This Is Your Brain On Drugs–Literally

By Mark Lorenz on October 29th, 2009

Remember those old advertisements? This is your brain? This is your brain on drugs? You don’t? Of course you don’t, you were smoking pot. You were ironically smoking pot during an anti-drug PSA. I hope you’re proud of yourself, you addled hippie.

But with the advent of new technology, we can now watch people getting high all sorts of different ways. Like on YouTube, which played a major part in the ongoing banning of Salvia, cause Jesus Christ, look at those kids getting high. They have no idea where they are.

The most interesting developments, however, are taking place in the field of research. At the University Hospital of Psychiatry in Zurich, a team is mapping brain activity in altered states. Meaning, somewhere, someone answered a help wanted ad to sit in place and take psychedelics for the purposes of science. Kudos to you, you plucky go-getters. I only wish the same sort of opportunities were available here in California. Unfortunately, there are not. There are myriads of unemployed people just waiting to take psychedelics to progress science.

National Geographic did a quick segment on the brain mapping, which is fascinating. Also, really trippy to watch if you take drugs. Which I hope the researchers are doing. Taking drugs, then watching other people take drugs, then staring at their brains.