Hey, gotta demonize something and sleep deprivation is boring.

More road accidents happen due to sleep deprivation than alcohol, so this tracks. But we can't have war on sleep deprivation, can we?

Holy shit, how much did he take? I can do grams from sundown to sun up and all I want to do after that is go to bed.

Well I wouldn't go that far. What about a nice walk outside with a friend or sitting in front of a fire or a jam session, just to name a few activities.

Or scream and fling yourself at the walls of a soundproof place, and explore your mind

I went to Walmart for the first half of my first shroom trip, and the second half was spent in nature.

The exposure to nature was absolutely better and led to a transcendental experience of a sense of interconnectedness with nature that lead to an identity shift, and which pulled my teenage self out of pervasive clinical depression.

But Walmart was also surprisingly amazing fun!

He wasn't at the controls. He was hitching a ride on a flight piloted by somebody else, which isn't unusual for pilots. You should read the full story, but this is what I understand what I heard earlier.

He was already depressed and had lost somebody close to him recently. Did mushrooms, (presumably) had a bad trip, doesn't sleep for the next 48 hours, then boards the flight as a passenger. Apparently he was suicidal and felt like he was dreaming so he probably didn't have a full sense of the consequences of his actions; I don't think he was out to kill anybody but himself. Told the flight crew "you better get me off this flight or it's going to get bad" or something to that effect after already acting out and needing to be restrained. Then they make an emergency stop to let him off.

I'm for legalizing psychedelics, but unfortunately it seems the mushrooms are integral to the story. Although it should be said that this guy very clearly wasn't in a state to be doing psychedelics without any professional supervision, guidance, and/or aftercare. I've said all that I know about the story here, and it's admittedly very little, but chances are that a little bit of education would have gone a long way to prevent this.

Thanks!

Here’s the text:

The off-duty US pilot who allegedly tried to shut down the engines of a plane in mid-air had taken magic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, court documents state.

Pilots wrestled Joseph Emerson out of the cockpit on Sunday after he is said to have lunged for controls that would have starved the engines of fuel and turned the plane into a glider.

Emerson, who told police he had not slept in 40 hours, also tried to open an emergency exit in the rear of the aircraft and had to be restrained by the cabin crew during an emergency landing.

“I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just want to wake up,” Emerson told police, according to a criminal complaint.

Emerson and the investigating officer “talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms and Emerson said it was his first time taking mushrooms”.

The 44-year-old was arrested on Sunday evening after the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon. He is charged with 83 counts of attempted murder.

Emerson had boarded the flight - which was operated by Horizon Air - between Everett, Washington, and San Francisco, sitting in the jump seat of the cockpit, in line with airline policy for non-working staff.

A short way into the journey, after chatting with the pilots, “Emerson attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines”, the Department of Justice said.

“After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit.”

Emerson, pictured on a previous flight, has been 'removed from service indefinitely' On Monday, Alaska Airlines said pilots had reacted quickly to reverse the handles and the aircraft had landed safely.

“During the flight’s descent, Emerson tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit. A flight attendant stopped him by placing her hands on top of his,” the Department of Justice said.

“Flight attendants placed Emerson in wrist restraints and seated him in the rear of the aircraft.”

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said Emerson faces a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

He has also been charged in Oregon with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft.

US media reported he pleaded not guilty to these charges during a brief court appearance in Portland on Tuesday.

Live ATC, a website that archives conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers, published an audio recording of the moments after the incident.

“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit,” the pilot said. “And he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now.

“I think he’s subdued. Other than that, yeah, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked,” the pilot said.

On Tuesday, Alaska Airlines said Emerson had been “removed from service indefinitely and relieved from all duties”.