Both are true. Guns are powerful tools of security and dangerous weapons. Power and danger tend to go hand in hand.

I've taken most of the tier 1 psychedelics - LSD, mushrooms, molly. As weird as it sounds, I tend to view them as a way to communicate with my own mind. I tend to view my mind as an agent I ordinarily have limited access to. I also view the experiences as a kind of yard stick for mental states - letting me know what's possible to think/feel. I've never had a "bad trip" but I don't tend to view distress/pain as something I want to avoid at all costs.

I did a full LSD dose once on a hike with friends and was kind of ambivalent about the experience - kind of a silly, scattered, agitating experience. I imagine in another setting I'd have a significantly different experience.

My experiences with mushrooms have been better. I've only done a heroic dose once, intentionally alone, and while the experience was great/relieving, I spent about an hour lying prone on the floor crying. I at least felt like I ended up learning a lot and came back with, at the highest level, learnings like "the meaning of life is to create meaning" and "the purpose of life is to create more life and help what lives."

I've done molly twice, maybe three times. The first time was profound and the other times were nice but not terribly revealing. The first time I got in contact with overwelming bliss, "so this is what it feels like to be happy." It also helped me experience heightened empathy for myself which I tend to struggle with.

This was all years ago. I occasionally take microdoses of LSD if I feel like I'm in a mental rut and want an escape hatch - highly recommend it.

Consensus is hard and these drugs are poorly understood.