furnish 30-50 cigarettes or “joints”. A smoker quickly progresses from the one ounce “lids” to purchasing a “brick” or “kilo”. This is a kilogram (2.2 lbs) and sells for $75 to $150. Marijuana may be easily identified. It has a strong characteristic odour which is similar to fresh hay or wet, freshly cut grass. Smoking some tea leaves, rolled up into a cigarette will give you a good stable datum for identifying marijuana odour. Marijuana may be physically identified as a green or greenish brown tobacco with varying amounts of brown stems and small round seeds.
Hashish, like marijuana, comes from the female hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. When matured, the plant is hung upside down and resins collect which are dried into hashish. One gram of hashish sells for $10 and will supply 10 to 30 “hits” or periods of being “high”. Hashish is brown, tan, or black and is usually kept in tin foil. Users of both hashish and marijuana will have bloodshot eyes while under the influence. Someone under LSD may be identified by very dilated pupils.
Peyote “buttons” are several inches in diameter and come from the peyote cactus of S.W. America. The pure form of the drug is a synthetic (white) or natural (brown) powder called mescaline. A beefed-up version of this drug was recently made available but was, as of June 1968, unnamed.
Another new drug is STP. This drug is much more powerful than even LSD. As of June 1968, STP was waning in use as people found its results too unpredictable.
One other drug worth mentioning is DMT. This drug is smoked or injected and has immediate effects which end in about an hour. It may be identified by an odour similar to moth balls and is either a white powder or soaked into a medium such as pot or tobacco.
Marijuana is basically a very mild drug which creates euphoria. Also it has the unpleasant consequence of distorting the senses of the user to the point that people on “trips” have been known to open the door of a car going 80 mph and step out “since they could walk faster”.
The remaining psychedelic drugs are much more powerful and will strongly influence a pc.
It was found in L. A. that over a period of several months (4-6) every single income slump was traced to the accidental acceptance of one or more drug (LSD, etc) users into the Academy and/or HGC and traced as well to the spreading waves of chaos in attempts to handle their “disagreements” with the tech, demands for special handling and no case gain.
The “trips” that a drug user goes on tend to produce stuck points on the track with much fixation of attention on that area. Bad “trips” tend to act like Super Engrams collapsing the track at that point.
Users of drugs cannot as-is, do not get TA, nor do they have cognitions.