Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!
The Effects of Hallucinogenic Drugs on The Brain
1998 First Web Reports
On Serendip
The Effects of Hallucinogenic Drugs on The Brain
Alicia Ebbitt
Hallucinnogenic Drugs alter a person's perceptions of reality and may cause hallucinations and other alterations of the senses. Drugs classified as hallucinogens include: LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), 2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetime(DOM), N,N-dimethyltrptamine(DMT), psilocin, and mescaline. There are two aspects of these drugs that classify then as hallucinogens. They all have common side effects, including distortion of sensory perception, and other psychic and somatic effects. These drugs also exhibit cross-tolerance. This means that a user of hallucinogenic drugs develops a higher tolerance to hallucinogens, the more they are used and the shorter the time span is between the last usage.Hallucinogenic drugs have been used throughout history for a number of reasons. They have been used as medicinal agents as well as having served religious purposes. Hallucinogens such as mescaline have been used in Native American ritual ceremonies. There was extensive usage of hallucinogens in the 60's and 70's as part of the counter- culture hippie movement. During the "acid tests" of this era, hallucinogenic drugs were used for mind exploration (B.L. Jacobs, "How Hallucinogenic Drugs Work").
Hallucinogenic drugs cause both physical and psychological effects on humans. The physical effects of these drugs include: dilated pupils, elevated body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, appetite loss, sleeplessness, tremors, headaches, nausea, sweating, heart palpitations, blurring of vision, memory loss, trembling, and itching. A user of hallucinogenic drugs will also experience a number of psychological alterations in the brain. These drugs may cause hallucinations and illusions as well, as the amplification of sense, and the alterations of thinking and self-awareness. It is quite possible to have a bad reaction to hallucinogenic drugs. This is referred to as a "bad trip" and may cause panic, confusion, suspicion, anxiety, and loss of control. The long-term effects of these drugs can be quite dangerous. These long-term effects may include: flashbacks, mood swings, impaired thinking, unexpected outbursts of violence and eventually possibly depression that may lead to death or suicide.
Quite a lot of interest concerning hallucinogens has been generated by neurobiologists and other scientists. The effects that hallucinogenic drugs have on the brain are quite complicated and very interesting. Many users of hallucinogenic drugs have experienced whole personality changes which raises questions about the relationship between brain and behavior. Scientists are also curious as to how total alterations of the senses can occur as the result of hallucinogen usage. Many people that have used hallucinogens claim to have "seen sounds" or "heard colors". Scientists ask questions such as: How can a person under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs see things that aren't there? or How do flashbacks work? Another aspect of hallucinogenic drugs that interests scientists is that they are psychomimetic meaning that they mimic certain aspects of psychosis. Through the use of hallucinogenic drugs, one can induce temporary symptoms of psychosis.
As a result of the great interest in hallucinogens, many years of research have been done to try and determine exactly how the brain is affected by these drugs. Scientists have tried to determine if there is a specific site in the brain where hallucinogens act. This has been difficult to determine. Scientists still are unable to answer all questions about hallucinogenic drugs. However they have been able to determine certain areas of the brain that these drugs do act upon.
Early on in the reasearch on hallucinogens, it was determined that hallucinogenic drugs structurally resemble serotonin (5-HT) Serotonin is found in specific neurons in the brain that mediate chemical neurotransmission in the brain. Neurons containing serotonin can be found in the brain stem section of the brain. Axons of serotonergic neurons project to almost every part of the brain, affecting and communicating with all sections of the brain. Serotonin also acts at many receptor areas of neurons. Because hallucinogenic drugs are structurally similar to serotonin, it was theorized that hallucinogenic drugs may act upon serotonergic neurons (B.L. Jacobs, "How Hallucinogenic Drugs Work").
Scientists began to carefully study the serotonin system and found out that hallucinogens do in fact have some kind of effect on serotonin. Hallucinogenic drugs cause an increase in the level of brain serotonin, but they inhibit the rapid firing of neurons containing serotonin. This is a negative feedback system in which as the serotonin level rises, the activity of serotonergic neurons decreases. It was originally theorized that this effect of hallucinogenic drugs directly caused sense alteration and hallucinations. Several observations however have shown this theory not to be true. These observations include the following: Low doses of LSD effect behavior, but do not depress firing of serotonergic neurons, The behavioral effects of LSD outlast the alteration of the firing of the serotonergic neurons, Repeated dosage of LSD results in a decrease of behavioral changes, but still effects neuron firing, Other hallucinogens do not affect serotonergic neurons, When serotonin levels are depleted, the effectiveness of LSD is not eliminated (Ian Leicht, "Postulated Mechanisms of LSD").
It has now been determined that the effects of hallucinogenic drugs are actually caused by the effects that hallucinogenic drugs have on the post-synaptic activity of serotonergic neurons. Hallucinogenic drugs directly affect the serotonin receptors(specifically the serotonin receptor subtype, 5-HT2), which is what eventually results in a complex pattern of action potentials and activity. This was proven by the fact that the depletion of serotonin levels in animals does not result in a decrease of behavioral effects caused by hallucinogenic drugs (B.L. Jacobs, "How Hallucinogenic Drugs Work").
Hallucinations and other effects of hallucinogens are however very complicated experiences. They are not simply a part of a cause and effect system in the brain, where hallucinogenic drugs act on serotonin and cause hallucinations. Instead, hallucinogenic drugs act initially on the serotonin system, which sends into motion, a pattern of complex action potentials and activity. Other neurotransmitters may be involved in these activities as well. The effects that inputs and outputs have on each other in this system as well as the pattern of action potentials mediated by hallucinogenic drugs help to cause many of the complex changes that allow hallucinations to happen. (B.L. Jacobs, "How Hallucinogenic Drugs Work") Scientists continue to do research to determine the exact effects that hallucinogens have on the serotonin receptors and to answer any questions that they cannot yet answer.
WWW Sources
1) NIDA (National Institution Drug Abuse: LSD(Lysergic Acid Diethylamide).
2) Hallucinogenic Drugs in Psychiatric Research and Treatment: Perspectives and Prospects.
3) Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness.
4) Hallucinogens (PCP, LSD, etc.).
5) Narcotics, Dangerous Drugs, and Marijuana.
6) Healthguide Online: Substance Abuse: Hallucinogens.
8) Los Angeles Police Department Drug Recognition Expert Unit: Hallucinogens.
9) Postulated Mechanisms of LSD.
10) B.L. Jacobs. 1987. How Hallucinogenic Drugs Work. "American Scientist". 75:385-92.
11) M.C. Bindal, S.P. Gupta, and P. Singh. 1983. QSAR Studies on Hallucinogens. "Chemical Reviews". 83:633-49.
Comments made prior to 2007
When you list the drugs in the beginning of your article you list lsd psilocin and mescaline. But "psilocin" is not actually the active ingredient in hallucinogenic mushrooms. The correct term is "Psilocybin". Just thought I'd point that out ... Daniel, 19 February 2007
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities
Remote Ready Biology Learning Activities has 50 remote-ready activities, which work for either your classroom or remote teaching.
About Student Papers
| This paper reflects the research and thoughts of a student at the time the paper was written for a course at Bryn Mawr College. Like other materials on Serendip, it is not intended to be "authoritative" but rather to help others further develop their own explorations. Web links were active as of the time the paper was posted but are not updated. |
What's New? Subscribe to Serendip Studio
A Random Walk
New Topics
-
4 weeks 23 hours ago
-
How do food molecules reach our muscles? – Structure and Function of Organ Systems, Organs and Cells4 weeks 1 day ago
-
4 weeks 1 day ago
-
4 weeks 1 day ago
-
4 weeks 2 days ago
Comments
Dang straight. I spent 40
Dang straight. I spent 40 years unable to connect with people until shrooms dissolved the invisible wall. Believe me, I tried. And then, there it was. My cell door was wide open and I could come and go as I pleased. The effect seems to be permanent.
Unsure
I'm 15, almost 16 and a friend of mine has suggested we do acid next week. He has done it before but i haven't. I have done weed and booze and mdma but that is pretty much it. I want to do it but i'm a bit scared. Can it damage your mind? And i don't know my friend that well, will the lack of trust lead to a bad trip? Thank you :)
Don't use it if you are not certain
Don't use hallucinogenic drugs if you are not prepared in mind, body, and soul for the experience. You need to do a thorough pre-evaluation checklist with a group of close and trust-worth friends before even considering the use of LSD or other similar drug. Their is only one reason and benefit to using the drug, and a laundry list of reasons not to use the drug. Also, only a small segment of the population is capable of creating a productive experience while using LSD, even if they think they say they are have a good time. Most likely they have nothing more than a juvenile reason to use the drug, which is the most important reason not to use the drug. The only reason to risk the potential destruction it can cause is if you are doing it to expand your consciousness and can have someone you look up to and trust to tell you the truth if LSD is the wrong thing to use for expanding your consciousness when that is the case.
Also, read my post further down possibly on the next page regarding my list of important points you want to consider be taking a trip.
LSD
When I was 19 I tripped every weekend; I LOVED it...it was an amazing experience - they way everything looked through your own eyes was nothing less then pure beauty. However; now 14yrs later I wonder if all that tripping really effected my mind. I really cannot remember things that I should....I just wonder if the LSD has something to do with it. To the 15 year old you really need to slow down. I understand wanting to experience things but you have the rest of your life ahead of you; one bad trip could screw that up. Also believe me you don't want to feel how I do now; ignorant for not knowing many things I should.
Unsure
Are you nuts? No of course you aren`t.
You don`t need drugs to live and to be happy, for God`s sakes!!!!
Change your ideas and use your mind, your brain for good things in life, and mainly to like, love and appreciate yourself and your innate born qualities. I`m sure that you have much more qualities than errors.
You are able to change what you think. Anyone can.
God Bless you and for God`s sakes Take extra good care of yourself!
A simple happy life is much, much more interesting to you too.
dont do any hallucinagensss
dont do any hallucinagensss pleaseee anyone.
the long term affects are so scary.
it fucks with your mind and im just looking out for you.
Its not cool.
I hate myself so much for
I hate myself so much for taking lsd i only did it once an its messed me up heaps i now have a permanent visual trip it is not nice at all a constant a reminder of how stupid i was to mess with drugs just because i thought it would be fun. stupid stupid stupid. Im now twenty an i dont wana live the rest of my life like this i wanna die soooooooooo badly. I pray everyday to god for him to kill me because i dont wana spend the rest of eternety in another hell for killing myself. my personality totaly changed i was carefree an anxious about nothing now im depressed an anxious all the time. pleas dont mess with drugs.
I did drugs from the age of
I did drugs from the age of fifteen on and had many trips, many bad ones. I was paranoid for years. I gave my life to Jesus and still struggled with suicide. But He has the Power to change you and give you joy. Satan came to steal, kill and destroy us but Jesus came to seek us and save us. Do not lose hope! Give Him all of your heart and he WILL show you great and mighty things.
Hey Man, I hear ya! I used to
Hey Man,
I hear ya! I used to feel pretty bad myself, for a few years after takin mushrooms wen i was bout 15. I was v fearful, anxious and felt v much alone because of the bad trip i experienced. Never really told anyone bout it. Didnt want to upset the family or have them think i was a mentaller :-) Anyway, im not really gonna get into this in much detail but i was in a bad place for years and im now in the best place i ever was,ever,even before i had the terrifying experience. Anyhow, wat im tryin to say is that ur not alone bud and give me a reply if ye want to chat k..
Geez kid, if you read the
Geez kid, if you read the other comment that said "LSD is an *incredibly* powerful drug, and bad trips do happen, generally to people who are mentally unstable, depressed, or otherwise have serious issues.". It sounds like you might have issues if you've already tried "weed and booze and mdma" at your age.
If you're scared and don't trust your friend that well then you shouldn't do it, it sounds like a recipe for a bad trip. Maybe you should graduate high school and get a college degree beforehand. To be honest, you're not going to get much out of it at your age when your brain is still developing, if you waited until you're more educated taking LSD would be way more beneficial. If by "damage your mind" you mean rewire your brain, that's what it can do but it's not neurotoxic as far as I know.
REPLY
Don't you DARE do acid! You are way too young to be doing it, I should know... I am 20 years old and I did acid and I JACKED UP my mind. I lost memories, and a lot of other things that I'd rather not say. Please trust me when I say that I wish I had never done acid in my life and please please PLEASE listen to me when I say that you should deffinately not do it. And your friend should stop while he has a chance too. Please listen and I wish you the best.
cmon dude
dude seriously, you needa get your head checked out cause lsd is one of the safest chemicals known to mankind.dont draw people away from it just cause you obviously are mentally handicapped and your mind cant handle it
if by saf eyou mean your more
if by saf eyou mean your more likey to perminetly end up frying or even overdosing than ya one of the safest .......no stick with weed you seem to need it for mental disfuntions anyways....
trying to remembering a hallucenogenic
Can anyone help me remember a powder back in the 60's (I am now in my mid 70's). it was really a hallucinogenic. we snorted it. it was very powerful. Seems it was an animal tranquilizer but not sure. It didn't take long after snorting it to make the room and things move in slow motion. It was not LSD! It was not mushrooms, it was something my son gave to me when he was a teenager back in the 60's. It was well known as something very strong, not piotee or any indian root. It was powdered and didn't take much to really get loaded. You certainly couldn't drive with it or do anything except just set down somewhere and trip on out. Please email me if you are old enough to remember what this was. I am finishing up writing a book and need the name to include in a story withing the book. Thanks.
Hi Charlie Clark Can anyone
Hi Charlie Clark
Can anyone help me remember a powder back in the 60's. Seems it was an animal tranquilizer............
They called it "Angel Dust"
Its horse tranquilizer.
sounds like it could have
sounds like it could have been ketamine yeah, or possibly DMT
ketamine
It was ketamine. My good friend is currently in the throws of a particularly rampant psilocybin trip. Happy trails!
drug in my food in county jail
my food was injected with some type of narcotic to have mental effects on me.my symptoms were lockjow,paranoia, numbness of gums,speech impediment,changing color and strong smell in urine,ringing of the ears,nervous,bloody nose up to 4 times a day,salivating more thin normal. some of these symptoms faded a way and some still exist. it hapend to me in jail . any one know what drug use to affect me this way ? please help me if u know ( thank you )
My first acid trip/ tips/ idk (:
( im not trying to educate anyone on Acid, i am no expert, just a lover of it.) This little passage i wrote isnt about informing you on the goods and bads of acid, its just what i remember of my trip so you can decide if its for you or not.) Hi, my names Brad. I'm 16 and have been smoking maryjane for quite some time. I have just recently decided to try a new type of drug other than marijuana ( i dont even call it a drug to be honest its a fucking plant it grows.... ) and some pills like xanax, addy percs, you know the easy to get teenager shit. Well out of nowhere my friend said this while we were sittin in my car. ( we all hang in my car and smoke and chill all day, ujelly? ) I wanna get some of that acid. My reaction ( no joke ) ARE YOU STUPID OMG THAT STUFF DESTROYS PEOPLE AND RUINS LIVES. Well I just took my first hit of acid about a month ago, AMAZED. This is the greatest thing in the world. My trip was amazing! Except i was dumb about it...Me and my friends went over to this kids house who is on all the harder drugs like crack , and he was about to drop us each a hit of acid. His basement was blood red, with some of the scariest things i have ever seen hanging on walls/drawn on walls. He even has a fucking pet weasle that just runs around in his basement. Well we each get our drop, sit there for an hour, and we all say this. This shit is wack dude. we werent feeling any different at all. He told us to look in the mirror. (My pupils were seriously covering my whole eye dude, like there was no color to my eyes except white and black. Thats the only negative thing , your dialated pupils). But yea we thought it was some bullshit so he offered another hit, i said i dont care lol, so i took another. shitty thing is tho we decided to leave ( WHY DID WE DRIVE?? IDK EITHER the guy even offered us to stay the night ) after we got our second hit...so i drop off my friends and thats that. im almost home...like seriously a road that is completely straight and only a mile long until im home. and then my friend who i have been talking to and looking at this whole time FLEW into the backseat!!!! he was wearing a white coat and i saw him turn into a streak of white and just zip into the back. i was like damn wtf, then i realized i was completely alone, and i just dropped him off like 10 minutes ago! aha!!!!!!!!!! now i started getting pumped becauase i thought i was starting to trip...and i was. the road zigzagged. straight up. just zigzags and some purplish green tint to it. i somehow made it home. look at my house, it looked like jello, just wouldn't stay still lol. i get inside, and sit down on my couch, and everything started to breathe, i could hear it breathe, watch it breathe and feel it breathe! my walls were just nonstop breathing! like they would all move far away, then come in close, then far away! aha it was amazing i probably watched my walls for an hour, then i needed a cig, so i go to my backyard. ( i was standing on my concrete platform with grass on two sides and my house on the other two.) and i started smokin my cig, lookin at everything, then the greatest thing of my life happened. The grass in my lawn, slowly , went from ripples, into WAVES. they were crashing into my knees! i could feel the grass! but i didnt move at all, i just stood there with a tide of grass rolling at my knees! And then i went inside. and then some bad stuff happened, a few dozen people somehow got into my house ( not really, i was trippin ) and were following me into my room , not kidding it was weird as hell. We all pile into my room and i sit down and start looking at them, they looked at me then just flew straight up and dissapeared into my roof. now im the kind of kid who would have shit his pants and grabbed the 9mm from my safe and started busting people because of being so scared, but i just told myself, they arent real, its the acid, they are just here to make you have more fun... well they all left except for one, the one in my closet, he sat there all night watching me do all my regular high activities... i even stared back at him for awhile. Now at the time i didnt think anything of it...but as i read about other peoples trips and ideas about acid and tought more about it...i really wasnt in the same universe, it couldnt have been. cause everything was so vivid and real, but if anyone has ever seen that movie Insidious , that can describe what tripping is like, you leave your body and go to a different world where everything is new and everything is amazing. Except its not scary, its just enjoyment. Like my friend who called me the next morning to describe his trip said he loved it, he told me he literally sat from 1am-3:30am, in his bathroom, looking at a towel, because he thought it was amazing!
People you saw
A book which may help you understand the people you saw. This Present Darkness by Frank Perette, it is suspenseful and a thriller. We were camping and I read this book sitting next to a camp fire in the middle of the night, after everyone was asleep.I could not put this book down after first chapter or two and read by a camp fire.The book helped me understand a lot and give me insight. Frank Perette has written many more but nothing effected more or taught me like his first book: This Presence Darkness
Yo man, Im right there with
Yo man, Im right there with ya. I love acid soo much, the first time I tripped was on I shit you not 7 hits of acid, I've loved it ever since. It has opened my eyes to many things, but you have to have a strong mindset and know what's going on all of the time. My friend didn't do that so well, nearing the end of our major tripping he started to freak out and I had to coax him through it. I have done acid many times after that, and I will always Tripp on CID. Good trips to ya man, peace.
Haha I didn't feel like typing my Tripp, to lazy, maybe I'll post it someday.
really
dude your 16 why do want to throw your life away with freaking drugs....i mean you could be anything you want to be in life......but its not none of my buisness so good day and best of luck to you
LSD
With acid it is a case of what it can do, not a case of what in necessarily does, People will talk in a dogmatic way from either the stance that it is harmless, or deadly. Either positions can be true, and you can't dogmatically state what is is like. That is naive. To talk about physical harm is naive too, as the main danger from the drug is mental. I took hundreds of acid trips way back in my youth, which was in the 1970's. The amounts in a dose were in reality (and officially) far greater in the 1960's and 1970's. On commencement I would take 1 at a time, and did this quite a number of times. It felt to me as acid was a beautiful drug which was very productive, and which gave great insight and opened up a whole new world. It was good for me. Some just know that aspect. I thought that the scare stories were all bullshit. The doses I would take started at 1 and gradually increased up to 4 or 5 at a time. Then one day it showed me what it was capable of, and what a lesson that was. I took 2 tablets of an American LSD which were incredibly strong, carrying a dose that was many times over the normal. This took me apart. I tried to kill myself by throwing myself off a bridge, because the trip was so overwhelming and frightening. Then I went crazy and had to be hospitalised. It took many people to stop me in my state, and I had to be strapped down. I had to be filled with goodness knows what to calm me down, and had to be watched continually. My state of mind lasted for many months, with amazing flashbacks that would send me into trips all day long. I have had breakdown after breakdown associated with this trip, and never been the same since. Continued HPPD continues from that to this day, and no doubt it will to the end of my life. It does annoy me when people who do not know what they are talking about talk with great authority on the matter, saying it is not bad at all and as bad as this or that drug. The drug can be the worst there is, not only deadly to the body (indirectly) but to your soul and mind. With LSD though, as said, it is a case of what it is capable of doing not what it will necessarily do. It can be so gentle and beautiful, and is very often that way. That is all some know about it, taking tiny doses in controlled circumstances. You have to be aware of what it can do, though it is only likely to do these things in much higher doses than are normally taken these days. Obviously you should not go near it if unbalanced in any way. You do not have to be unbalanced to have a bad experience though, as in large enough doses it can overwhelm anybody. It is impossible to say that somebody was unbalanced beforehand, and that is why they had a bad experience. To do that they would have to have been analysed professionally beforehand. For my own part, I was totally balanced before this devastating trip, otherwise I would not have been able to take increasingly large doses. It is a fact that in large enough doses (and the wrong circumstances) it is capable of taking anybody apart.
Shrooms/Acid Demonize You!
i have done lots of different drugs for a long time now. booze, pot, hash, extacy, mdma, cocaine, salvia, acid, and now recently i have done shrooms. i did lots of mushrooms over the weekend, and after being alone with my thoughts i learned how much smarter you become while on them, in the sense that you think of things in ways you have never thought before. after doing them i have learned that they leave your mind open to outside forces and information, and demonic possession. i now truly understand that the mushroom/lsd high opens the gateway to the spirit world, and leaves your body and mind wide open and vulnerable to possession. it was while on this trip that i have decided to quit all the drugs that i have been hooked on for years now. my way of thinking, especially on the subject of drugs, will never be the same again...
SAME
When i was on shrooms, i had been abusing drugs daily before that and started to get bad grades in college. I had very long hair and looked so much like a stoner, smoked cigaretts and my life was going down from being the basketball and football star that i used to be. I did a lot of stronger and hardcore drugs than shrooms but i took 3g's of it with 3 of my buds. It was a mindblowing experience. we took them on the beach and had a lot of fun and were all tripping out. But i got into deep thought as i do most of the time when i trip but this thought was different. It made me realize what was important in life and what path i was starting to go down instead of where i used to be and I thought of my parents some of the time in how proud they used to be in me when i used to dominate sports to now, partying everynight coming home around 3 a.m. every night i come back home from college and everything. Since then i returned to my college that i was planning to drop out of, continued playing sports, quit cigaretts and other drugs, I occasionally smoke weed because it's not that bad for you, I have a clean haircut (mom was very proud) and am trying to focus on my career in Economics. Mushrooms saved my life lol
WOW I am so glad to hear this
WOW I am so glad to hear this (not that I want you to suffer in any way) because I feel the same exact way. I have never done shrooms or LSD, but back in April/May I was going through a really hard time and did MDMA probably 20-30 times just in that short two-month span. It scares me because I dont feel like the same person anymore. I tried to tell my family but I dont think they took me very seriously and figured that since I managed to work and get good grades that I was fine. Well Im not. Ive been drinking since I was 12, smoking weed and hash since I was 14, and have done cocaine a handful of times as well as mdma dozens of times. I agree that it opens your mine to a certain vulnerability...damn Im so happy that Im not alone! People think Im crazy whenever I say that drugs open your mind to the spiritual world. It is SO true though. And I am Christian. Anyways, I haven't done mdma since May and don't plan to ever again, even though I think about it almost every day. I dont want to do drugs anymore either. They seriously f*ck with your head. I feel like they seriously have permanently altered my mind. Do you think the mdma could do that, that severely? Ive been trying to do some research online but haven't really found anything useful. Thank you for posting this.
You did not take MDMA 20-30
You did not take MDMA 20-30 times in a short two month span. That is once every two or three days and you would not be able to feel it after week two or three (you'd last a month if you're a champ) why would you lie on a site like this? At that point your brain would be incapable of creating the necessary chemicals for rolling (serotonin , norepinephrine , and smaller amounts of dopamine) gtfo with your stories, you don't know the definition of being a candy kid.
are shrooms bad for u?
i have heard things about doing shrooms:
i heard they stay in ur spine forever
i heard that they make ur eyes farther apart
cause long term negative cancerous effects on ur body and brain
are any of these true, false???
please explain and use actual sources (doctors, books, clinical studies etc...)
not just random stuff you heard, because obviously i've heard it.
and if i haven't and there's no backing, i'm not interested, since i'm already confused enough.
also, i don't need comparisons between LSD and shrooms bc i have never done LSD and don't plan on ever doing it either.
only weed and shrooms and the drank thanks for the help researchers!!
When you take shrooms does it
When you take shrooms does it go up your spine? i had an experience where i believe i had my drink spiked and i felt something in my spine and go up in to my brain and i was in the lower astral realms can shrooms do this to you
start off by looking for
start off by looking for examples and facts on any site but a comment forum haha..seriously though dont believe any of that bull it may stay in your spine but who cares you cant re-trip if you crack your back and who in the world is gonna pay 10000 dollars for a spinal tap?..i have no sources but your best bet is to type in mushroom facts on google and find stuff on the..for the record though lsd and psyliocybin (drug in shrooms) are just about the least harmful chemicals and or drugs known to man..lsd is probably even safer cause it doesnt screw with your stomach
Are you kidding me? LSD is
Are you kidding me? LSD is one of the MOST toxic chemicals known to man.
No
It is actually less toxic than Vitamin C my friend.
Actually, it's less toxic
Actually, it's less toxic then cafine. It's one of the least toxic drugs, it does not do any harm... It's called research, dude
You might be right
If you use caffeine excessively everyday for 30 or 40 years, then you might achieve the brain damage resulting from one use of highly potent LSD dose. As far as I know, LSD puts enormous stress on the body resulting in a cascade of stress hormones that soak your brain and other organs for several days in stress hormones. What I know to this point is the stress alone will lead to the destruction of the brains ability to communicate information interdependently among regions. Also, the common sense assumption is that to achieve an experience of that magnitude, which can ultimately redefine your relationship to life indefinitely, good or bad, will come at a cost to you physically, mentally, and spiritually. The most likely aspect to be affected equally among any user of LSD is the brain damage is causes as it changes the brains chemical balance for as much as 12 to 16 hours and remains in the system for days afterward. Next time you are tripping on LSD, check if you discover that you are beading with sweat at the forehead. I wouldn't doubt that you would experience intimately the physical destruction of you physiology much more acutely if you removed the positive sensations. From what I know, you only experienced the negative sensations, which you most likely fail to acknowledge because your senses are all amplified so when negative sensation arises during a trip, your other senses overwhelm the single negative sensation you might be experiencing. Also you most likely are in intense pain during the experience, but the pain isn't noticeable because of the amount of endorphin-s and h-adrenaline your body is creating. Without the cascade of positive brain reactions, my assumption is that most people would be thriving in pain and mental anguish.
Thats some really deep shit
Thats some really deep shit and i agree with what you are saying fully..
lsd
lsd saved my life. as a person who was a drug addict for years (20 plus) i don't advocate the use of drugs at all. but i will say what psychiatry tried to do for me didn't work. heroin didn't work. weed didn't work. co-dependent relations didn't work and it was all because I was getting in the way. i couldn't leave things alone and just be happy. i can now. i sleep at night better. and i get shit done. that's all that matters to me. and i don't have to trip anymore. it's almost like it made itself redundant...
lsd
LSD is a touchy subject...it is very true that everyone acts different. My thoughts of the drug is that you should be a rather happy person who enjoys life (if your depressed or have ever thoguht of suicide please dont acid) when taking the drug please be with friends who are also on the trip and maybe a "babysitter" someonoe who is sober and that you know well. You MUST remind yourself that you are on lsd...aka crazy shit is going to happen, but everything will be okay because tomorrow will come. My feelings for acid is that its AMAZING..changed my life for the greatest in ways i never thought possible
LSD
LSD can be fun in the moment (or not). But I know a guy who used alot back in the day. One day he took 20 hits!! He no longer uses, but now he is a recluse, social phobic. He freezes up in conversations i.e cant think ... and will have panic attacks. His life has changed dramatically to the point of being incapacitated. I am trying to find research about specific effects on cognitive functioning due to long term or extreme use of LSD. Although I've found general info (LSD affects reality testing, communication), I am hungry for more. ...And WHAT to do about it. I am wondering if anyone else out there has problems like this and if anything has helped.
CoMMon SeNse
...... I MEAN YOUR AWFULLY LAZY AND YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE IS ALL HAZY, IF YOU JUST KEPT THAT RECEIPT YOU CAN TAKE THAT BRAIN YOU BOUGHT,BACK, AND GET THAT TRAIN OF THOUGHT BACK ON TRACK BY EATING SOME OVERLY PRESCRIBED PROZAC...
but really be real with your friend (be strait-forward) and tell him that its all in his head..the moment he realizes that he'll come back ..SLOWLY BUT SURLEY..LIFES A JOURNEY IT AINT OVER YET, O and it ok to be "mean"
I'm going to echo the
I'm going to echo the statements of many others here. LSD is an *incredibly* powerful drug, and bad trips do happen, generally to people who are mentally unstable, depressed, or otherwise have serious issues. The drug will open your unconscious and make you aware of the things that secretly weigh you down, which can feel very bad. You will also feel like you're losing control. It's really remarkable just how deeply it will affect you. But for those who are stable and prepared, it will shake your soul from its daily trance and open you up to things that aren't describable. Do it rarely, and with great respect!
lsd is evil
I'm almost totally blind. I only have a little light perception and I tried LSD. I beg of anybody that hasn't tried this evil drug to never try it. I tripped good for about three hours and then everything changed. I lost all touch of reality. I only took two hits of blodder but that was two to many. I was tripping for like 15 hours in which 10 was very hard. I was begging to go to the hospital so could be knocked out. Please stick to ecstasy or something, not acid. No blind people should ever touch that shit either. the only thing that kept me from dying was hearing a gps in my buddy's car and listening to my ipod. acid is never to be fucked with for the simple fact that everybody reacts dif. you don't want a bad trip, it is pure hell!
LSD is psychology
Any psychedelic drugs should only be consumed in the right space and time with the right people, in the right environment and psychedelics should never be mixed with anything. Also, it is necessary to prepare by eating very healthy and do what I like to call "self review" before going into an experience to ensure that your body will be able the handle the immense load of chemicals and information you are going to experience. It is good to spend a few days before hand alone, or with the people you intend to journey with.
Know that you are about to open EVERYTHING and be prepared, otherwise you are almost guaranteed to have a horrible experience. It can bring up childhood trauma, unhealthy paradigms, past life experiences, etc... And if you don't know what you are getting into, it can be dangerous and even lead to permeant psychosis if the taker of the psychedelic isn't capable of integrating the information they are presented with and integrating it in a healthy way.
The purpose of psychedelics, in my opinion based on plenty of experience, is to expand the mind... fast, hens... psychedelic: which means soul manifesting, manifesting soul through expansion of consciousness.
I took an estimated 1200 micrograms on 2 high power blotters from the 70's my first time and had a similar experience, I was gone for about 2-3 months after a 14 hour journey where I lost touch with "reality" completely for at least a few hours, but when I came back, I came back with a lot of information about the universe, existence, and how to exit and return to the body. ACID is evil, LSD can be magical, but only if you are in a good state of mind in a healthy environment and well prepared. A lot of people say they "get downloads" in psychedelic experiences. If you go into it with positive intention, and go into in with an overlying explorative mood (not just intending to "get HIGH") you can have profound experiences that open you to vast unknowns.
But I much prefer meditation, it is very safe and gentle.
Safe journeys!!!!
I Would Agree with your Strategy, but can Expand
I agree with your advice on LSD and think more should be added.
Using LSD definitely requires mental preparation and should be used for the right reasons. A trip on LSD for the first time should require a checklist to evaluate if LSD is possible for you to use as a tool for spiritual growth.
The important points to evaluate are 1) do research on your family’s history regarding mental and physical genetic handicaps that are either dormant or already manifested, 2) evaluate your view on religion and if you believe in a higher power, also write some spiritual goals you want to achieve or what you wish to learn, 3) do research and survey the experience of people who have used LSD, 4) understand how LSD affects the physiology of a person, 5) research the source or supplier of your LSD and the unique characteristics of how the LSD is chemically as well as how the LSD is intended effect the mind/body connection and perception of the user (etc.… what is the trip going to be like), 6) Pick the people you are going to trip with and the reasons for including them, 7) Decide as a group on the ground rules for the trip and the consequences of breaking rules repeatedly, 8) Decide on the best location away from the public in a remote nature setting , 9) Get together the appropriate gear for camping and the preferred technology to capture the experience for later reflection and to enhance the experience of the trip including sensory specific technology such as music, play-doo, candles, sparklers, IPod, pencil and paper, paints, or other important utilities, 10) Meditate for a week, for two hours or more a day as a group, and meditate for at least 4 hours before and into the actual experience, and 11) any other research or preparation necessary to prove to yourself and your group that everyone is fully capable of utilizing LSD to achieve expanded consciousness. All of these points should contribute to a productive and trans-formative experience, leading the consciousness higher astral planes instead of the lower astral planes during and after the trip.
Furthermore, all the above points should be reviewed on each person by a trust-worthy friend and group leader. Any group of people taking the trip together should be organized into a structure with one person serving as the leader and executive decision maker, another as the mediator, another as the medic, and the other roles can be assigned based on group needs.
Points for the Leader to Consider for Definite Disqualification of a Person:
1) Family history must be devoid of either genetic propensity for mental illness that's either manifest or dormant and any harmful physical problems that could result as a reaction to LSD
2) A belief in a high power is a must
3) The desired outcomes and reasons for using LSD must be aligned with the group’s overall reason for taking the trip
4 An overview on what the member expects to experience when taking LSD backed by real life stories from people who have used the drug before with a signed statement
5) An overview or complete understanding the physiological effects of using LSD with signed statement
6) A thorough understanding of where the LSD is coming from and the unique experience the intended LSD to be used is going to create for the user with signed statement
7) The member of the group must integrate with the dynamics of the group by sharing the necessary personality traits, common reasons for using the drug, and willingness and propensity to be understanding, agreeable, calm, and sociable
8) A list of the members intended camping gear and other technology they are bringing and the reasons it will improve the experience or be necessary to the user’s expansion of consciousness signed by the member
9) Signed statement that promises the member understands the physiological consequences, mental consequences, and spiritual consequences both beneficial and harmful
10) A signed promise to seek only behavior in harmony with the group, acceptance to be in harmony with the group’s overall reason for using LSD, agreement to follow all ground rules, and agreement to respect all roles of each group member without challenging or second guessing any person for the duration of the trip
12) A promise to attend and fully participate in all mental and physical preparation meetings for the 5 days prior to the trip
This is by no means perfect or exhaustive likely can be improved or better organized with more time.
Based on my understanding, the most logical reason for using LSD is to experience an expansion of consciousness, so LSD should be considered a means to this end. If the person is resistant or is not fully prepared to direct the experience toward greater spiritual awareness, then the person should be excluded from the trip to protect that person from the overwhelming negative consequences that will definitely outweigh the potential positive consequences.
If a person is not entirely prepared for the trip when it is planned, the person will most likely disrupt the group’s experience and result in a regression in their consciousness. Any resistance within the individual must be uncovered and dealt with thoroughly before joining the ritual. The most important point to evaluate in yourself and others before tripping as a group is your resistance to the truth and to spiritual transcendence or expanded consciousness. Without this foundational maturity, the user most likely will experience a noticeable and/or less noticeable, and deeper pain because of the user’s certain regression during and after the ritual. This should be avoided under all circumstances and is what makes this drug so harmful to the majority of people who decide to use the drug. When the resistance that impedes the user’s expansion of consciousness during and after using LSD is absolutely and undeniably removed, the person will enjoy the experience more fully and reap the full rewards from the experience.
wrong wrong wrong
please do not believe this person..the reason you do not like lsd is because you obviously are mentally unstable and many times these people cannot handle it..acid truly has lesser effects on the body than that of caffeine and aspirin look it up i swear..ive tripped over 30 times on mushrooms and acid mostly acid and ive had multiple terrible terrible bad trips and i still love the drug because of the way it opened up my mind and the amazing euphoric effects it has..also ecstasy is a bad drug and will harm your body an unbelieveable amount more than acid
the truth is, for all you sad
the truth is, for all you sad people who love the euphoric expierences, your life is missing something so you try to fill it with a drug. and thats sad. you can open your mind and truly learn by opening your eyes to the world around you,traveling, and self reflecting on who you are. no one can argue which drug is better or more harmful because everyone reacts differently. but is it really worth it? wouldnt you rather feel euphoric loving someone and traveling and growing up becoming wise and accomplished? or do you really want to look back twenty years from now, thinking about those "good trips" you had... that ARENT EVEN REAL LIFE. open your eyes and realize your doing nothing to open or better your mind, youre living in a simulated, fake world the more you do it.
hahahaaha
yeah i know all about the eyes of the world its an amazing grateful dead song and my life transformed into being amazingly better after i tripped on psychadelics and sometimes its about having fun when youre a kid while you can and on your other junk u were saying before about being successful, i guarantee im going to make a more successful and happy living than you because youve twisted yourself in some very stong BELIEFS that you really cant control so thanks sister rachel
Acid (LSD cosmic implosion)
I've learned that it's not to be fooled with too. Once I too took two hits (I reside in Jacksonville, Florida)and extreme fear and hopelessness got me--emptiness gripped me. Today I don't even Know if it led to an Out of body experience (where I was in a place called Hell) or if a bad trip can terrify the user in ways that our overwhelming ability to experience negative emotions, on the evil drug, can fool someone that good. I was compelled to throw myself out there to God for Him to get me if He was real. I tried, and now I trust only on Him to be delivered of this sort of mess-- ALL OF IT! My mom as a Christian, has Christian values. She always told me too, man, I should have known BETTER than that crap (tripping).I now love people like you and me. I am able to love anyone now, because we ARE a mess without believing in the cross of Jesus Christ--His death an atoning sacrifice for all people not a certain type and certainly not for exclusives, But it is for the average guy too.
just to let everyone know,
just to let everyone know, Crick (nobel prize winner for his discovering of the double helix of DNA) was high on LSD when he discovered it. CHeck it out. True story. now if you are unhappy on lsd, then you are mentaly unstable. so when you are high you can't even grasp that its just the drugs. I have had a lot of bad trips where i thnk the world is out to get me. but you know what, i used to freak out and ruin everyones day, but i learned its just the drugs. i am mentaly unstable and know when i eat it, im in for it. its not an evil thing tho, whats evil is the devil messin with you all the time that it weakens your will and so when your tripping, which also weakens your will, your will is totallydown then and only you can bring it back up. and extacy being better makes me laugh. it is SOOOOO much worse. try doing it a night the next day you better sleep all day because you will be very miserable and low on serotonin. i am a christian and the whole time i am tripping i pray to god and ask him to keep my will strong and allow me to learn. last trip i learned that fear is the lock on your heart. so when people are tripping, if they have fear their heart is locked so they have bad trips. a locked heart as well when your sober makes you selfish. if you have fear, that means you are concerned with how to erase your fear so your comfortable which will easily make you loose your morals because you'll do anything to make you feel better. thats all thanks.
1 corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.
He was high on LSD when he
He was high on LSD when he 'discovered it'? Yeah, it was all done by a single man, within the space of a single LSD trip, wasn't it. Bear in mind that Crick, James D. Watson and Maurice Wilkins were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for this discovery. Were they all on LSD at the time, for the duration of their research, perhaps forming a kind of intellectual gestalt in the process? What of all the scientists who came before them, whose discoveries and breakthroughs were the foundation of Crick's own? Had they also required LSD?
Regardless of how baseless it is to insinuate that his drug taking was responsible for the discovery, it should also be noted that he could have been drunk instead, and would you then be advocating drunkenness? It is highly likely that this man was a lot of things when he made that discovery. He may have had high cholesterol, caffeine in his bloodstream or been in love. Or, more importantly, he may have been an experienced, world class molecular biologist, with a similarly talented team, working within a long history of dedicated scientific process and discovery.