Saturday, May 05, 2012

Documentary - Crime Inc: Hallucinogens


Crime Inc. is a series by National Geographic that looked at various drugs (among other things) and the crime associated with them. Among the shows are this one, on hallucinogens, and others on crack, hash, ecstasy, ketamine, prescription drugs, and designer drugs. Unfortunately, they take an alarmist position in some ways (especially with LSD), despite the effort to show the healing uses of some of these drugs.

Here is a general summary of the show/series (provided by a drug treatment facility):
Drugs Inc. Series: Hallucinogens

In today’s society the influence and popularity of television programming is at an all time high. People watch more TV than ever before, and some of the programs offered are extremely educational and beneficial. National Geographic Channel offers all kind of unique and educational programming, but one show in particular has gotten an extreme response due to the nature of the show—Drugs Inc. Drugs Inc profiles a multibillion-dollar industry that fuels crime and violence like no other substance on the planet. Each drug has its own unique origin and abuse pattern, but the outcome of addiction to any drug typically leads to the same rock-bottom lifestyle. While some users sacrifice their lives to an addiction they can’t escape, others find drugs to be their only saving grace from physical or emotional pain almost impossible to overcome. The series goes in depth by following actual drug abusers, dealers, and families involved with addiction to drugs.

Each episode focuses on real people and real world situations involving a certain drug. It’s very shocking, educational, and inspirational to see how these drugs affect our society and ruin individual’s lives. The hallucinogens episode goes into detail about the history of the drugs and their cultural and religious ties. Hallucinogenic substances are among the oldest drugs used by human kind, as hallucinogenic substances naturally occur in mushrooms, cacti and a variety of other plants. The most common hallucinogen abused is LSD, which stands for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, or also known as Acid. Other hallucinogens are mescaline, mushrooms, psilocybin and ibogaine. The danger with hallucinogens is how a user simply loses control of their senses and perception of reality. There have been several instances of people doing absurd and damaging things to their body or even dying from doing something inspired by a hallucinogen trip. This episode can be very inspiring for someone who abuses hallucinogens to stop their drug involvement because they can see what will happen to them.


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