Here’s a great example of our tax dollars at work.

I came across a story about a researcher in New Orleans who was awarded $1.4 million by the federal government to study what happens when you dose fruit flies with LSD.

In preliminary studies, the researcher observed very interesting behaviour among the flies, as they dressed in tie-dyed clothing and formed a drum circle. The studies further indicated these tripping flies exhibited a strong preference for sixties music, particularly the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The researcher’s original intent in the study was to determine if the LSD induced the flies to show symptoms of psychosis or schizophrenia. My question is- how do you psychoanalyze a fruit fly for schizophrenia? Do you lay him down on an itty bitty sofa and make him look at ink blots? What would a fruit fly that is high on LSD picture when looking at an ink blot? Do fruit flies have bad trips, imagining giant fly swatters coming down on them? Do they experience flashbacks? There are so many questions- I suppose that’s why the study costs so much money.

In the end, perhaps we may discover something of value from this- like, a new exterminating agent. Got an infestation of fruit flies in your kitchen? Just give them some LSD and they’ll all hitch a ride on a micro-bus bound for San Francisco.