Psychedelics- The Truth.

I believe that people should be made aware of what to expect when taking any sort of psychedelic, and learn about the real experiences from people who I have interviewed that have had first hand experiences with them.

Although the dangers must be made aware and it is important they remain illegal, however there is vast evidence on people reaching psychedelic states through meditation, as well as legal ways in South American countries.

Why Psychedelics?

When I first heard about the mystery of psychedelics and hearing the effects they have on people, it immediately drew my attention as this sounded like nothing I had ever heard before. But what attracted me the most and encouraged me to research further in this area was finding out about Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ‘The Toad’ and Holotropic breathing which will all be later discussed. In addition to this I have researched into the other forms of Psychedelics and the likely impact they will have on an individual.

The Danger of Psychedelics

Although many people have profound spiritual and personal experiences on Psychedelics, the dangers must be outlined and certainly understood. I think this is specifically necessary today due to there being an increase in consumption, and an increase in people not knowing what they are taking.

So what are the dangers? and what precautions should you take? The following will be outlines, as well as the benefits and how to be safe.

LSD and why people take it

An LSD (or Acid) trip generally lasts 10–12 hours with reports of people having much longer depending on the dosage. The LSD is sprayed onto a small tab which is dissolved orally with the recommended dosage being 100–150UG.

People experience significant distortions in their visual and other senses. As well as this, the positives can be a sense of euphoria and potentially ‘ego death’. Compared to other psychedelics, LSD is regarded as one of the strongest and caution is advised.

The individual who I interviewed described their visuals:

• Q- What visuals would someone expect to see? ‘ bright, pulsing patterns that are constantly transforming and changing when closing my eyes’
• Q- What are the bad parts of the trip on LSD? ‘ I’ve only had one bad experience, I lost track of time completely and forgot where I was! It was important that I was in a safe place with my friends that helped a lot’.
• Q- What can help with a bad trip? ‘ Make sure you are with people you are comfortable with, in a safe comfortable space and enjoy it!’

Magic Mushrooms- A good introduction?

Many people regard the magic mushroom as an introductory step into the world of psychedelics as you are able to get mild, less potent forms which give off a feeling of euphoria and a body high. However you must be careful as you are able to get some extremely potent mushrooms that have been reported to have stronger affects of that from a tab of LSD.

When looking deeper into this, I contacted a friend in Amsterdam (where the drug is legal) to find out more.

• Q- How does the Magic Mushroom high compare to that of LSD? ‘There are a lot less intense visuals however I have had some experience on the stronger strains that gave me the opposite. I have had some insane closed eye visuals on mushrooms’
• Q-What advice would you give someone taking mushrooms for the first time? ‘ This wont be too intense but a perfect introduction, find a safe space with some music and nothing can go wrong!’

The Future for Psychedelics

From researching into this area, I have noticed that many people who I interviewed all tend to suggest being in a safe place around the people you are comfortable with. This led me to looking deeper into the benefits this had on people, and how being in a controlled, safe environment can massively impact ones mental health and outlook on life, as well as addiction also.

Psilocybin

Psilocybin is most certainly the psyco-active ingredient that has the greatest potential for success and potentially even a step towards being used in medical conditions to help patients. We have already found that Psilocybin was the most affective method of helping people quit smoking and had an 8x greater impact than other methods used. A huge step in the right direction for helping those with addiction problems

DMT and ‘The Toad’

With thousands of reports of ‘ego death’ (the feeling of your ego dissolving and the realisation that you are part of a ‘bigger picture’ than society), DMT is without a doubt the strongest and shortest lived, bit arguably habving the greatest impact.

A DMT experience generally lasts 10–15 minutes and is all inside the head of the individual, with the majority being closed eye visuals of moving, personal patterns and shapes and colours, making it the most unique psychedelic experience.

The Toad, usually found in in the amazon and areas surrounding, is a psychedelic toad that, once consumed, leaves significant profound experiences similar to that of DMT. Amazonian tribes and Shamans will guide you through this experience, offering help. Many people come out of this with a completely changed attitude and perspective on life, with reports of people tranquillity. Mike Tyson describes DMT and The Toad as an ‘ego reset’ giving him peace of mind and a clear head.