Fairly interesting post, especially for those who weren't aware that hallucinogens sometimes cause minor hallucinations indefinitely, but arguments like the conclusions section are why we need to, as a society, beat "the plural of anecdote is not data" into every single person's head.
Some people have a negative reaction to LSD. Some people don't. Some people have a positive reaction to LSD. Some don't. What's missing, crucially, is the only useful information- how many of each there are. There is nothing else that is relevant! If "some guy had a bad time" was a robust argument for "never ever do this thing", it would be a bad idea to do anything ever.
> Reading reddit anecdata about how LSD has changed people’s lives for the better - and the army of comments that dogpile on, agreeing - makes me upset at their naiveity and harmful promotion
It is indeed naive to think that some random guy on the internet talking about their experience is useful. Now how did we decide it was "harmful promotion" again?
Some people have a negative reaction to LSD. Some people don't. Some people have a positive reaction to LSD. Some don't. What's missing, crucially, is the only useful information- how many of each there are. There is nothing else that is relevant! If "some guy had a bad time" was a robust argument for "never ever do this thing", it would be a bad idea to do anything ever.
> Reading reddit anecdata about how LSD has changed people’s lives for the better - and the army of comments that dogpile on, agreeing - makes me upset at their naiveity and harmful promotion
It is indeed naive to think that some random guy on the internet talking about their experience is useful. Now how did we decide it was "harmful promotion" again?