Ruminations Of A Radio Therapist
Sonny Bono sat on the edge of a table, wearing a modified smoking jacket. Raising his eyebrows, he goggled into the camera and whined: "Let's talk sense, kids." It was late 1969, and most of us in that classroom, watching Bono narrating the propaganda film, we knew we were being lied to. They lied about reefer, and later about acid. We couldn't believe anything they told us after awhile. Sending Bono to warn us about drugs was the last straw. We would do anything that moron told us not to. By 1972, LSD was as common, and, we were sure, as safe as milk.
Even the jocks were dropping acid in my school. Most folks handled it just fine. After my initial dose, which somehow got into my system while I was working the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival '72, I was on a carefully unplanned, auto-anarchic program of lysergic psychotherapy: I was me own shrink! The reason I took so much of it into myself was this: I was a miserable, confused bundle of potentials, with gyrating joys and nutty inventive optimism already inside of me. Lots had gotten in the way of these simple inner gifts. LSD acted as a stabilizing agent, reaffirming everything I was born with but hadn't been able to utilize. Taking matters into my own hands, I ingested lysergic acid hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times.
l'm making this statement publicly and without any shred of apology. Because this might just be an example of why LSD and similar medications are potentially a very beneficial force for humanity. My own testimony. Do I write like a burnout? Well, l'm an unusual fellow. But I was born that way. So acid should be thanked, in my case, for providing me with access to my own potentials. Potentials which exist in everyone, and all too often are rendered nearly inaccessible by lousy lifestyles and boneheaded public schooling. And television. And sugar! And so forth.
As a caucasian male, I was sorely in need of humility. LSD, making one feel as small as one actually is in the immensity of the cosmos, was the perfect humbling agent. In this particular case it must have been the ideal choice, for I never had anything remotely resembling a bad experience. Not once.
I was lucky, you'll say. You're damned right I was. I had good advice. The Rainbow People introduced me to Dr. John, gumbo voodoo pianist from New Orleans, who advocated putting one's trust in the herbs of the Earth, rather than byproducts of the laboratories. I can still see him with Bible in hand, his gravel voice explaining why reefers are blessed: "And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, and herb, and God saw that it was goood!"
John Sinclair taught us there were Life drugs and Death drugs. We were encouraged to apply the Life drugs carefully, taking whatever steps were necessary to liberate ourselves from the frozen waste of the Death Culture. This was important guidance for young hearts willing already to apply all sorts of strange energies to themselves. LSD, originating, 1 believe, from ergot, a species of rye mold, was certainly earthy enough for my needs. And there were other choices.
On my sixteenth birthday, I arranged sixteen dried Peyote buttons in a circle on the dining room table, and consumed them one by one, washing down the dessicated cactus chunks with a pitcher of ice water. Peyote is even better when eaten fresh; the electricity when it first touches the tongue is something l'm not likely to forget. There's a gratitude in my heart. I will sing nothing but praise.
Peyote is the basis of a certain Native American religion, and it is interesting that governmental forces seem intent upon denying freedom of religious expression to the members of that church. Then again, it's in keeping with every insult ever handed to these people by the "government."
The laws are based upon fear, and greed. Anything which alters the senses must be either taxed and controlled, or proscribed with penalties attached. Peyote is an interesting choice for prohibition; one has to be ruggedly determined to have the experience, and not mind puking. The laws against cocaine, (the real Montezuma's Revenge), are at least a tiny bit easier to rationalize. Peyote is a cactus which grows in the desert, and if the government can't handle that, they should just give up the entire idea of governing. I mean really.
It occurs to me that I mentioned puking and not minding it. Please try to understand: when peyote goes in, it might just as well go out. I regurgitated outside under a blue sky, laughing and dancing in a circle. It made plenty of sense. Nothing inconvenient or unpleasant about it. Sweet sixteen! To be young, gifted and tripped out.
There's a family of substances. Marijuana, Hashish, Psilocybin, Peyote, LSD. They're definitely related. All pages in same book. Whole damn thing. Amen. I speak to you here and now, to say that none of these is bad, at least not in itself. Certainly any substance has the potential for propulsive inclusion in the psyche of an unfortunate sociopath. The exact same problem exists for all behavior modification substances: coffee could cause aggravated assault and even murder, you can't deny that. l'll drink it. It wreaks havoc on the prostate. Be careful. French Roast is a bitch.
Tobacco is a much-abused herb which used to be handled with awe in these parts. Three Dominican cigars in succession can make you need to lie down. Everyone knows this, too. Tobacco is a mind-expanding drug. For best results, go to the woods. Start no fires, and get the nicotine deep inside your soul. Deadly poison! Once a sacrament.
Mushrooms have been an influence on civilization for thousands of years. Robert Graves, in his brilliant study on the Greek Myths, explains this phenomenom wonderfully. I question the practice of outlawing fungi. lt just sounds silly. The law should lighten up on these substances. Beer and whiskey are much more dangerous. LSD and marijuana have been proven to be effective treatments for alcoholism. I think we need to reconsider our entire approach to all substances, including Nutrasweet.
Lots of folks are getting along on prescribed psychotropic drugs, which means they perpetrate changes upon the psyche. Lithium, the mood stabilizer; and Prozac, the serotonin re-uptake inhibitor. Then there's the highly addictive Benzodiazepine family: Valium (a favorite of John Wayne Gacy); Halcion (see George Bush); and Xanax, the anti-anxiety treat with a steadily worsening reputation. And hundreds more.
I know many who apparently must have their medications, and these must be properly blended, or strange and unhappy things take place. As children and young adults, these individuals were hyperactive, manic depressive, unable to carry on with their lives. There's a considerable portion of the population walking around with any number of medicants coursing through their veins. Many l've talked to say that medication has made it possible for them to proceed.
Medical science may actually be solving some of these enigmas. An intelligent, propaganda-free re-evaluation of all substances which affect the mind would bring us even closer to that elusive thing they call mental health. Obviously, l'm not afraid to take a stand on this issue. Let me close by saying that I think that marijuana usage should be a prerequisite for the presidency. And someone should ask Bill if he tried the brownies.
Arwulf Arwulf's radio shows can be heard on WCBN, 88.3 FM, at the following times: "You've Got To Be Modernistic"- Thurs., 7-8 pm; "Duke is on the Air"- with co-host Dave Crippen, Sun. 5-6 pm; "Open Letter to Duke"- Sun. 6-7 pm; "Real Black Miracles"-Sun. 7-8 pm. And on WEMU: "Sunday Best"- Sun. 10 am-1 pm.