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WARNING: This is not pleasant reading---the text is frank and the photographs graphic. PARENTS ARE ADVISED TO NOT ALLOW THEIR IMPRESSIONABLE CHILDREN TO SEE THIS MATERIAL.

This series of photos documents a form of addiction and is presented in the hope that the public will become aware of and understand this incurable disease.

"Sandstone addiction" is an informal name for the condition known clinically as "Sandstone Deprivation Syndrome" (SDS). It is a disease observed in some visitors to the sandstone landscapes of southern Utah. The bizarre topography of that area is of such interest that certain types of visitation produce in the visitor the need to re-visit it again and again. Note that it is a need, not merely a pleasant desire.

The mechanism of the addiction process has been traced to a spiritual property of sandstone known as "psychoramic orientation." How this process works is unknown. The worst cases of SDS are seen in persons who expose themselves to the sandstone in the area around Moab, Utah, a region noted for its strange rock formations (fins, domes, and the like). Moabian sandstone apparently has the greatest psychoramic orientation.

Absence from the source of addiction affects the victim's physical and mental state. The longer the period of absence, the worse the symptoms. Typically, upon leaving southern Utah, the victim starts to experience a feeling of unease and might become slightly restless. This is often followed by irritation and grouchiness. Some cases have involved irrational behavior, "acting out," or sudden bursts of anger. These symptoms can be a problem if the victim is operating a motor vehicle to get home: some highway accidents have been attributed to SDS. Fortunately, the fact that SDS is an officially recognized pathology, arrests of such offenders are rare.

Later stages of the disease can be characterized by one-track thinking, loss of interest in normal activities, weight loss, a disheveled appearance, and an anti-social attitude. Also common is the victim's spending hours or days at a time studying maps of Utah or surfing with Google Earth through the landscapes of desire. The worst cases---all in hikers who visit Moab repeatedly---involve tremors, uncontrolled drooling, and catatonic episodes.

There is only one thing that has proven effective in treating the disease---extended residence in a high-security treatment facility where the victim is calmed with industrial-strength tranquilizers and periodically "cleansed" by administration of electroshock therapy. But even with this approach, the rate of recidivism is quite high. There is no known cure. Some quacks are known to prescribe larger and larger doses of Moabian sandstone to mitigate the effects of the addiction, but of course this only worsens the symptoms, making the work of caring medical personnel all the more difficult.

Merely acting as a tourist is not problematic. Typical tourist activities such as stopping at scenic viewpoints and purchasing souvenirs are completely safe and may be indulged in without limit. However, those visitors who go on extended walks and hikes around Moabian sandstone are asking for trouble, and it is those visitors who suffer from SDS.

Remember, SDS is not a sign of moral weakness, it is a disease over which the victim has little control.

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