If the details of this story are true - and sadly, in cases in the USA where police shoot someone, it's very reasonable to doubt any claims made by "authorities" unless there is ironclad evidence - then I think that there is zero chance that this drug was in fact LSD.<p>LSD can certainly cause confusion and terror, but it does not generally cause the kind of delirium and rage described by police here.<p>Also, the reporting in this particular article is pathetic:<p>> The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes LSD as "one of the most powerful mind-altering chemicals." Some people who use the drug can experience psychosis or paranoia.<p>NIDA is basically completely discredited at this point on the effects of this class of drugs, having spent the past four decades denying their medical benefits.<p>Furthermore, the unsourced assertion "Some people who use the drug can experience psychosis or paranoia", obviously relying on the Osmond-era "psychotomimetic" designation, appears to have been a side-effect of LSD being administered in the sterile conditions of a mental institution in the 1950s and early 1960s and not typical of the effects outside that setting.<p>It is much more likely that this person unwittingly ingested a different compound - and again, that's assuming that these details are even accurate in the first place and not a CYA story by a person trying to justify discharging a firearm at another person.
His employment at YouTube doesn't seem relevant to the story. Feels very clickbaity to put that in the headline (unless they're implying working at YouTube is somehow connected to the attack, which I don't get from the article.)
We'll never know if the drug was actually LSD.<p>Reminds me of all the "LSD" and "MDMA" in Austin TX was likely just shit like 25I and MDPV when I lived there and had a bunch of tripsafe test kits. There was a time where I would go to a rave and wonder if there was a single person actually rolling.
I hope everyone in the story recovers. I have tried LSD a few times, and the thing that surprises me the most, is how bad his friends in the story are.<p>First of all, the rule is, when you get a new batch. 1 person tries a small dose to judge the potency and effects. You never give your friends drugs you have not sampled them first. You can poison yourself, but you may not poison others. Now, assuming this was not LSD they would have caught it early. But assuming that it is...<p>With inexperienced people you need a trip sitter. Someone who is sober (or is much more experienced) and lays out a plan for the trip. Things that you will watch, music to listen to, when it is time to snack. etc. A good trip sitter can change a bad trip to a good trip very easily. And the preparation for this starts even before taking the drug, by telling you some of the bad things you might experience (thought loops, very strong deja-vu, thinking you are trapped in that moment for eternity) and how to deal with the illusion of each one.<p>Also since LSD lasts to max 12 hours, it is good to amp the dosage slowly and not all at once. Secondly you need to feel comfortable. If you are in an unfamiliar house, and there is let's say a basement that creeps you out while sober. Oh boy... you 're going to have such a bad time thinking about that basement and all the spooky stuff in it when tripping! You must be comfortable and relaxed. Noone told him that? Noone was there to see he was acting strange? They were cool with him downing 4 doses?<p>Bad trips can turn good very easily. And feel-good moments quickly take a short dark turn when something unexpected happens (like a random ring of the doorbell - no one was expecting). Yes something that small can cause terror. You need somebody to guide you and take your mind of the bad stuff. I think the best explanation I can give is... remember when you were a kid and you were eating your favorite candy. Do you remember how much better it tasted back then than it does today? Also, imagine that as a kid you watched something that really scared you, but today you 'd laugh at non-scary it actually is. That's pretty much how your perception changes +
color hallucinations.
He won't be a YouTube engineer in 48 hours, I'm sure.<p>If he survives, he's going to end up with at least 20 years in the California prison system.<p>Every hour he spent studying at Stanford, every tough coding interview he endured at Microsoft and YouTube, and every other sacrifice he made, are now likely irreparably flushed down the toilet.<p>Yet "we" (ie the HN and related crowd who engage in hero worship) love to wax poetic about Steve Jobs's LSD quote.
The psychedelic subject on HN is so biased. Submit a post about how a small LSD dose can help treat schizophrenia and it gets hundreds of points.<p>Submit a post about how someone goes on a violent rampage after dosing LSD irresponsibly and it gets flagged then downvoted.<p>Considering his employer and education (a lot of people are arguing it’s relevance) he could have easily been a HN community member. It’s like readers only focus on the positives of psychedelics and never want to discuss both sides.
Besides actual issues with mental health history, is there any way to know if someone will react this way to LSD? Set and setting may not be enough in these cases, it seems?
this is why (people with mental issues should deffo not touch drugs in general, much less strong psychedelics)
#1 test ur shhit
#2 trip sitter (if shit goes down they can reel it in)
#3 low doses
Tabloid-style headline. Was this in private? It should stay that way (it's nobody's business except those directly affected). Was it public? Media shouldn't be broadcasting his place of work. Will not read.