Directed by Donick Cary, Have a Good Trip: Adventures in Psychedelics released on May 11 on Netflix. It is a documentary about stoned celebrity experiences and a small history lesson on the use of drugs by the government and the wider use of this substance.
The movie is star-studded. It features actors like A$AP Rocky, Paul Scheer, Rosie Perez, Sting, Carrie Fisher, Deepak Chopra, Ben Stiller, Sarah Silverman and others. They all share their stories of intoxication with a healthy mix of bad and good trips.
Just for fun? Or infotainment?
Have a Good Trip mainly deals with anecdotes of use of hallucinogenic drugs by stars, singers and writers. It does not provide any proper “drug education” but instead talks about bad trip (BT) and good trip (GT). It seems as if all the celebrities are trying to tell the viewers how to have a good trip with nearly no talk about what to do when it all goes downhill or how to get over the trip.
“If you’re doing drugs the right way, you can’t tell an orderly story.” – Carrie Fisher
Have a Good Trip is a harmless time-pass flick, it contains animated reenactments of the celebs and honestly, they are pretty fun to watch. It seems as if LSD and acid are easy drugs and you get over with it without any after-effects – which is clearly not the case. It features small clippings telling people about the drugs. However, it does not have any information for future reference. In some way or the other, it glorifies and eases the whole acid use.
“I don’t think psychedelics are the answers to the world’s problems.” – Sting
Is LSD the answer?
As easy and flowy it may seem by listening to these anecdotes, it’s not always all trees and grass talking to you, understanding mortality or just enjoying the trip etc. LSD is known to have many side effects and it depends on the person and the dosage.
“Its not for everybody.” – A$ap Rocky
Mushroom has been legalized in few states across the US as it helps to treat various mental illnesses like PTSD, depression etc. Quite a trip, isn’t it? Despite what Carrie Fisher says about an orderly story. Weirdly, all the celebrities very clearly remembered their first trips and what happened after. They give out some valuable advice for your first or any number of trips you experience:
- Don’t drive on acid. The roads get weird and wild.
- Don’t look in the mirror on acid. You might trigger your insecurities.
- Don’t do acid with unknown people or anyone who even pretends to be your friend. They can give you bad trips!
- Don’t go to McDonald’s. Just don’t.
The conclusion…
After hearing all the experiences, what we can take with us is that LSD opens your horizon to new experiences. It connects you to an alternate reality. You value everything a bit more during the hallucination because you realize you are a part of the larger picture. But saying that it’s all flowers and clouds would be wrong.
LSD and Mushroom do not only serve as hallucinogenic drugs but, over years of research, are now counted as therapeutic drugs too. Though it feels like missing out on these is missing out on valuable life experiences, it isn’t. And most importantly, the portrayal of drug and its effects in Hollywood films is unreal as said by most of the celebrities. So, don’t trust them.
“I took acid once. Maybe even didn’t need to. Probably could have just watched this documentary.” – Ben Stiller
Well, it wouldn’t have helped much Ben, but it’s ok.
Have a Good Trip is now streaming on Netflix.