Murdoch-News Journos Lie about LSD

… and are you really surprised?

The Daily Telegraph (Sydney) journalists Clementine Cuneo and Richard Noone put together an article, released on the 6th of December 2012, entitled, “Teenager Nick Mitchell’s LSD overdose – death, delusions and despair”.
Although the story focuses on the substance LSD as a source of “Death, delusions and despair” it does note that, “Police are awaiting toxicology results, but said evidence found in the boy’s bedroom suggested it was likely LSD had been consumed.”
The story follows a piece of rhetoric that came up recently in an article in Fairfax’s Sydney Morning Herald, “Many young people have started using hallucinogens because they are becoming more accessible and are relatively cheap, with LSD costing about $20 a tab, says (Paul) Dillon, the director of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia.”
The cornerstone of this rhetoric is that the apparently out-of-fashion substance LSD is making a dangerous return. However, the Victorian Department of Health’s Patterns of Drug Use & related harm in Victoria reports over the past 15 years have shown no significant rise in the use of what the government refers to as ‘hallucinogens’, the category which includes LSD. Usage sits around the 1% of respondents mark. Director of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia Paul Dillon is often quoted in these articles and seems to be suggesting that there has been a rise in the use of LSD. However, over at NineMSN the story is reported without all the irresponsible speculation. “Mr Dillon said until the results of the toxicology are released, he will not speculate the cause of the teenager’s death. “Until we receive all the information, the best possible message we can get across is to provide the right information to the public””

The Death, Delusions, Despair version of the story has been syndicated across various other News Limited (Rupert Murdoch owned) papers, including South Australia’s Adelaide Now and Melbourne’s Herald Sun.

Read the story in full: http://www.news.com.au/national/teenager-nick-mitchells-lsd-overdose-death-delusions-and-despair/story-fndo4bst-1226530792737

I believe that such stories should not be allowed to go published without comment and complaint. Journalists needs to be held to the highest of standards, and we should expect responsible reporting from them, even when their industry is in a down-turn, papers are downsizing and profits are leaking from everywhere. These are not excuses for lazy, irresponsible and blatantly shit-house journalism. Here’s my complaint/comment:

I would like to make a complaint about the article entitled, “Teenager Nick Mitchell’s LSD overdose – death, delusions and despair”

Journalists Clementine Cuneo and Richard Noone have barely checked facts and jumped to conclusions that are inconsistent with known effects of the drug LSD. The headline itself claims that the teenager overdosed on LSD, but early on in the story it is noted that police believed he had taken LSD. Using phrases like, “such a deadly substance” when LSD is known to be a safer substance than Australia’s popular legal drugs alcohol and nicotine is irresponsible reporting. The story focuses on LSD being the deadly factor in this boy’s death, although the toxicology report is not yet in.

I will be interested to see what the toxicology report says, and speculate the substance was more likely the research chemical 25I-NBOMe, which some nefarious types sometimes sell as LSD.

It seems a hark back to ancient times to use the death of this boy to proliferate an obsolete and ill-thought-through ‘anti-drugs’ agenda.

I would like to see the article corrected and the irresponsible and scientifically unfounded speculation about what killed Nick Mitchell removed.

You should head across and send them a comment too.
Be careful if you decide to use a psychedelic substance like LSD. There is the potential for things to go wrong if your set and setting are not receptive to the experience. Know your body, know your mind and know your substance. Head to Erowid.org for more information on LSD.