I dropped acid once a week for two decades.
I couldn’t imagine life without my regular magic carpet rides.
When I moved from NYC to San Diego I vowed to put L.S.D. behind me.
After a few months of life without acid I began to feel the itch.
I got in my car and drove toward Ocean Beach, which I had heard, was very rich in subculture.
I saw a man with a Grateful Dead t-shirt. I rolled down the window and asked, “Brother, do you happen to know where I could score some acid around here?”
He reached into his pocket, and donated two hits to my cause.
That night I re-united with my beloved.
I found a a reliable source for more, and I was off and running again, weekly dates with my luscious lover, this time in Sunny Southern California.
Sunsets became orgasms.
On one life changing trip, I felt Jim Morrison from the Doors walking beside me.
I imagined he said, and I quote, “Scott, if you continue down the path you are on, you will go out like I did, like a shooting star. You are at the fork in the road. Your other choice is to put down your familiar friend and choose to take good care of yourself and your body. If you choose that path, which I could not in my last time around, you will live a long, rich, and rewarding life, and give your gifts abundantly.”
What the fuck? I had a visitation from druggie Jim Morrison, and he told me to put down my drugs? I can’t do it. I won’t do it.
OK, I admitted to myself. I need help. I tried N.A., Narcotics Anonymous, because there was no H.A, Hallucinogenics Anonymous, but it was not a good fit for me.
Or maybe I wasn’t ready for the deep work.
Years later the twelve steps would prove very helpful, but at that time I wasn’t willing yet for a thorough spring cleaning of all the emotional stuff that I kept hidden in the basement.

But I did I have a sober, grounded, adult kind of friend who knew about my history with hallucinogenics, and he came for a visit and helped me help myself.
Stephen guided me in a visualization one night when I was coming down from an acid experience. For those of you who have not dabbled, these trips are already filled with plenty of visualizations!
He had me imagine what my sober self would and could be like. In his guidance he implied that my sober self could be free, grounded, playful, and so much more powerful and helpful in this world. I saw myself as making a real difference with my gifts and my presence. I saw myself being connected to the earth and to others. I saw myself paying taxes, being a responsible adult, and still being connected to my joy, laughter and tears.
That night I stepped out of Jim Morrison’s footsteps and into my own.
I have no regrets about my extended adolescence. LSD taught me so much about how little our five senses can perceive reality.
But the fact that I m here now, with (most of) my brain cells apparently still intact, is nothing short of a miracle.
Having survived that, my focus these days is much more about dropping alkaline than acid.
