Hallucinogens

In short

Hallucinogens are drugs. They cause, among other things, hallucinations. This means that sensory perceptions are altered. Nature produces hallucinogens. There are hallucinogens in certain types of mushrooms, for example. Hallucinogens are also synthesized in laboratories. The best-known example of this is LSD.

What are Hallucinogens, effects

Hallucinogens are used in a variety of manners. LSD, for instance, can be obtained as ‘paper trips’ or in pill form. Mushrooms can be eaten or tea can be brewed with them.

Addictive? Not physically, rarely psychologically.
Increasingly more needed for the same effect? In the short-term, yes, as repeated use of the substance within a few days produces virtually no effect. In the long-term, no.
Short-term effects: Intensification of current emotions, visual hallucinations, distortions and sometimes complete alterations of perceptions of time and space.
Long-term effects: Chance of mental disorders for people who are susceptible to these (anxiety, psychosis).
Important: Danger of inaccurate or mistaken appraisals of environment. Panic can arise as a result of a particularly strong trip and cause the user to ‘flip out.’ A trip is the term for the effects of the hallucinogenic use.

What are they?

Hallucinogens are drugs. They cause hallucinations, among other things. This means that they alter sensory perceptions.

Nature produces hallucinogens. They can be found in the skin and urine of toads, in certain types of mushrooms and in certain types of cactuses such as the peyote.

Hallucinogens also occur in such spices as mace and nutmeg although the concentration is so small that the effects are not apparent. Hallucinogens are also synthesized in the laboratory. The best-known example of this is LSD.

Where do they come from?

Ever since man discovered hallucinogens, they have been used. Initially, this was done for largely magical or religious purposes, but this use has faded more or less into oblivion.

The properties of LSD were discovered by coincidence in a laboratory in 1943. At first, LSD was used for medical purposes, namely as a resource during psychotherapy. In the 1960s, LSD found its way to ‘alternative’ young people on a rather large scale.

What active compounds are involved?

LSD is an abbreviation for lysergic acid diethylamide. This is a compound produced by chemically processing a certain mould in the laboratory. LSD or ‘acid’ is colourless and has no smell or taste.

The active compound in mushrooms, which constitute the most commonly used natural hallucinogen, is psilocybine. This can be found in more than 20 different types of mushrooms.

The active compound in the peyote cactus is mescaline.

What do they do?

Hallucinogens intensify the existing emotions and alter perceptions of time and space. The user hallucinates: He or she sees things which are not there and experiences the things to be very real. The intensification of emotions can be strong. A pleasant feeling can thus develop into ecstasy.

Anxiety can degenerate into panic or paranoia. The emotions experienced by the user cannot always be predicted ahead of time.

The effects of a hallucinogen can also return without the substance having been used directly prior. Such a ‘flashback’ can occur months or even years later.

The physical effects of most hallucinogens are not very large. Mushrooms and peyote cactus contain other compounds which can cause nausea or vomiting.

What is a trip?

The effects of a hallucinogen and the exact nature of the trip are determined by the type of substance, the dosage, the user’s mood and the environment of the user. Body weight, physical condition and stomach content can also play a role.

A trip usually begins between 30 and 60 minutes of taking the substance. For LSD, very little is needed: 100 to 150 millionth of a gram is the usual dose. The peak of the trip comes some 2 to 3 hours later. After 8 to 10 hours the trip is over.

There are also variants where the trip can last up to 24 hours. An example of this is the substance DOB, which is not seen very often. Once and awhile it will show up in the nightlife circuit. The user typically thinks that he or she has purchased XTC.

Concerning the mushrooms, the trip is usually less intense and the effect varies in dependence to the amount consumed.

What does the user feel?

Hearing, smell, vision and touch are more intense. They can even overlap each other: music can be seen, a photo can be heard and colours can be smelled. Objects can radiate light, and things which are normally still can start to move. Time can slow down or stop altogether. Perceptions of space change. Eye and hand are no longer coordinated. The user may nevertheless experience his or her thoughts as very clear.

The strength of a hallucinogenic trip can vary during the trip itself. At least some contact is usually maintained with reality. The user is thus aware of where the effects being experienced are coming from. Sometimes, however, all awareness of reality can disappear. The user can get caught or stuck in a trip. This can be very terrifying and lead to panic — particularly when the trip is not a good one and the experiences of the user are already scary or menacing.

Who uses them?

LSD and the hippie culture of the 1960s appear to have disappeared from the face of the earth, but this is not true. The world of LSD and other hallucinogens is fairly inconspicuous. Users usually take their trips in familiar surroundings together with others who have experience with hallucinogens.

The interest today is primarily in magic mushrooms. Particularly among young people who want to experiment.

In general, people use a few times and then quit.

How are they used?

LSD is known in the form of “paper trips” or pills. LSD as well as the magic mushrooms is taken orally. It is difficult to determine the strength of a mushroom and the exact type. Picking magic mushrooms yourself is just as dangerous as looking for edible porcini mushrooms oneself. The poisonous ones often look deceptively like the edible ones. Some poisonous mushrooms can also be deadly. The peyote cactus is taken orally. This initially causes nausea and queasiness. The trip begins about 1 hour later and goes on for 10 to 12 hours. The trip resembles that of LSD. The use of peyote is less common than the use of other hallucinogens.

Can you get addicted to them?

A distinction can be made between psychological and physical dependence. One can speak of physical dependence when the body protests to the stopped usage of the substance (withdrawal symptoms). When someone stops using a hallucinogen such as LSD, withdrawal symptoms do not occur.

A physical phenomenon which does occur is that taking a dose shortly after a previous dose produces no effect whatsoever. The body becomes temporarily insensitive to the substance. Only after 3 or 4 days will the usual trip effects occur. Speaking practically, thus, it is almost impossible to take more than two trips a week.

Psychological dependence means that the user craves the substance to an increasingly greater extent and really does not feel good without it. This does not really occur with hallucinogens. When someone has difficulties going without, this has more to do with characteristics of the individual than with the substance: A major craving for the — exciting — experiences of a trip. All together, the chances of physical or psychological dependence are virtually negligible.

What are the risks?

Hallucinogens are not safe.

Hallucinogens definitely constitute a risk for people who are unstable, depressed or anxious and people with a predisposition towards psychosis. Young people who are exploring the world but do not know themselves too well can also incur negative experiences using hallucinogens.
Hallucinogens can elicit a psychosis and create situations of panic. A particularly frightening experience can continue to bother the user quite some time after the experience itself. The ‘flashbacks’ which some users experience can intensify the after-effects.
A flashback comes unexpectedly and almost always at an inconvenient moment. It can last anywhere from few minutes to few hours.
Hallucinogens reduce one’s judgement capacities, which can create very dangerous situations. Real cars can be perceived as toy cars, for instance.
The unknown strength of natural hallucinogens, in particular, can lead to unpleasant surprises.
Use during pregnancy or while breast feeding is, just as for all other drugs, strongly discouraged.

Handling of users

The use of hallucinogens is not very frequent. They are, moreover, not the types of drugs which people escape into and never come back from.

It may nevertheless be necessary to talk about someone’s use at some point. Try to discover why the person is using in an open exchange. There is reason for concern if feelings of discontent or instability are among the reasons for use. It is best to try to do something about the underlying problems. Panic and threats may only backfire and produce the opposite of the desired effect.

One should have knowledge of the risks involved in the use of hallucinogens. While it is difficult to predict whether someone is going to encounter problems during a trip or not, those individuals who are at a major risk for problems can certainly be identified ahead of time. The person confronted with someone on a bad trip or someone who is ‘flipping out’ should reassure the user and try to calm the user down. This can take some time: Until the trip is over. The user can also remain confused or anxious for a considerable period after the trip.