"I awoke from The Sickness at the age of forty-five, calm and sane, and in reasonably good health except for a weakened liver and the look of borrowed flesh common to all who survive The Sickness... When I speak of drug addiction I do not refer to keif, marijuana or any preparation of hashish, mescaline, Banisteriopsis caapi, LSD6, Sacred Mushrooms or any other drugs of the hallucinogen group... There is no evidence that the use of any hallucinogen results in physical dependence."

William S. Burroughs Literature See all quotes by William S. Burroughs →

React to this quote

More by William S. Burroughs

“Naropa Audio Archives: William S. Burroughs class on the technology and ethic of wishing Streaming audio and 64 kbit/s MP3 ZIP file.”

“Beat — A film based on his and Joan Burroughs's life leading up to her death.”

“1. Never give anything away for nothing. 2. Never give more than you have to . 3. Always take back everything if you possibly can.”

“Naropa Audio Archives: William S. Burroughs lecture on public discourse. Streaming audio and 64 kbit/s MP3 ZIP file.”

“Hustlers of the world, there is one Mark you cannot beat: The Mark Inside.”

“A ghost in daylight on a crowded street.”

Resonant Thoughts

"We now know what we should have known then--not only was that evacuation wrong, but Japanese-Americans were and are loyal Americans. On the battlefield and at home, Japanese-Americans -- names like Ha…"

— Gerald Ford

Politics1890–1962

#philosophy

"To spell out the obvious is often to call it in question."

— Eric Hoffer

Literature1902–1983

#philosophy

"We all know how the size of sums of money appears to vary in a remarkable way according as they are being paid in or paid out."

— Julian Huxley

Science1887–1975

#philosophy

"The men of my group who are under indictment here were under my military command. If they had not executed the orders which they were given, they would have been ordered by me to execute them. If they…"

— Otto Ohlendorf

Economics1907–1951

#leadership