A Tragic Experience With LSD
"She grabbed her parakeet and ate it alive!" Darla was near hysterics. "Then she died."
Darla Richie is my best friend, and I had never seen her like this before. I could not make sense out of anything she said.
"That gum killed her." Her voice was wailing like a fire siren. "Do something!"
Taking hold of her shoulders, I shook her hard.
"You've got to snap out of it, Darla," I said. "I can't do anything until you calm down enough to tell me what this is all about."
I could see that Darla was making a desperate effort to control herself. But she was still shaking like a vibrator when she began talking.
"Noreen Armstrong and I were coming out of the library the other day when a girl from college stopped us," Darla said, her voice starting to climb again.
Regaining control, Darla continued, "She sold us some gum with LSD on it. She said it would give us all sorts of beautiful visions, and we'd never really know ourselves until we tried it."
As Darla paused for breath, I remembered that I'd read that LSD is dangerous.
"We thought today would be a good time to try while our mothers are away at conference. When we got to her house, I discovered I'd left my gum at home. Noreen started chewing hers before I went for mine. 'Hurry back,' she told me.
"When I walked into her house I heard a crash. Noreen was running through the house throwing everything she could get hold of." Darla's voice began to rise again. "It was creepy. When she started toward me, her eyes were so-wild like. I backed into the bathroom and locked the door."
I put my arms around the shaking girl.
"I heard the parakeet screeching with terror," she continued, "then all was quiet. I waited until it had been quiet for a long time before I-" Convulsive sobs shook Darla's body. "Noreen ate her parakeet alive and choked to death on the feathers."
"Have you called the police?" I asked.
"No," Darla sobbed. "All I could think of was to get to you. You always seem to know what to do."
If only mother were here, I thought. I stepped to the telephone and called the police. They said they would come right away.
"Did you chew your gum?" I asked as we walked to the street.
"No. I'm going to throw it away," Darla said as she reached into her purse.
I grabbed her arm. "I think we might need it."
It was like Darla said. Noreen's house was a mess. Broken dishes were everywhere. It was as though a tornado-or a demon-had passed through.
The two officers left us in the front room while they examined Noreen's body. Then, while waiting for the ambulance, one of them came in to question Darla. After she had told him everything, he asked for her stick of gum.
"I thought LSD was harmless," Darla said.
"It's a lot more dangerous than we used to think," the officer said as he sat down on the edge of a chair. "Some people are pushed into insanity. Evidently Noreen was."
I shuddered. "Why does it hurt a few and not the rest?"
"I wouldn't say that it doesn't harm them," the officer said, as he ran his fingers through his hair. "What we don't like is that many of them become so involved with themselves and their LSD trips, that they cease to be useful members of society. And, too, doctors are finding many acidheads with damaged chromosomes. They may have children born with birth defects."
I nodded my head.
The officer cleared his throat. "Even worse, they are fooled into believing they are having spiritual experiences. But it's only drawing them farther away from God."
"I've heard that it makes people do things better," Darla said.
"They claim it makes them more creative," the officer answered, "but they never seem to accomplish much. And they are a menace if they try to drive."
"If it is so dangerous, why don't they quit taking it?" Darla asked.
"It's not as simple as that," the officer said, as he began to pace the floor. "Some, like you, haven't heard about the danger. LSD may cause a mental dependence, and some find it difficult to break away. I feel that LSD is a greater problem than heroin."
"But, why?" I asked. "Heroin addiction is ruining a lot of people."
He sat down again. "Like Noreen, many people think it's not dangerous, so they try it. Unlike heroin, LSD can instantly make a person violently psychotic. He may commit suicide or murder. Or he may kill himself in trying to do some impossible thing as flying. It's a small percentage, I know, but it's not worth the risk," he said. "Now we're finding that a number of young people who have been using LSD for some time are being admitted to mental hospitals. They were having pleasant experiences with LSD and took it long enough that they suffered permanent brain damage."
"Why was that girl so anxious to sell it to us?" Darla asked.
"The minute amount of LSD that is put on a cube of sugar or stick of gum sells from one to ten dollars. The pusher makes a terrific profit." The officer turned angrily as he said, "These peddlers are selfish leeches who don't care if you go crazy or die. All they care about is how much money they can make."
"I wish you'd speak to our student body," Darla said, "I feel that other young people should hear about this."
"Sounds like a great idea," the officer said as we left.
Several days later Darla told me that the police lab did find LSD on the gum. "He also said he's to speak at our school assembly next Thursday," Darla said soberly. "Noreen's death may help prevent another disaster."
-T. A. J.
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