[grawprog]

>Just imagine something like cannabis lounge where you could take mushrooms in safe setting and if you feel overwhelmed you could talk to a trained staff member. Not necessarily a psychologist, just someone who can guide you through the experience. I really believe it could unleash incredible well-being for the society.

I like idea of this, but I don't think I'd like to do mushrooms in a place like that. I tend to alternate between getting strong urges to wander and urges to just sit and do nothing and i'm not a big fan having people around not also on mushrooms. I couldn't hand sitting in a cafe like that for the duration of a trip. That would probably make it worse for me.

[katzgrau]

Yeah and I don't think talking to a stranger, trained staff or not, is going to be anyone's cup of tea when they're on mushrooms. It should be an experience for friends whose company you truly enjoy - and trust to keep you cool if you get anxious.

[beenBoutIT]

The whole bit about needing other people around is leftover hype from anti-drug propaganda films. Nobody really takes a psychedelic and leaps out of a window or fries their child in a pan.

[blotter_paper]

Ehh, I have enjoyed taking psychedelics alone many times, but I think it's probably clever to start with somebody more experienced who can keep their cool enough to remember where the towels are and help guide you to another area if something in the environment is overwhelming. Once you've been there a few times you can pretty much do this yourself, but without understanding how much set and setting affect the experience it can be difficult to remember that walking into the next room over can change everything. It's not about keeping you from jumping out of a window, it's about managing messes and mood.

[gjm11]

There's someone in this very thread talking about a time they (an experienced user) took LSD and jumped out of a window. More precisely, off a balcony. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19847655

(I suppose they might be lying, but it doesn't look that way to me. Especially as the lesson they say to learn is "be careful", not "don't take psychedelics".)

[blotter_paper]

Personally, I feel like non-tripping people are fine if they've been there before. It's frustrating when you have somebody who has never dosed asking you what it's like, and you have to suddenly explain color to this blind person who thinks you're a gibbering idiot (because you are, kind of).