LSD & ecstasy use also on the rise

On a separate note from the big ol' painkiller study, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced that while overall illicit drug use amongst adolescents is declining, LSD and Ecstasy use is on the rise! An Associated Press that was widely syndicated had the goods:

The use of hallucinogens among youth remained stable last year, the survey indicated. But there was a statistically significant increase in the use of ecstasy among those ages 18 to 25. In that camp, 3.8% reported the use of ecstasy within the past year. The year before, 3.1% acknowledged ecstasy use.

The report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that the estimates on ecstasy and LSD should not be considered conclusive. Nevertheless, the consistency of results from two independent surveys "serves as evidence of a possible increase in hallucinogen use."

If you go to the trouble of reading the actual AP article, you won't see detailed LSD data; you basically just have to take the article's word for it, or go digging into the actual survey data for verification. But it's true: the survey results purport to show that LSD use saw an uptick from 2005 to 2006 amongst the same age group. It seems small to me, but who the hell am I to make judgments on what's "statistically significant"? (No fucking body, that's who.)

Personally, I'm kind of heartened to see LSD use on the rise, and I'm not particularly irritated about a rise in Ecstasy use either (even if it's dirty nasty street Ecstasy all full of poison and radioactive waste and ground up evil). Oh sure, LSD is an incredible loaded weapon of a drug, aimed right at the heart of the unsuspecting young psyche. And I personally would, in all seriousness, never particularly recommend that a young adult who hasn't taken LSD should ever bother to start, given the near impossibility of properly controlling for set and setting when you're that age and you've got little experience to draw on; taking LSD can be a risky gambit in the best of times, let alone when you're still formulating your personality.

But still, I can't help but think that every young adult who comes across LSD and winds up stumbling into the vein of "think for yourself" is a net gain for the cause of light, in the end. And if a nice phat Ecstasy pill helps take the edge off on the way down, well, more power to 'em.