What are hallucinogens?

Hallucinogens alter mood, thought, perception and brain function.  This group of drugs includes such substances as LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), ololiuqui (morning glory), psilocybin, mescaline and PCP )phencyclidine).

Use of hallucinogens produces changes in time and space perception, delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (experiencing unreal or distorted sensations) and may be mild or overwhelming.  Effects vary from person to person and use to use.

Many natural and synthetic hallucinogens exist.  LSD, a synthetic, is the most potent and best studied.  Mescaline (from the peyote cactus), psilocybin (from a mushroom found in Mexico), morning glory seeds, DMT, SOM (STP), PMA, MDA, and others have similar effects.  Phencyclidine (PCP) is sometimes considered an hallucinogen, although it does not fit easily into any one category.

What is LSD?
LSD was first formulated (from a fungus called “ergot”) in 1938.  LSD’s psychoactive properties were discovered in 1943.

What are the effects of LSD?
Effects vary widely according to dosage, personality of the user and conditions under which it is taken.  Basically, LSD causes altered sensations.  Vision alterations include changes in depth perception and in the meaning of a perceived object.  Hallucinations are common.  Sense of time and self are altered.  Sensations may “cross over” (for example, music may be seen or color heard).  Physical reactions range from such minor changes as dilated pupils, a rise in temperature and heartbeat or slight increase in blood pressure, to violent tremors.  A user’s emotional response to LSD can vary widely.  High does can significantly alter the state of consciousness.

What is a flashback?
A flashback is a recurrence of some feature of a drug experience days, months or even years after the most recent dose.  The flashback may occur spontaneously, or may be triggered by physical or psychological stress, by such medications as antihistamines or by use of such other drugs as marijuana.  A flashback that occurs without apparent reason can cause great anxiety.  Heavy use is more likely to produce flashback; infrequent users rarely report them.

Do hallucinogens improve creativity and self-knowledge?
Though some people who have taken these drugs say that they feel more creative, research has failed to show significant changes.  New perceptions of the body and self have been reported, but these can be frightening as well as gratifying.

What is the source of illicit LSD?
Nearly all LSD comes from illegal laboratories, both domestic and abroad.  The quality of the drug varies.  Some LSD is fairly pure, but most street samples contain impurities and adulterants.  The user generally has no way of knowing the quality of LSD or any other street drug.

What are the dangers of hallucinogens?
Under the influence of LSD, a person loses some control over normal thought processes.  Although some perceptions are pleasant, others may cause panic or may make the user believe that he or she cannot be harmed.  Either reaction may bring about behavior that can be harmful to the user.  Longer-term harmful reactions include anxiety, depression or “breaks with reality” which may last from a few days to months.  The exact cause-and-effect relationship between hallucinogens and emotional disruption is not known.  When a person has experienced emotional disturbance before using, the drug may simply act to trigger the breakdown.

If there evidence that heavy LSD use affects brain function?
Research has shown changes in the mental functions of some heavy users of hallucinogens.  Heavy users sometimes develop signs of organic brain damage, such as impaired memory and attention span, mental confusion and difficulty with abstract thinking.  These signs may be strong or subtle.  We do not yet know if such mental changes are permanent or if they disappear gradually after use is stopped.

Are these drugs addictive?
Tolerance is known to develop rapidly to both psychological and physiological effects of many hallucinogens.  Cross tolerance occurs between LSD and other members of the hallucinogenic group such as psilocybin, mescaline and STP.

Increased tolerance and dependence, along with the reinforcements of the euphoric feelings these drugs produce, put hallucinogens in a classification of high abuse potential.

Can LSD damage chromosomes?
While pure LSD does not appear to damage chromosomes, LSD is not normally pure.  Street LSD is often mixed with other substances so that its genetic effects are uncertain.

What about other hallucinogens?
Other hallucinogens such as mescaline and peyote have effects similar to LSD.  Although they are generally not as strong, their effect on a user can be just as great, because the effect varies from person to person.  In addition, street doses of these other drugs may actually be LSD itself, or may be contaminated with other drugs or adulterants.

It is common in many areas for the highly unpredictable drug phencyclidine (PCP) to be sold as “THC”, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana.

Why do people try hallucinogenic drugs?
Many reasons are given for trying hallucinogens, ranging from curiosity to a desire to know oneself.  Most people take the drug for the high or to feel better, because they are unable to deal with life’s frustrations or perhaps because they feel left out.

Hallucinogens are extremely powerful drugs and taking them is a very risky proposition.  There is no way to know the quality or potency of these drugs.  The user never knows for certain what he or she is taking into the body.

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