Erowid: The Source for Factual Drug Information

I prefer informative websites that operate more as libraries than as pamphlets. In other words, I respect organizations and sites that present information in such a way that is relatively unbiased so that the reader can arrive at their own conclusions, regardless of preconceived beliefs or notions. When it comes to researching psychoactive drugs, plants, and pharmaceuticals, Erowid.org is second to none at providing the most comprehensive informative look at these various substances.

Erowid is an extremely well-researched, easily navigable site concerning the many aspects of psychoactives. Over two hundred fifty common psychoactives, chemicals, plants, smart drugs, pharmaceuticals, and herbs are showcased in their own special "vaults." These vaults include categorized information covering many different aspects of the specific substance, ranging from legal status to chemical composition to statistical trends. Whereas the Drug Enforcement Agency's website focuses only on the harmful effects of Schedule 1 drugs, Erowid provides even the most nitty-gritty details such as a substance's chemical structure, reactivity, and availability.

The Erowid staff makes extensive use of published scientific essays and studies in order to formulate their vaults and uphold fact to the greatest extent possible. Essays and scientific information from the National Institute of Health (NIH), the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Association for Psychiatric Health Services (NAPHS), and many other nationally recognized authorities can be found in the vaults. In addition, Erowid invites questions concerning various aspects of psychoactives which are answered by the staff to the best of their ability and published on the site for other readers to peruse.

However, probably the most useful and interesting feature of Erowid is the option for users to submit "trip reports." These highly detailed and personalized accounts explain what it is actually like to experience a psychoactive and each contains often very detailed information on dosage, duration of the trip, setting, and mental/physical characteristics. Perfectly anonymous, Erowid's trip report sections allow users to provide details without implicating themselves personally in using illicit substances. And honesty is something that runs rampant through trip reports. Users see themselves less as braggarts or propagandists, but rather as people who are seriously concerned about disseminating factual information for the benefit of others. Furthermore, the trip report sections of the Erowid vault pages are further divided into overall tone of the trip. These categories include first times, bad trips, difficult experiences, and glowing experiences. That way, the curious reader can read through trip reports and form their own conclusions about how dangerous or beneficial a substance may or may not be.

Erowid has struck a very interesting and ultimately effective marriage between science and ordinary people. After all, is the government doing the psychoactive substances that the DEA schedules as controlled substances? Will marijuana truly make you into a fuzzy retard and does DXM pose the risk to America that people have cut it out to? Although Erowid states that it does not condone the use of any of the psychoactive substances contained within its vaults, it does provide plenty of information that can lead to a much safer use of these substances. For example, although DXM has been in the news as having been the cause of emergency room visits in the teenage population, many media facets do not clarify what kind of DXM preparation the teens used. There are extensive pages on Erowid concerning the danger of using Coricidin as a DXM source for example. Erowid's information can both save lives and enlighten people wishing to either try psychoactives or to be active in promoting their legality.

The presence of Erowid on the internet is indicative of a trend that myself and others believe should dictate sensible drug policy in the United States. Let citizens be informed to the greatest degree possible while still offering them the choice to take a substance which is entirely up to them to put in their bodies. Erowid does not insult America's intelligence, it gives it a chance to use it.