Anarchism

Anarchafeminism

Anarchist University

Trips

reviewed by Chuck0

Trips: How Hallucinogens Work in Your Brain by Cheryl Pellerin (Seven Stories Press, 140 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013, 1998) 262pp. $23.95 softcover

It has often been said that the first casualty in war is the truth. The same can be said about the ongoing war on drugs. A great avalanche of poorly written anti-drug propaganda has been published—I should know because I cataloged it at one time. What is really needed are some fresh materials on drugs, which clearly explain how drugs work and cut through all of the politics. Fortunately, Trips is a step in the right direction.

First off, it should be noted that Trips is lavishly illustrated with comics from the 60s and 70s, including comics by artists S. Clay Wilson, R. Crumb,Victor Moscoso, Rick Griffin, Spain Rodriguez and many others. These old undergound comics greatly add to the book and evoke an era when hallucinogens were becoming widely popular. Ellen Seefelt contributes some excellent science illustrations, which are very helpful when the author explains the chemical processes behind hallucinogens.

One of the helpful things about Trips is how Pellerin explains the scientific process in layperson's terms. She narrates several stories about scientists and research, such as Albert Hoffman, who discovered various synthetic hallucinogens, including the notable accidental discovery of LSD. Science is also a highly political process and it and research often gets swept away by public hysteria. Lots of bad policies are made based on misunderstandings of scientific discoveries and the research process. One example detailed in Trips is the process in the late 60s when LSD was demonized in the media, which led to it becoming a scheduled (illegal or controlled) substance. Scientists throughout the 60s had been performing thousands of studies on LSD and other hallucinogens, including research on using the drugs to treat alcoholism and mental diseases. A few published studies were taken out of context by the media and this was compounded by hysterical journalistic accounts that spread misinformation about drug-crazed hippies. The end result was that a useful, pleasurable drug was banned and almost all medical research on hallucinogens was stopped.

Trips also covers lesser known hallucinogens such as ayahuasca, DMT, psilocybin, igobaine, and many others. She explains how these substances work in the body, with lengthy explanations on neurochemistry and how the brain works. Pellerin gives us a tour through government agencies and their policies on drug use and abuse. This tour includes questions and answers from the author's interviews with various officials. This tour is followed by a summary of current research and possible directions in the 21st century for hallucinogen research.

The book concludes with an excellent bibliography and a resource guide to Internet sites. The resource guide includes resources from all points of view—it's encouraging that the author encourages readers to be skeptical about all information they come across, including “authoritative” websites.

It looks like the façade of Drug War lies is starting to crumble. One of the positive signs that people want accurate information and research into the effects of scheduled drugs is the widespread success in recent years of medical marijuana referenda. There is a great deal of misinformation out there about hallucinogenic drugs, most of it concocted by government agencies and spread by mainstream media and opportunistic politicians. Thankfully, Trips is an excellent antidote to the avalanche of Drug War misinformation.

-C.M.

This review originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 1999 issue of Alternative Press Review.