Does an altered state of consciousness = creativity unleashed?

To answer the question in the OP:

sometimes, yes. sometimes it = a life ruined. There's some risk assessment work needs doing. And that's a well experienced opinion on this matter, I assure you.

Nope. While my imagination can go freefall in altered states of consciousness (including drunk), what actually ends up written is absolute rubbish. Not even a kernel of a good idea.

One drunken occasion I thought I was writing really well, but in the morning all that was across the page was 'I AM GOING TO BE THE VOICE OF A NEW GENERATION' , poorly spelled.

It's been more than twenty years since I smoked pot. I suspect if I tried to write while stoned I'd spend half the time at the computer listening to the buzzing noise running through all my muscles and the other half looking out for whoever was sneaking around trying to steal whatever I was *supposed* to be writing. I definitely had a big-time issue with paranoia.

As for drinking and writing, I'm sure I would *think* I was having the greatest idea in the world but I doubt I'd be able to make any sense out of it in the morning. And I'd have a headache, to boot.

In answer to the original question.

In my experience, no. It does not help anything.

My altered states of conciousness always end up in one of the following situations, or variations thereof.

1. Monged out on the settee philosophising about all the wonderful things I'm going to do when I'm not monged out.

2. Babbling like a loon about all the wonderful things in my head and writing some of them down because they really are the secrets at the heart of the universe. Then finding out later that what I've written is either trite and obvious, or nonsensical.

Examples of the above. 'Everyone is everything.' 'We should all be nice.' 'It looks like an ostrich.'

3. Semi concious dreaming dreams of wonderful things that I won't remember when I come round and feel like crap.

4. Vomiting into a bucket.