Introduction
Psychedelic drugs are a class of drugs that can induce altered thoughts and sensory perceptions. They belong to the group of hallucinogenic drugs. Hallucinogens are drugs that can alter thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. They cause hallucinations or sensations and make images seem real but are not. People use these drugs differently, including snorting, smoking, and placing them inside the mouth. Psychedelic drugs are generally considered physiologically safe and do not lead to dependence or addiction.
What Are Psychedelics?
Psychedelic drugs are a group of drugs that induce altered thoughts, visual and auditory changes, and an altered state of consciousness and senses. At high doses, they can cause visual hallucinations. Psychedelics were used by earlier cultures in sociocultural and ritual contexts.
What Are the Commonly Used Psychedelic Drugs?
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Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) - It is a derivative of lysergic acid, which is obtained from the hydrolysis of Ergotamine. It is one of the most potent hallucinogenic drugs (those cause hallucinations or sensations and images that seem real though they are not). It is a colorless and odorless substance produced from lysergic acid, found in a fungus that grows on rye and other grains.
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Psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine) - It is obtained from certain types of mushrooms present in subtropical and tropical regions.
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DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine) - It is an indole alkaloid found in plants. They are powerful chemicals. Tea is made from these plants and is called ayahuasca, also known as aya, hoasca. DMT can also be manufactured in labs. Synthetic DMT is smoked and has a colorless crystalline structure.
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Mescaline (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) - It is an alkaloid found in cacti and peyote. The effects are similar to LSD and psilocybin.
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2C-B (2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine)- It is a synthetic drug with action similar to Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA).
How Do Psychedelics Work?
Psychedelics work by stimulating, suppressing, or modulating the activity of the various neurotransmitters in the brain. Psychedelics are agonists (activate a receptor to produce a biological response) or partial agonists (unable to produce maximum receptor activation) at serotonin receptors present in the brain. Serotonin receptor activation results in the stimulation of brain receptors and the release of neurotransmitters. This results in the action of psychedelics.
What Is a Psychedelic Experience?
A psychedelic experience is a temporary state of consciousness induced by psychedelic substances.
The features of the psychedelic experience are:
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Visual Alteration - Psychedelic visual alteration often includes the natural formation of complex visual flowing geometric patterns in the visual field. When a person opens his eyes, the visual alteration overlaps with spaces and objects in the environment. When the person closes his eyes, the visual alteration is again seen behind the eyelids (inner world). These altered visual senses are increased in complexity with increasing the dosage and when the person closes his eyes. This altered visual sense alteration is not normally a state of altered consciousness (hallucination) because the person who is experiencing this can still differentiate between real and imagined visual alterations. Sometimes, a true state of altered consciousness (hallucinations) may be present. People using these drugs will have an altered level of experience, including animals, objects, people, and even whole landscapes. Altered visual experience includes effects like after images, shifting of color hues, and pareidolia (people will try to find meaning from an unclear image, usually visual, so that one sees an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none).
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Mystical Experiences - High doses of psychedelic drugs like Psilocybin trigger mystical experiences. Mystical experiences are specific states of consciousness in which the individual discovers himself to be one continuous process with god, with the universe, with the ground of being, or the ultimate and eternal reality he believes in.
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Bad Trips - Features intense anxiety, confusion, agitation, or even psychotic episodes (it is an altered condition of the mind and brain that results in difficulties understanding what is unreal and real).
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Other Features - Sense of relaxation and well-being, dizziness, blurred vision, confusion, trouble concentrating, and clumsiness.
How Are Psychedelics Used?
Psychedelics have been used throughout the world since ancient times by various cultures throughout the world for spiritual and mystical associations. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), magic mushrooms, DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine), and Mescaline are usually smoked, inhaled, and swallowed. Mushrooms can be eaten fresh and cooked. It can also be consumed by brewing into tea. Psychedelics can be mixed with tobacco or cannabis and smoked. Mescaline is usually swallowed. Most drugs are inactive if swallowed, and the most common method of taking them is under the tongue, held on the cheek, or snorted.
What Are the Side Effects of Using Psychedelics?
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Nausea and vomiting.
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Stomach cramps.
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Increased heart rate and body temperature.
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Restlessness.
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A trance-like feeling.
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Feeling of euphoria.
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Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not real).
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Disorientation.
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Tiredness and dizziness
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Loss of consciousness.
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Anxiety and panic attacks.
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Long-term side effects include dependence, depression, memory loss, and personality changes.
Are Psychedelics Legal?
Most psychedelics are classified under Schedule I (drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse) of the United Nations Convention on psychotropic substances (1971). This is because these drugs have the greatest potential to cause harmful effects and have no acceptable medical uses. In addition, many countries have analog laws; the Federal Analogue Act (1986, United States) prohibits the use of drugs sharing similar chemical structures or chemical formulas to illegal substances if used or sold for consumption.
Conclusion
Psychedelics are drugs that produce changes in perception, mood, thinking, and consciousness. Psychedelics affect most human senses, altering a person’s emotions, sense of time, and thoughts. They can also induce a person to hallucinate (seeing or hearing things that do not exist or are distorted). Psychedelics have been used since ancient culture as part of spiritual and religious use. Psychedelics are associated with immediate side effects like dizziness, nausea, and unconsciousness. The long-term side effects of psychedelics include dependence, depression, memory loss, and personality changes.
