The Effects of Hallucinogenic Drugs on The Brain

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Biology 202
1998 First Web Reports
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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.

7) 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

Comments

Thegirlnamebrooke's picture

Ignorance.

I have done Acid. and i can honestly say this it has changed my life for the better' i use to be so shy and acid opened my eyes to the reality which i believe everyone should experince. It has a spirtial effect and a person impact. But again this all depends on wether the person taking acid is ready: not just physical but mentaly. I had the most amazing experince of my life. Its like a world i have never seen before. you have to take chances in life to live' some you regret some you don't and i sure as hell dont regret acid. It was one of the best choices i have made. Acid didnt change the way i learn or iformantion that i have known. it did change how ever my point of veiw on life, in a complete good way. Just like Albert Hoffman the creater and founder of LSD said;
"I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be." You can not judge the effects of lsd ifyou have never incountered or experinced it yourself. you cant say that it destroys your brain' when ive done it more than once and my brain is healthy as ever. doctors found nothing in medical reports to be wrong with me when i went for my Cat scans. Lsd i belive is a life changing experince.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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 :)

AZmom3's picture

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.

C. D.'s picture

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.

Whitney's picture

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.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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.

Charlie Clark's picture

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.

Samwise's picture

sounds like it could have

sounds like it could have been ketamine yeah, or possibly DMT

Serendip Visitor's picture

ketamine

It was ketamine. My good friend is currently in the throws of a particularly rampant psilocybin trip. Happy trails!

sadat mousa 's picture

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 )

Brad's picture

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!

Serendip Visitor's picture

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.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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

Ray's picture

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.

The Mitch Man's picture

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...

Serendip Visitor's picture

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

Serendip Visitor's picture

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 naive child's picture

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.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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!!

drenks's picture

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

joe kimmel's picture

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

Serendip Visitor's picture

Are you kidding me? LSD is

Are you kidding me? LSD is one of the MOST toxic chemicals known to man.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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

Bob Dillion's picture

Thats some really deep shit

Thats some really deep shit and i agree with what you are saying fully..

iris duvall's picture

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...

DICA's picture

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

Trish's picture

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.

Serendip Visitor 818's picture

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"

Serendip Visitor's picture

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!

blindySerendip Visitor's picture

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!

Serendip Visitor's picture

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!!!!

joe kimmel's picture

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

rachel's picture

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.

joe kimmel's picture

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

Eric Wiggin's picture

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.

lsd25's picture

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.

rachel's picture

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.

Serendip Visitor's picture

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.

Eric Wiggin's picture

My response ti Lsd25--Biblically correct.

You do know that all the perspectives & behaviors that go on in a group that calls themselves a Christian Church are not always that correct very proper, or even at all just, and it all is not doctrinally correct, according to our Holy Bible (?) . "Lsd25", you are not an abhorrence-- not even at all. It is a good thing that we have those people like Crick. These sins of substance abuse are abhorrent, not you-- and not Crick. We all need 2 know God far better. If we blow our minds w/ drugs or w/ too much alcohol; if we lie chronically, steal, or we are sexually immoral we continue to hinder our own quest, our effort to know God.

joe kimmel's picture

yeah lmao

drink the kool aid already bro lmao

Teacher Steve's picture

Uh huh

I lost count of how much acid I dropped. In 10 years of play, I had 1 bad trip, it lasted for 3 days. Sorry you bummed out man. Maybe your depressive state of mind about carrying a major physical disability rode you down.

joe kimmel's picture

thank you! i lost count in

thank you! i lost count in about 7 months of dropping hits but people post idiotic untrue hanus comments about lsd which is one of the least harmful chemicals known to man

A Dogg's picture

AGREED

Just trip with a group of people or a good friend and your good to go. I've tripped at least 25-30 times on acid in my high school days mainly and never had a bad trip. I haven't seen acid in a long time, since 05 or so, but it is a magical journey I would encourage anybody to experience at least once. P. S.-why is a blind dude eating acid anyway doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose just a little bit. (not meant to be mean just honest!)

Bear frequency 's picture

blind on lsd

Actually as a someone who is colorblind, that wanders in the power of LSD I have to say that it opened my eyes to a whole new world the very first time I took it. I was no longer color blind for 15 hours and at first I was confused but once I've accepted it as reality I simply enjoyed it. One's ability to see does not take away from the trip LSD takes effect on all the senses and hallucinations will still happen to someone blind. It's not indefinite proof but I did have insane visual, audio, and tactile hallucination in complete silence and darkness.

Serendip Visitor's picture

"Depressive state of mind

"Depressive state of mind about carrying a major physical disability?" Come on, is that a joke? I know this isn't some forum, but that is ridiculous. Why is he depressed because he prefaces a story with situational information? LSD isn't for everyone. Truthfully, it isn't for anyone, just a drug with mixed (and unique) physical results.

Serendip Visitor's picture

i absolutely agree with the

i absolutely agree with the person who said drugs arent for all of you. the phrase "use it dont abuse it" is soso true. i love drugs, im not even addicted. i roll smoke and try diffferent hallucinogens every once in a while, have a bad ass time, and then go about my daily routine. simple as that. you guys are just weak and let the drug take control of YOU...

joe kimmel's picture

AMEN ! i just dont like x but

AMEN ! i just dont like x but you spoke my mind

Serendip Visitor's picture

It is not a matter of weakness

Addiction is characterized by a compulsive inability to control temptation of just about any behavior. An addict must replace the negative behavior with positive behavior, but its more about relocating your addiction to a "healthy lifestyle" than it is curing it, or suppressing symptoms. That's why an addict is, at best, in recovery, and never cured. Some people might argue, but I'm well educated in the twelve step programs, and those sorts of programs are, imho, a form of addiction replacement.
But it isn't about a weakness, or "letting the drug control you" and its actually really offensive.

Serendip Visitor's picture

CLUELESS

FRIENDS GAVE ME 3 PILLS TOLD ME IT WAS EXTACY TOOK ALL OFF THEM @ ONCE.MY SO CALLED FRIENDS KEPT ON ASKING ME IF I SAW THE FISH TANK THAT WAS KEPT OUTSIDE A HOTEL WHER WE LIVE NEAR BY AFTER AN HOUR I WENT CRAZY..THE ONLY THING I WAS THINKING ABOUT WAS THE FISH TANK AND THAT MY FRIENDS ARE GOING TO ACCUSE ME OFF STEALING IT....DID NOT WANT TO 4GET IT SO I WANTED TO INGRAVE THE WORD FISH TANK ON THE WALL....THOUGHTS KEPT ON COMING UP THAT THEY DID SOME THING TO ME USED BLACK MAGIC ON ME PLEASE HELP ME UNDA STAND WHAT WAS DIS. DIS HAPPEN ABOUT 5 YEARS AGO I ALWAYS THINK ABOUT IT AND THAT IM CURSED AND THAT THEY ARE MAKING ME CRAZY..I NEED TO 4GET ALL OFF THAT ITS LIKE HOLDING ME BACK FROM THE THINGS I WANT TO DO IN LIFE.....CANT DO ANY POSITIVE....

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