Mumbai terrorists took LSD?? Whatever you say, Daily Telegraph!

From the UK's Daily Telegraph comes perhaps the oddest and most unbelievable story to come out of the recent Mumbai terrorist attacks: the terrorists apparently used cocaine, "other stimulants," and LSD during the almost three-day siege. Yeah, you got that last one right – LSD!

It's tough to even begin describing how ridiculous this story is, but I'll try. First of all, the effects of cocaine wear off within an hour or two, making it totally unsuitable for a 60-hour battle with elite commandoes. Second of all, cocaine is rarely injected, as the article claims the terrorists did. And finally, the most ridiculous item: the LSD. Firstly, the hallucinogenic effects would seem to be a severe drain on one's ability to engage in combat. Secondly, an acid trip doesn't last more than ten hours (unless you take a dosage that would absolutely devestate your ability to do anything coherent, forget guerilla-style warfare!). Thirdly, the comedown from LSD is very tiring, and even if the vaguely energizing effects didn't hamper your ability to fight, the post-trip fatigue definitely would. Fourthly, LSD is rarely if ever injected, contrary to the Telegraph's report that "injections" of LSD were found (what the hell does that even mean??). And lastly, hallucinogenic drugs are known to cause severe psychological introspection – the kind that would make it very difficult to kill someone on. If you gave ten hardened terrorists a couple of doses of acid in the heat of a battle, it seems near certain that at least one of them would walk out of the building with their hands on their head and surrender.

This story has got to take the prize for this year's most laughably underinformed newspaper article about illegal drugs. I don't doubt that someone passed this information along to the Telegraph, but they have shown serious disregard for journalistic integrity in not asking the most obvious questions that would cross the mind of anyone vaguely informed about the effects of cocaine and LSD.