Don’t need an answer fast. Not planning on consuming any illicit drugs.
Know a few guys though in my former high school who offered LSD to students. A bit interested but I remember them warning me that mental instability/long term anxiety is a problem which can arise from consuming large doses particularly when someone isn’t in a ‘proper mental state’. This I think is similar for other psychedelics.
I know that most of the drug propaganda is quite BS going by what some drug users online and scientists say…:rolleyes:, but there are documented cases of people developing anxiety disorders, psychosis, bipolar, and depression from a single use.
From the scientific perspective, people do say that it’s not addictive but it does work on the brain in a way that can cause much more emotional trauma from single uses than using alcohol, marijuana, cocaine etc.
What would the best analogy to describe it be? I don’t think the regular trope of ‘distorting your perceptions’ accurate seeing as it seems to have a very powerful emotional effect on the users. Is it a ‘hijack’ of the emotions in the subconscious?
It amplifies the processes and content of the mind while minimizing the sense of self and one’s usual ways of thinking. At higher doses, one’s sensations, thoughts and emotions can resemble self-amplifying echoes.
It creates (chiefly visual) metaphorical mental images for one’s thoughts and feelings. Sensations (i.e.: bottom-up sensory input), perceptions (i.e.: top-down organizing of the mind), cognitions and emotions can blend into each other and create hyper-associative states.
Compared to other psychedelics, LSD is notable in having a very long duration which is compounded by psychedelics’ tendency to shift time perception. A typical 100mcg will last for about 12 hours although larger doses can last 20. The stronger plateau period can last 4-5 hours which is a very long time if you’re having an unpleasant experience.
Visual hallucinations were always a strong feature of my tripping, especially the melting/moving effect and constantly changing geometric patterns. I don’t know how many times I took LSD. Essentially I took it every chance I had, so… lots. One of my all time favorite drugs. The one drawback is the sheer length of time you’re tripping. You have to plan for a full day off from reality. All the sensory effects aside, it was the profound sense of oneness with the universe and the feeling that deep, profound truths were now open to me that I really enjoyed. I understood from my first trip that set and setting were all important for a pleasant trip. I grew my own psilocybe mushrooms for years, too. The effects are almost identical to LSD, but the trip is only about 4 hours long, so much more practical to do. Some mornings I would have them for breakfast. Mescaline is a lot of fun, too. I am hard pressed to think of any drugs that compare to those big 3 hallucinogens. I have, to my great regret, never tried ecstasy, but it’s on my list and I would never pass up the chance.
I would never recommend illegal drugs to anyone, but… you know…
Ecstasy is the only drug I can honestly say I have never experienced, or observed in others, any negative effects whatsoever.
It’s usually thought of as a party drug, but my favourite use of it is sitting around with a group of friends, solving all of humanities problems and periodically hugging each other.
It’s that hugging thing that’s always made me leery of it.
Actually, I wrote a song called Grinding Teeth after I read that one of the side effects of E is teeth grinding. But still, never experienced it personally.
I don’t know about now … but back in the day LSD was far and away the most powerful drug one could get … just a little bit and you’re serious tripping for the next 8 hours … for a couple bucks and a couple days to recover, you could give your mind a good ass-kicking …
I never saw anyone have a bad trip … but we were careful with the folks new to the drug … it’s paranoia … you know that everyone in the liquor store knows you’re tripping and that’s uncomfortable when using a fake ID … so best is out somewhere away from the general public … camping trips were popular since you know everyone’s tripping, and the experienced users will keep you from climbing hawthorn trees naked …
That’s my take … comparing to other drugs … there’s no subtleties to the acid trip … it’s about as high as you can get and for a rather long time … you won’t feel the effects of any other drugs, drink like a fish and you won’t get drunk … because you’re trippin’ on acid instead …
Back in the 60s LSD were the good stuff. Lately they have strychnine being passed off as acid. That’s somewhere in the 70s and since then I stopped because I knew it’s not the real thing.
The main reason I gave up all illegal chemical entertainments ling ago (aside from the fact that I could have been fired instantly had I been caught with them and lost my livelihood), was that they ARE illegal. And the primary direct result of the fact that they are illegal is, that you can never know exactly what someone has given or sold to you. It was common back in the 70’s for people to claim to be selling you anything from mescaline to dried peyote, but what you really got was LSD every time. Some people took pride in adding “fun” boosters to what they sold, because THEY liked the effect, and then you would suffer the consequences of their “generosity.”
In addition to the many times that things went wrong due to corrupted drugs being supplied, what I found overall, was that everything I tried (except for clinic quality amphetamines) were primarily EXAGGERATORS. Whatever it was that I was trying to deal with, would seem vastly better or worse, under the influence of the drug. Hence I strongly agree with the person above who mentioned that you need to make sure that the environment that you place yourself in for your “trip” is a positive one. And never take any “entertainment” drugs when you are depressed, in the hopes that the drug will make you euphoric. In my own case, for example, I knew, once I was under the influence of a drug, that I was no longer able to correctly see reality or deal with it well, and that I would remain thus handicapped for the duration. That alone was horrible, when there were problems in my real life that I was trying to escape.
Although again, you just never know what might happen. The best times I had, were when the other people around me were having problems of one kind or another, and I was able to take over in a sort of guide-mode, and give them comfort until they felt better.
If, on the other hand, in the interests of practicality, a person wanted to trip balls for a very short period of time, a less upstanding person than I might recommend salvia or nitrous oxide.
These days, responsible drug users have their stuff tested in above-board laboratories before use.
In Europe, for example, you’ve got a harm-reduction initiative called Energy Control, which operates with support from both the EU and the Spanish government. In a nutshell: Send in a small sample, pay a small fee, get the results. Works like a charm.
Ecstasy is highly dependent on what you actually get, which is a bit of a crapshoot with most pills. If you can get your hands on the good stuff, then yeah, this stuff is really good.
I have experienced a severe paranoia reaction to MDMA. I’m fairly sure it was MDMA because the source was very trustworthy, and others around me enjoyed the experience after consuming the same batch.
Then again, I smoked the pill after crushing it. That’s not at all a normal way to take MDMA, so that is probably related.
FWIW, even though I was massively paranoid I could objectively see that I was over-reacting. I went away by myself and waited it out. Not much fun for 4 hours.
Well I didn’t see actual music notes coming out of a speaker but I did see sound pressure waves. Most likely what I saw was just the air being moved by the speaker being enhanced by the high amount of smoking products being released into said room. Very trippy!
I’ve also seen red sploshes while tripping on LSD that was supposedly a side affect of it being mixed with strychnine, not fun at all. I don’t miss the early 80’s.
I don’t miss the early 80’s.