DEAR EXENE: A friend and I are planning on dropping acid for the first time on her 23rd birthday next month. Having smoked our share of weed and dabbled with pills here and there, I feel I'm at least partially ready for it. We both live in a mountainous area kind of near Silverado Canyon, and we were definitely stoked on the idea of dropping in the middle of nature. Virtually all of my limited drug experience has been in the outdoors, deep in the middle of the forest. We know several gorgeous hiking trails around the area. But the other day, we started talking about it, and I began to have second thoughts . . . such as, would it be better for a couple of rookie first-timers to do it indoors, such as in a room in one of our houses so we don't accidentally get lost or have a bad trip, or is there some kind of setting that is optimal for the first time trying a hallucinogenic? I'm guessing going outside at night is a bad idea. But is there anything you can suggest we do? Sorry if it sounds as though I'm assuming too much about you by asking this question; I just figured you would know.
Love, Shelly
DEAR SHELLY: Indeed, I do know, having grown up in the '60s. When you say “acid,” to what, exactly, are you referring? LSD? No, I think not. While that is man's invention, it has opened consciousness for some. It is almost impossible to find now. Real mind-expanding drugs come from nature herself: mushrooms, peyote and many other substances from around the world that were here thousands of years ago, and humanity understood them and their usage. Lost, broken humanity in 2012 (that's us!) do not. We understand virtually nothing now. I would question what is in this drug you are contemplating. If it doesn't come from the goddess, and if you do not have a guide, I wouldn't take it.
Love, Exene
