This is part 2 of hallucinogens, for Pat's introduction to hallucinogens visit part 1.
LSD
Chemical name: D-lysergic acid diethylamide, D-lysergic acid diethylamide
Chemical formula: C20H25N3O
Street Names: acid, blotter, cubes, microdot, yellow sunshine
DEA Schedule: Schedule I
History of the Drug: LSD did not receive popular attention until the early 1960s when the late Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert, his colleague at Harvard University, began experimenting with the drug on themselves, other academics, local artists, and students. In 1974 the National Institute of Mental Health concluded that LSD had no therapeutic use.
The interest in LSD during the 1960s also prompted users to seek out naturally occurring substances that produced the same experiential effects. In fact, a variety of substances in nature produce transitory visual or auditory distortion, e.g., cannabis, thornapple, peyote, and jimsonweed. One of the oldest hallucinogens known to Western scientists is mescaline, a derivative of the peyote cactus, used for centuries in natural medicines and religious ceremonies. Substances such as peyote, mescaline, and a variety of exotic fungi (e.g., psilocybin mushrooms) can be smoked, brewed in tea, chewed, and incorporated into food. In the 1960s users exchanged and published recipes for preparation of hallucinogens through popular publications of the era.
Appearance
Blotter
The most common form of LSD is paper blotter divided into about 1/4" squares called tabs. A single tab usually contains between 30 - 100 ug of LSD. Paper blotters are created by taking a sheet of absorbent paper (usually decorated and perforated) and soaking it in a dilution of lysergic acid diethylamide. The dilution can vary greatly from one batch to another, or one chemist to another.
Liquid
LSD is soluable in water and other solvents, though liquid LSD is usually water based. Liquid LSD is used in the creation of blotter tabs. A single drop of potent liquid LSD could be 50 times a normal dose, although it is generally diluted to the point where a single drop is equal to approximately one dose. Be extremely careful when dealing with it, as there is no way to gauge its potency. It is frequently stored in small dropper bottles, one precaution...when you reach the end of the bottle, don't rinse it out and assume that what remains is a small dose. There can still be many doses left along the inside surfaces and taking them all at once can lead to some unexpectedly strong and possibly very uncomfortable experiences.
Gelatin
Gelatin LSD is made by mixing liquid LSD with gelatin and forming it into small, thin squares. The benefit of this method is that less of the LSD is exposed to sun and air, which break down lysergic acid diethylamide.
Do you smoke this? In its most common forms - liquid, soaked into paper, pills or capsules - it is swallowed but LSD can also be injected or inhaled.
What's gonna happen to me? Like all hallucinogens, LSD affects the senses. Users can hallucinate, or see and hear things that don't really exist. Hallucinogens also influence emotions and the ability to think clearly. The effects vary from user to user and a lot depends on the strength of the LSD. Users can experience a sense of wonder and joy or they might get scared and anxious. They can also feel as they are outside their body and able to watch themselves. In general though, the effects are felt within an hour of taking LSD and these can last as long as 12 hours.
Risks & Realities: Many LSD users experience flashbacks, recurrence of certain aspects of a person's experience, without the user having taken the drug again. A flashback occurs suddenly, often without warning, and may occur within a few days or more than a year after LSD use. Flashbacks usually occur in people who use hallucinogens chronically or have an underlying personality problem; however, otherwise healthy people who use LSD occasionally may also have flashbacks. Bad trips and flashbacks are only part of the risks of LSD use. LSD users may manifest relatively long-lasting psychoses, such as schizophrenia or severe depression. It is difficult to determine the extent and mechanism of the LSD involvement in these illnesses.
Most users of LSD voluntarily decrease or stop its use over time. LSD is not considered an addictive drug since it does not produce compulsive drug-seeking behavior, as do cocaine, amphetamine, heroin, alcohol, and nicotine.
Fast facts about effects on the body: LSD increases blood pressure and heart rate. It also increases the body's temperature and makes the pupil in the eye larger. These physical changes are the first thing users feel and may cause numbness, weakness and a lack of coordination.
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PCP- Phencyclidine
Chemical formula: C18H25N
Street Names: angel dust, boat, hog, love boat, peace pill DEA Schedule: Schedule I, II
History of the Drug: PCP (phencyclidine) was developed in the 1950s as an intravenous anesthetic. Use of PCP in humans was discontinued in 1965, because it was found that patients often became agitated, delusional, and irrational while recovering from its anesthetic effects. PCP is illegally manufactured in laboratories and is sold on the street by such names as "angel dust," "ozone," "wack," and "rocket fuel." "Killer joints"and "crystal supergrass" are names that refer to PCP combined with marijuana. The variety of street names for PCP reflects its bizarre and volatile effects.
Appearance
PCP is a white crystalline powder that is readily soluble in water or alcohol. It has a distinctive bitter chemical taste. PCP can be mixed easily with dyes and turns up on the illicit drug market in a variety of tablets, capsules, and colored powders. It is normally used in one of three ways: snorted, smoked, or eaten. For smoking, PCP is often applied to a leafy material such as mint, parsley, oregano, or marijuana.
Do you smoke this? As a powder it is snorted. When it is in a liquid form, it can be injected and when it is a pill or capsule, it is simply swallowed. The powder form of PCP is often mixed with tobacco, dried parsley or marijuana, and then smoked.
What's gonna happen to me? Like all hallucinogens, PCP has an effect on the mind and the senses. Users can hallucinate, or see and hear things that don't really exist. Hallucinogens also influence emotions and the ability to think clearly. PCP has different effects on different people. It causes some people to feel joy and others can feel nothing but anxiety and panic. In some cases, this panic can lead to violent behavior.
Risks & Realities: PCP is addicting; that is, its use often leads to psychological dependence, craving, and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. It was first introduced as a street drug in the 1960s and quickly gained a reputation as a drug that could cause bad reactions and was not worth the risk. Many people, after using the drug once, will not knowingly use it again. Yet others use it consistently and regularly. Some persist in using PCP because of its addicting properties. Others cite feelings of strength, power, invulnerability and a numbing effect on the mind as reasons for their continued PCP use.
Many PCP users are brought to emergency rooms because of PCP's unpleasant psychological effects or because of overdoses. In a hospital or detention setting, they often become violent or suicidal, and are very dangerous to themselves and to others. They should be kept in a calm setting and should not be left alone.
Fast facts about effects on the body: PCP produces many changes in the body including faster breathing and an increased heart rate. It also increases body temperature and can lead to numbness in the legs and arms.
Higher doses can produce a quick drop in blood pressure, vomiting, blurred vision, dizziness and an inability to feel pain.
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DMT-Ayahuasca
Chemical name: N,N-dimethyltryptamine
Chemical formula: C12H16N2
Street Names: Dimitri
DEA Schedule: Schedule I
History of the Drug: N,N-DMT use has been documented as early as the 8th Century AD in snuffs found in burial sites, but its use is believed to be much older. Cohoba snuffs (from the Yopo tree) were documented in Columbia in the 16th through 19th Centuries. N,N-DMT and 5-MeO-DMT were finally identified as the active constituents of cohoba in the early 1950s and in 1954 N,N-DMT was isolated as an active ingredient in A. peregrina.
Appearance
DMT is a chemical neurotransmitter present naturally in the human body as well as in many plants.
Do you smoke this? It can be smoked, or used orally...producing very different results. When ingested orally (usually from plant material)...it is often referred to as Ayahuasca. Pure DMT is most often found in crystal form.
What's gonna happen to me? When smoked, DMT effects are short-lived and intense and the smoke is harsh and plastic tasting. Onset is fast and furious, sometimes compared to being launched from a cannon. It is a fully engaging and enveloping experience of visions and visuals, which varies greatly from one individual to the next. Users report visiting other worlds, talking with alien entities, profound changes in ontological perspective, fanciful dreamscapes, frightening and overwhelming forces, complete shifts in perception and identity followed by an abrupt return to baseline.
Risks & Realities: One of the primary physical problems encountered with smoked N,N-DMT is the harsh nature of the smoke which can cause throat and lung irritation. Integration of the smoked DMT experience can also cause difficulties for some individuals, especially at higher doses. Difficult integration periods can lead to anxiety, difficulty focusing on daily tasks, preoccupation with the experience, difficulty sleeping, etc. Generally these effects dissipate on their own over the course of a few days but there are reports of persisting problems. DMT is neither physically addicting nor likely to cause psychological dependence.
Fast facts about effects on the body: Some say the DMT is hard on the lungs to smoke. They also report slight stomach discomfort, difficulty integrating experiences, and overwhelming fear.
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If you would like more information, please call Hartshorn Health Service at 491-7121