I am a long-time user of Erowid, and recently decided to donate. This was the first time I had ever donated to anything except for the occasional change in collection cans, or to street beggars. The following is an experience report of sorts, but with an unusual substance. That substance is Erowid.

After a recent trip to Norway to visit relatives, I had an opportunity to talk a little about psychoactives and Erowid with Anne, a drug abuse counselor I met at a party. I was happy to inform her about Erowid, and even though I could only show her the copy of Erowid Extracts that I had brought along, she was very intrigued and seemed to think it was a good idea. She asked me if I thought Erowid contributed to increased drug use, to which I replied that I did not, and I found her to agree with me. Mind you, this is a professional who has more or less exclusively dealt with people experiencing negative effects from drug use, and as such should have a strong negative bias. Yet she didn't say a single negative thing about Erowid, or the validity of providing accurate information. I also suggested that she recommend it to her colleagues and co-workers, so do not be surprised if the Erowid site receives marginal increased traffic from a particular rural area in Norway.

Preloading consisted of a grand three-course meal from extremely fresh and quality grown foodstuffs, 25 cl of wine and ~8 grams of dark chocolate. Dosage was about twenty minutes of pure Erowid-related discussion.

T+00:00: We are out in the hot afternoon sun on the patio at a farm located in northern Norway. After inquiring what she does for a living, I ask Anne if she knows what Erowid is. The words come out before I can reflect on what I am about to do—almost as if I had carelessly chosen to insufflate or smoke an experimental mind-altering drug—and my emotions for the milliseconds before her reply fluctuate broadly. She replies, "No", and my anxiety subsides; I had feared a pre-biased reply, a negative vibe forming, and a general worsening of the set and setting, which had been quite good prior to my question.

I do not recall exactly the next few sentences uttered between us. While I found it difficult to articulate what Erowid was, I remember stressing how the information contained within was independent, strongly referenced, from a variety of sources, up-to-date, and substantial.

My next clear memory was a change in setting, as the crowd on the patio did not appeal to us when it came to dissecting psychoactives and their pitfalls. We relocated to the kitchen, a spacious area directly connected to the main dining area. It was not big, just open and flowing with a lot of indirect sunlight.

T+00:05: My pulse is elevated, I'm sweating, my mouth is dry. I have a general feeling of alertness, stress, euphoria, and a sense of being in connection with the universe.

At this point I excuse myself to retrieve my copy of Erowid Extracts from the car outside. I experience a warm glow as I walk the short distance to the car, and when I retrieve the Extracts, it is as if I'm holding a tangible piece of cosmic destiny. So many events had unfolded to allow me to possess this copy of Extracts at this precise moment in time. I show it to Anne, who reads the headlines; I give her a short break-down of each story inside, and make sure to point out the articles that cite references, to assure her they are not just rants. Somehow I anticipate a negative reaction, yet she never once reveals a bias against anything that I am telling her or showing her.

T+00:10: My pulse is mostly back to normal, but vivid afterimages are present, along with some euphoria and stress. We are discussing some specific psychoactives. Anne is basically of the opinion no one should do drugs for any reason, yet the people who choose to do so are not diminished in any way. This is something which I believe makes her good at what she does; if she looked down at her clients, they would probably not be able to gain positive effects from sessions with her. Sensing that she's not judgemental allows me to open up a little about my prior experiences with psychoactives, but I do not feel comfortable sharing everything, as I am not looking for counseling.

T+00:15: I'm mostly back to baseline, except for some interesting feelings of conflict about what to divulge regarding my own experiences and views, and how to extract as much of her own experience and views as possible. Some elevated pulse at times, some feelings of fatigue. The trip is pretty hard on my body, but rewarding mentally. This experience helped me in many ways. It showed me that professionals in certain lines of work can still harbor unbiased attitudes towards psychoactive drug use, and I realized that it is sometimes my own preconceived notions that need adjustment (or banishment) and not always everyone else's.

All in all this is a substance with great potential, which needs to be spread as much as possible. Trust that Anne is not the last professional I will refer to this excellent site, and as soon as money allows, I plan to renew my membership early. After all how far does $33 go when airmail postage is involved? I have nothing but the utmost respect and love for everyone who helps make Erowid possible.