When I read your title, my brain crawled back to a childhood memory of the cautionary tale of a mother holding her child and it having some terrible trauma because her mother had an acid flashback. I have no reason to believe this came from anyone in my personal life (the topic just was not relevant) so it was likely some D.A.R.E propaganda. Your observations on the exaggerations by the unexperienced being the source of these myth certainly hits it on the head. Fear, uncertainty, doubt; docile states to maintain.

A visual setting, a physical sensation...the integration of the senses into the internal experience of psychedelics makes these trails where if one were to remain with that trigger of recall, it becomes easier for the mind to anticipate accompanying signals... "Neurons that fire together, wire together". Depending on the individual's tendency toward positive thinking (not the biological default by any stretch), a positive regard toward the experience can encourage greater connectivity. If that happens, the former user can enjoyably, as you mention,

stick[ a] toe across that psychedelic boundary.

Much of human society is trapped in cycles of suffering; a moral freedom to pursue any treatment must become a rallying cry in the face of health and well-being in the majority of our population. Everyone in the community can help spread this message of compassion and truth. Very grateful for your contributions @artisticscreech