Psychedelics Encyclopedia [Paperback]

Peter Stafford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1993

Traces the history of the use of hallucinogenic drugs and discusses the psychological and physical effects of LSD, marijuana, mescaline, and other drugs.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Psychedelic drugs have been disparaged, exalted, politicized, romanticized, and outlawed. This extraordinary volume covers the history of their development and the controversies surrounding them, including the important role played by such figures as Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon, and the CIA in politicizing their use. For LSD, peyote, marijuana, and a variety of drugs both natural and manufactured, the history, botany, chemistry, form of preparation, and distinct mental and physical effect on the user are detailed. Wisely, this book neither defends nor denigrates the use of these substances but presents well-organized and thoroughly researched information on a controversial subject. An excellent reference source for scientific and social research, this book is highly recommended.
- Gail Wood, SUNY Coll. of Technology Lib., Alfred
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Offers the most thorough history to date of the modern-day use of psychedelic drugs. LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, cannabis, and a host of lesser-known and exotic psychotropic agents are discussed in this entertaining survey. -- New Age Journal

Peter Staffords encyclopedic guide to psychedelics is a gas to read. It is scholarly, hip scientific, witty, well-written, hopeful, and a treasure chest of weird and wonderful information. -- Robert Anton Wilson, author of the Illuminatus books

Psychedelics Encyclopedia draws from scientific research, personal accounts, and popular literature to document the properties attributed to psychedelic substances, their preparation and use, and the shifting social attitudes toward them over the past half-century. Psychedelics Encyclopedia is a remarkable sourcebook for anyone interested in the psychological, biological, physiological and cultural aspects of psychedelic drugs. A fascinating historical reference on psychedelia, from the LSD-25 of the sixties, to the memory and cognitive enhancers of today are compiled with over 200 illustrations. Featured are the LSD family, marijuana and its botanical relatives, peyote, mescaline and san pedro, psychoactive mushrooms, the MDA cluster, yage and harmaline, ibogaine, short-acting tryptamines (DMT, DET, DPT), nootropics, and other psychoactive substances. Each is treated with respect to its history, botany, pharmacology, physical effects, mental effects, forms, sources, purity tests,. Included are biographies, updates, and bibliographies for further research and studies. Psychedelics Encyclopedia is the seminal reference work. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Ronin Publishing; 3rd edition (January 12, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0914171518
• ISBN-13: 978-0914171515
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #533,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Source, December 16, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Psychedelics Encyclopedia (Paperback)

This book is the definitive source for information about
psychedelic drugs. Chapter by chapter, Stafford takes
the reader through the world of psychedics, categorized by
chemical similarity. He includes traditional uses by indigenous
groups, as well as the Western history of use, short as it is.
This book is a rare source of straight informaion-- no
Drug War propeganda here. A must for any seeker

51 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I was disappointed but it's still pretty good., October 16, 2004

By 

Downtown Mr. Brown "John" (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Psychedelics Encyclopedia (Paperback)

I've altered my review because I realized that I was disappointed by this book because my expectations were too high and that's not the book's fault. Overall, I'm glad I read the book and am glad that I still have a copy of it on my shelves. I'd give it 3.5/5 if I could.

This book has a number of blatant errors in it that caused me to question everything asserted as fact in this book. Examples of errors would be the error about the asymmetric carbon in MDMA and in the number of molecules in 2/100ths of a microgram of LSD. These are only a few of the errors, just for illustration.

I also find that the book logically contradicts itself often. For example, when making a point about LSD and alcoholism, the author makes it clear that the LSD experience is not like the DTs (and thus 'curing' alcoholism according to this hypothesis didn't work). Later, however, the author asserts high success rates for alcoholism treatment with LSD.

What disappoints me most about this book is that it is too obviously biased towards psychedelics drugs. When I bought the book I was really looking for something objective, but this book has almost nothing bad to say about psychedelic drugs at all. It ventures in to the absurd discourses of "enlightenment" and creativity enhancement under scientific pretenses.

This book was a disappointment to me because in some spots it is just as misleading (though less inaccurate) than much anti-drug propaganda. If you're looking for an objective, balanced book about psychedelic drugs, this may not be the book for you. I say it "may not" be the book for you because despite some errors and what I see as a "pro-psychedelic bias," it does still contain a lot of accurate, potentially useful and often fascinating information.

The sections of the book detailing the histories of each drug are excellent. These parts were very interesting. The book does a good job of detailing the attitudes of various societies at various times towards certain drugs.

Again, even though my rating hasn't increased, I'd like to point out a few of the book's strengths:

It's logically laid out, with the chapters on each class of substances being well organized. It is an excellent book for anyone who is simply interested in psychedelic drugs or for someone wanting to start a personal library on psychedelics. I still pick it up and use it as a reference because it's not only well organized, but also because it contains the kind of information that people often want to know about psychedelic drugs (e.g. where does the drug come from? how does it work? how is it related, chemically, to other drugs in the same category? what are its effects?). Most of the book is full of information that would be useful to people who are interested in psychedelics.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An entertaining classic, May 15, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Psychedelics Encyclopedia (Paperback)

An excellent book, one of the defining classics of the genre. It does have a few minor factual errors here and there, but overall a great book on the subject matter. Put simply, it is overflowing with information. It's also a very entertaining read, which makes it more than a simple reference. Worth the investment, even for those who are already well versed in the topic.