The term hallucinogen is used to describe naturally occurring or synthetic drugs taken primarily for the distorting effects they have on the user’s perceptions. Hallucinogens induce effects ranging from mild sensory distortion to hallucinations, paranoia, and delirium.


The following is mostly condensed from the “Drug Help” Web site of the Phoenix Foundation; http://www.drughelp.org:

What is LSD?

LSD (d-lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called “acid”) is the best known of the hallucinogens. A naturally occurring derivative of ergot, a fungus that attacks rye, it is now used almost exclusively in its synthesized form. The drug was first derived from ergot in 1938, at Sandoz Laboratories in Switzerland, by chemist Albert Hofmann, who was searching for a circulatory and respiratory stimulant. Although LSD proved useless for this purpose, it was found to have psychoactive properties. Reports of the derivative’s mind-altering effects circulated in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.

By the early 1960’s, LSD advocates were touting it and other hallucinogens as mind-expanding aids that enabled users to achieve mystical states of perception. The emergence of LSD coincided with the rise of an American counterculture in the 1960’s, and millions of young people went on “acid trips” during these years. Widespread use led to reports of “bad” trips, psychotic episodes, and “flashbacks” (replays of the hallucinogenic experience that occur spontaneously, unprompted by LSD use.) Some users switched to hallucinogenic substances they considered more “organic” (such as mescaline and psilocybin).

The popularity of LSD waned, and overall hallucinogen use declined significantly with the aging of the counterculture’s “flower children.” The mid-1990’s, however, saw a resurgence in LSD use. A new generation of adolescents took up the drug, and the average age of first use dropped sharply, with reports of use even among elementary school students.

How is it LSD taken?

LSD is generally taken orally and in very small doses. A remarkable feature of the drug is its potency. A typical single dose is only 100 micrograms (one-tenth of a milligram). Most often, LSD is found in small squares of impregnated paper, called “blotter acid.” The squares may come in perforated sheets, like postage stamps, sometimes with an eye-catching image on each square.

The drug may also come in tiny tablets, called “microdots,” or in small, thin, gelatin squares, known as “windowpane.” LSD is sometimes available in a clear liquid solution. This is dispensed with an eyedropper, onto sugar cubes or directly onto the tongue. Another variety, “blue dot acid,” consists of paper slips smeared with a blue-colored solution of the drug.

How does LSD effect you?

Physical effects of LSD may include: dilated pupils, high temperature, rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure, sleeplessness, appetite loss, and tremors. Psychological effects can last for 12 hours. During the first 30 to 90 minutes, changes in visual perception and mood are likely. As the drug achieves its one- to two-hour “peak,” the user may experience distorted impressions of time, space, and distance. “Tracking” may occur-the observation of streams of colored light following the path of a moving object, and “psychedelic” patterns may appear.

The drug can impair judgment and the ability to recognize immediate danger, so users might easily come to harm should they, for example, attempt to drive a car while “tripping.” Acute anxiety, depression, panic, paranoia, or psychotic behavior may accompany a bad trip or may occur after most other effects of the drug have worn off. An overdose can result in a longer, more intense, and more frightening trip, and the spontaneous, recurring hallucinations known as flashbacks can occur days, weeks, or more than a year after LSD use.

Muchrooms and ect.

About psilocybin, peyote, and mescaline

Psilocybin is a chemical found in types of mushrooms native to Mexico and Central America. The mushrooms have been used in native rituals for hundreds of years. Psilocybin itself can now be produced synthetically. Mescaline is the psychoactive ingredient extracted from the peyote, or mescal, cactus that grows in northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. The drug is contained in buttonlike nodules at the top of the plant, which traditionally have been dried and chewed by some Native American tribes.

Psilocybin mushrooms are eaten or brewed into a tea, and the synthetic powder is generally taken in tablet form. Dried peyote buttons are usually chewed and swallowed, and powdered mescaline is taken in tablets. These substances all have effects similar to LSD’s but are considerably less potent. Use of mescaline and peyote, however, often causes nausea and vomiting.

Psilocybin and other Tryptamines

The following is from the Drug Enforcement Agency; http://www.dea.gov:

A number of Schedule I hallucinogenic substances are classified chemically as tryptamines. Most of these are found in nature but many, if not all, can be produced synthetically. Psilocybin (O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N, N-ethyltryptamine) and psilocyn (4-hydroxy-N, N-dimethyltryptamine) are obtained from certain mushrooms indigenous to tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Mexico, and the United States. As pure chemicals at doses of 10 to 20 mg, these hallucinogens produce muscle relaxation, dilation of pupils, vivid visual and auditory distortions, and emotional disturbances.

However, the effects produced by consuming preparations of dried or brewed mushrooms are far less predictable and largely depend on the particular mushrooms used and the age and preservation of the extract. There are many species of “magic” mushrooms that contain varying amounts of these tryptamines, as well as uncertain amounts of other chemicals. As a consequence, the hallucinogenic activity, as well as the extent of toxicity produced by various plant samples, are often unknown.

Dimethyltryptamin (DMT) has a long history of use and is found in a variety of plants and seeds. It can also be produced synthetically. It is ineffective when taken orally, unless combined with another drug that inhibits its metabolism. Generally it is sniffed, smoked, or injected. The effective hallucinogenic dose in humans is about 50 to 100 mg and lasts for about 45 to 60 minutes. Because the effects last only about an hour; the experience has been referred to as a “businessman’s trip.”

A number of other hallucinogens have very similar structures and properties to those of DMT. Diethyltryptamine (DET), for example, is an analogue of DMT and produces the same harmacological effects but is somewhat less potent than DMT. Alpha-ethyltryptamine (AET) is another tryptamine hallucinogen added to the list of Schedule I hallucinogens in 1994. Bufotenine (5-hydroxy-N-N-dimethyltryptamine) is a Schedule I substance found in certain mushrooms, seeds, and skin glands of Bufo toads. In general, most bufotenine preparations from natural sources are extremely toxic. N,N-Diisopropyl-5-methoxytryptamine (referred to as Foxy-Methoxy) is an orally active tryptamine recently encountered in the United States.

Salvia Divinorum, ska Maria Pastora, Salvia

The following is (Salvinorin A, Divinorin A) condensed from the Drug and Chemical Evaluation Section, Drug Enforcement Administration:

Salvia Divinorum is a perenial native to certain areas of Mexico. S. Divinorum is one of several vision-inducing plants employed by the Mazatec Indians Since S. Divinorum, or any of its active ingredients are not specifically listed in the Controlled Substances Act, some on-line botanical companies and drug promotional sites have advertised Salvia as a legal alternative to other plant hallucinogens like mescaline. The plant material is smoked for the induction of “mystical” or hallucinogenic experiences. “Salvinorin A” the active component of S. Divinorum, is most effective when vaporized and inhaled. Chemically, Salvinorin A is a neoclerodane diterpene, a psychotropic terpenoid. The grouping of psychoactive plants containing terpenoid essential oils includes Salvia Divinorum, Wormwood (Absinth), and Cannabis Sativa (tetrahydrocannabinols, THC).

A dose of 200 to 500 micrograms produces profound hallucinations when smoked. Salvinorin A’s action in the brain are not well elucidated. However, recent tissue testing (in vitro assays) have suggested that Salvinorin A may act at the kappa opiate receptor site, but functional assays are lacking to determine the exact mechanism of action of this drug substance. Salvia is being smoked to induce hallucinations, the diversity of which are described by its users to be similar to those induced by ketamine, mescaline, or psilocybin.

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