Lysergic

by Krystle Cole

In Lysergic, Krystle Cole describes the events that occurred in her life within the time period of 2000 to 2003. Krystle explains her involvement with Gordon Todd Skinner and William Leonard Pickard, the infamous LSD chemists who operated their lab in an underground missile silo in Kansas. This lab, after being busted and shutdown by the DEA, was reported to have been producing 90% of the world's supply of LSD. Having written the book at 23 years of age, Krystle gives an account of her unique perspective regarding the events she has often called "the crazy psychedelic freak show" that ensued after the Pickard LSD lab bust. Lysergic is a combination of things; it is a story of love, a story of abuse, and most of all a recounting of the experiences that have ultimately exerted a profound effect upon Krystle's life. Krystle recounts ingesting numerous rare entheogens such as LSD, mescaline, ergot wine, DMT, ALD-52, and 2-CI, among others. She describes the subjective effects of each entheogen, and how these experiences impacted her life at the time. As well, the 2nd edition of Lysergic contains excerpts from letters that Skinner wrote to Krystle from prison.

Genres: Nonfiction, Drugs, Memoir

190 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

I earned a Bachelor’s of Integrated Studies degree in Psychology and Substance Abuse Counseling from Washburn University in 2009. Currently, I am pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in Psychology with an emphasis in evaluation, research, and measurement with an expected graduation in September of 2012. I am also a published author and an accomplished artist.

Beyond this, I am probably most known for founding the NeuroSoup website and making drug educational videos on youTube. NeuroSoup is based upon principles of harm reduction and strives to educate people around the world on responsible drug use. As founder of the site, I hope to educate people about the positive and negative aspects of all drugs, whether they are legal, available by prescription, or illegal. Moreover, I strive to aid in addicted individuals’ recovery by providing online self help drug and alcohol rehab resources.

Reviews

[R. Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't. I wanted to, so badly, but I just can't.

Lysergic is - supposedly - the story of Krystle Cole, a young woman who had a close relationship with William Leonard Pickard and Gordon Todd Skinner. Those two names might sound familiar. They're the reason I picked the book up in the first place. Those two men were leaders of an organization that manufactured massive amounts of LSD (aka Lysergic acid diethylamide, thus the name of the book) in an abandoned missile silo. Skinner turned state's informant and betrayed Pickard, who is currently serving two life sentences. Upon raiding the LSD laboratories, DEA authorities have claimed that these men were responsible for approximately 90% of the world's LSD supply.

That's a great story! It's not really the topic of Krystle Cole's book, though. I knew that stuff going in. I just wanted to learn more, and couldn't think of a better source than someone who was actually there, with the main players. And that, ostensibly, is the premise of Cole's Lysergic.

I'll start with the writing style: it's bad. It's the worst written book I have ever read. It quite literally reads like an essay written by someone with at a middle school reading level. That's not hyperbole. The short, simple sentences, poor descriptions, and overuse of exclamation marks is exactly the sort of shit I was trying to impress teachers with when I was eleven. It goes into as much depth, and shows as much self-awareness, as any middle schooler's diary.

Then it turns into what can only be described as a sort of love story between Cole and Gordon. I guess. I wanted to set it down and pick up Twilight so I could read a better-written, healthier relationship. She spends a lot of time talking about how she gets high, and goes into great detail describing the ups and downs of various drug highs. It's as banal as it sounds. A full grown woman with a middle school mentality prattling on for pages about how deep the world is, and how safe she feels because all love is grounded, and how the universe is one giant connection of love, namaste.

I got to the point where she was on all fours having a needle full of drugs stuck into her asshole before I realized that this book would have nothing I wanted from it. It's some pretentious stoner talking about her drug use. The fact that she is surrounded by this fascinating story, an almost real-life Breaking Bad, and treats it like little more than the background to the importance of the first time she tried anal DMT, is baffling.

There is nothing good to this book. It is poorly written. It is not informative. Even if her spiritual arguments held any weight, that's not what this book purported to be, and the prose is so shallow and confusing that it manages to devoid itself of any value whatsoever.

Stay away from this book. Grab a long stick, and poke it from a safe distance.

[Erik · Rating 1 out of 5]

It gets 1 star because of the trial information and shedding light on how these folks work with government to further each others ends. It would get zero if it were based solely on her writing ability and stories describing her own experiences. She should be forced to watch the Seinfeld where Elaine goes off about the use of exclamation points. And nobody should have to read about her interpretations of the Bible and Rig Veda. Stick to the point and leave the analysis of scripture to the educated. Eating psychedelics does not an expert make. Amateur hour.

[Chantel · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a great little book about honesty and entheogen usage. i felt it dident really give the reader all the gory bits to her true story, but after reading the whole book perhaps she wrote it to help herself integrate what she had experienced with drugs and with Todd. I recommend anyone who has read it or before they read it, to watch the documentary done by vice on the LSD underground missile silo.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Without going into Krystle Cole's background too much (I would suggest watching the Underground LSD Palace YouTube video for more on her unique life experiences), "Lysergic" is a book about her involvement with LSD manufacturers for the Brotherhood of Eternal Love back in the late '90s and early 2000s. Cole grew up in Kansas with very little and met Todd Skinner, one of the involved chemists, at a strip club where she was temporarily employed. Cole had no experience with psychedelics when Skinner insisted she try MDMA, which turned out to be a life-changing journey for her and led her onto a psychedelic path. In "Lysergic" she sheds light on many of her personal experiences with a wide array of psychedelic compounds and explains the many complicated and confusing legal cases that this group of people were involved in. The second half of the book is a collection of letters Skinner sent to her following his arrest but before he was given a life sentence for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon.

I found Cole's explanation of telepathic experiences to be very moving and aligned with my own experiences. The variety of psychedelic compounds that she and Skinner took is quite amazing to me - Skinner's list fills four pages! Cole's writing style left a lot to be desired, as the book is riddled with spelling and grammatical mistakes. However, once I got into the flow of the book I found it to be a unique tale and enjoyed it. I would suggest this book to anyone interested in Krystle Cole's story.

[Jacob Olrich]

I don't know a lot about her shitty book, but I would strongly urge everyone not to buy it. This woman is completely off-the-rails batshit whacked-out-of-her-mind crazy and has been partly responsible for the PERMANENT STERILIZATION AND GENITAL MUTILATION, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL TORTURE CAUSING PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE AND DRUGGING OF AN 18 YEAR OLD BOY.

Fuck this bitch, don't buy her book.

Links:

https://www.shroomery.org/forums/show...

https://www.reddit.com/r/LSD/comments...

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aficionados of the ultimate psychedelic may recall that acid got very hard to come by at the beginning of the 21st century. That's because the major manufacturer of the drug was busted. Krystle Cole was there. A goth stripper from Kansas, she got involved with Gordon Todd Skinner--he and William Leonard Pickard were the major kingpins of LSD. She describes the old missile silo that served as the manufacturing base. Cole has gone on to host the invaluable website Neurosoup. To put it mildly, she is Experienced; she's created an excellent database of psychoactive compounds, their promises and risks, and produces charming, disarming videos on their use and misuse. This volume tells an amazing story. Unfortunately it is not very well written, and more unfortunately it has vast gaps as Cole needs to protect herself from prosecution and wants to minimize legal harm to many involved. The second part of the book consists of letters she has written to Skinner and his responses, but the key events, involving a kidnapping, are danced around, and it's very tough to figure out what happened. But many of the descriptions of the intense mental experiences of the drugs she has ingested are superb. This whole area of inquiry is necessarily shrouded in mysteries wrapped in enigmas, and Cole is a brave soul to release this book and continue with the work she does on the website. One can hope in the future for better-written and more complete chronicles of these events, but given the still repressive and stifling climate we continue to endure, one must be grateful for the gift of a book such as this.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was hard to judge this book, being that it was split into two very disparate halves: Cole's story about meeting Gordon Todd Skinner and then becoming the drug lord/chemist's arm candy, or Skinner's weird, sad, and sometimes nonsensical/coded letters from prison. Cole was only 24 or so when she wrote Lysergic, and the naive way she writes about hating Kansas and getting to party with Skinner and his friends (as well as getting a DMT ENEMA WTF) sounds every inch like a precocious 18 year old. While some might find this annoying, I found it fascinating and enlightening--so few stories exist from this perspective: that of the vulnerable young woman brought into the drug word because she's hot. Skinner, meanwhile, while obviously very intelligent, comes across as having a really huge ego, and (like Cole) I was relieved when she finally got out of his grasp. Unless you're a real fan of prison letters, algebra, stock trading tips, and nonsensical recipes for research chemicals, I'd read her story and her conclusion, and skip Skinner's prison letters.

[Astra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I could have written a more interesting book. There are so many spelling errors and it is just so obviously done by an amateur.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't have time to get into all the things that are wrong with this book but I will say this: It is painfully obvious she doesn't know how to use breath/breathe correctly.

[Stephanie Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in 2019 and still think of it time to time. The grammatical errors and spelling did not bother me because it was something different. A book written by a girl in her early twenties who doesn’t need to have a team perfect her story before sharing. Plenty of things that didn’t thrill me about the book but her insight into such a “hush hush” society was compelling. The letters at the end were confusing but I gave it plenty of attention before I quit lol. I’m rating 3.5 stars and even lent it out to a friend. Watch Hamilton’s pharmacology Vice episode on her story first for better appreciation of the book ahead of time.

[Adrià Bravo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia real fascinante que me llamaba mucho la atención desde hacía años, sin embargo la segunda mitad del libro me parece tremendamente aburrida, ya que son transcripciones de cartas.

[Emily Dylan]

We’re not in Kansas anymore!

[Isham Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Krystle Cole was an insider in the extraordinary life of the acid chemist William Leonard Pickard - if she only had an editor!

[Roman Zakharenkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's doubtful that you would like to explore the world Krystle Cole has travelled to.

I would say that this book is an autobiographical exploration into:
1. The potential of psychodelics as a treatment for most common psychological disorders as well as an agent for spiritual change.
2. The darkness of the world in which those involved in production and distribution of drugs are living.

What is surprising is the ease within which author describes heavy drug use, criminal prosecution, etc. It shows you the state of mind person who lived through such events might have.

[Brandon DeLoach · Rating 3 out of 5]

very good first half but letters were drawn out and hard to read

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite perplex after reading this book.. Krystle had such intense experiences, and had a really crazy life... why is it that I feel this book has no "soul" ? You >feel< little when you read it. She reports different trip, but I didn't feel them.
She had experienced telepathy, which is truly astonishing !! I would like to know more about that !

Another thing is that I lost the feeling of time. The next chapter seems to happen the day after, but after a while you realise that months had passed. This is maybe not a bad thing: I could imagine the feeling of time was also totally distored for her.

This is not a bad book. But with her background and experiences, I think it could have been so much better.

The letters from Skinner on the other hand are a little bit boring.

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, easy and quick to read, full of information most people don't know but should. Really gives you a different out look on the DEA and our government. Great story about the Skinner/Pickard trials and Krystle's personal story behind it all. Very refreshing to read words of another person who thinks about the universe and all it's beauty in the same perspective as I do. Really wonderful book, so thankful to have stumbled across it. I recommend anyone read this...but go at it with an open mind and heart! Peace and love!

[Hinata Hyuga · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't finish this book. After watching her videos, I thought - let's give it a try, but this is a bad writing. All respect to Krystle - her videos are informative, but writing is not her strongest skill. Please, do not waste your time on this book.

[Sommer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book kept me intrigued throughout the book. Very interesting story, although I did wonder if some of the letters were not included.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this after watching the VICE documentary. Terrible editing, but it was a compelling look at spirituality and The Divine. I skipped most of Todd's letters from prison at the end.

[Karen]

After watching her on Vice news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7qli...