There are 3 general questions that were asked of the people in all 4 studies. They are the percentage of people who reported a pleasant experience, the percentage that reported lasting benefit or change and the percentage that want to do it again. On the question of what percentages thought it was a pleasant experience, the figures were Ditman 72, Savage 85, Janiger 66 and Leary 70. That works out to an average of 73 percent for all 4 studies or if one considers that the Janiger study had about twice as many people involved as the other studies, then the overall average would be a little less because Janiger's 66 is the lowest number of the four studies. In a surprise, the Leary figure of 70 percent is the third lowest of the four studies, even lower than the Ditman figures.

On the question of what percentage reported lasting benefit or change, the figures are Ditman 50, Savage 85, Janiger 58 and Leary 62. That works out to an average of 64 percent for the 4 studies. Even the least impressive result shows that half of the people said that the experience did them some good or a lot of good. With Savage, the figure was a whopping 85 percent!

The final common question in all 4 studies was the percentage that want to have the experience again. The figures for this are Ditman 66, Savage 89, Janiger 74 and Leary 90. That's an average of 80 percent for the 4 studies. The worst of the 4 figures still shows that about 2/3 of the people want to do it again, the next worst figure shows about ¾ of the people wanting another trip and the Savage and Leary figures of 89 and 90 just cannot be ignored. When the figures are 90 percent, even the most cynical skeptic has to admit that maybe LSD isn't the worst thing in the world or why would 90 percent of any combination of people who have tried it want to do it again? If it is as bad as most people seem to think, would even 1 percent want to do it again? If it is so bad, would 49 percent of Ditman's people and an amazing 85 percent of Savage's people say that it was the greatest thing that ever happened to them?

These people were not just saying that LSD was the greatest thing that ever happened to them or reporting lasting benefit or change. Check the charts and figures closely and you will see that the people were saying that it was of value and importance in many different ways and areas. They said, among other things, that it was a religious experience, an experience of great beauty, gave them a greater awareness of reality, a new way of looking at the world, greater tolerance of others, a sense of relaxation and freedom from anxiety and tension, a better understanding of the cause and source of their troubles, a new sense of fun and enjoyment, a sense of now knowing what life is all about, increased interest in nature, art and music, being more broadminded, accepting of new ideas and less irritable, positive change in interpersonal relations, a experience giving greater understanding of themselves and others, etc.

Isn't it about time or way past the time for this country to finally WAKE UP! How odd it is that those who have never taken LSD are so vehemently against it, but those who have tried it are quite positive about it, especially those who do it with proper preparation, under the right circumstances, in a supportive atmosphere and with understanding people.

There is a long way to go. It's hard enough to get people to understand that marijuana has medical value.