Down the Rabbit Hole: Psychedelics 101 đ
"Life lived in the absence of the psychedelic experience that primordial shamanism is based on is life trivialized, life denied, life enslaved to the ego.â â Terence McKenna
The word âpsychedelicâ was first coined in 1956 by the British psychiatrist Humphry Osmond.
Psychedelic is derived from the Greek words â psyche (meaning soul or mind) and delien (meaning âto manifestâ). Therefore, the word essentially means âmind-manifestingâ or âsoul manifestingâ.
Therefore, a psychedelic is essentially any plant or substance that produces alterations in states of consciousness.
There have been other terms put forward as an alternative, but nothing caught on like the word psychedelic.
Some of the alternative suggestions for psychedelics:
Phanerothyme â put forward by Aldous Huxley, meaning âvisible soulâÂ
Entheogen â a word that specifically refers to the use of psychoactive substances as a form of a sacrament
Psychotropic â any drug that changes a personâs mental state
How do Psychedelics Work?
There are a few different ways a psychedelic can alter our perception or thought patterns.
Our brain is made up of roughly 100 billion neurons. Neurons transmit electrical and chemical signals between each other to send messages from one area of the brain to the other. The collective transmission of information in the brain is what gives us conscious thought.
Psychedelics work by changing the flow of these neurochemicals. They alter the way information is transferred throughout the brain â causing hallucinations, euphoria, and other cognitive changes.
Depending on what neurotransmitters are affected will determine the individual effects of a psychedelic compound.
We can separate how each psychedelic works by its target receptors:
5-HT2A or 5-HT2C receptors â LSD, DMT, psilocybin, mescaline
Kappa-opioid receptors â Salvinorin A
Dopamine D2 receptors â Bath salts & other amphetamines
Cholinergic pathway â datura, brugmansia, mandrake, Amanita muscaria
Psychedelics, Dissociatives, Deliriants, Empathogens, & Oneirogens
There are 5 main classes of psychoactive compounds â psychedelics, dissociatives, deliriants, pathogens, and oneirogens.
While many substances can be placed into one category alone, some blur the lines and are more difficult to categorize.
So what is the difference between these psychoactive properties?
1. Psychedelics
A true âpsychedelicâ is a substance that changes the way we perceive the world around us. We may see objects morphing and changing, but the visions are still based on reality. Sometimes sensory information is crisscrossed â causing you to âseeâ sounds or âhearâ color.
Most of the substances on this list can be classified as psychedelic, and even some of the other categories (dissociatives and deliriants) start out as psychedelic at lower doses.
The most common psychedelics are DMT, LSD, and psilocybin.
2. Dissociatives
A dissociative is a substance that disconnects you from your reality â often creating a completely different reality. These substances dissolve the idea of âself.â Visual hallucinations on these drugs can be very intense.
The early stages of a dissociative experience are the hardest to handle and can be terrifying. However, once the separation from self is complete, even terrifying or uncomfortable experiences are easier to handle because weâve become removed from our emotions.
Some high-dose psychedelics can be dissociative in higher doses â such as salvia or ibogaine.
Classical dissociatives include ketamine, PCP (phencyclidine), and other arylcyclohexylamines.
Most dissociatives work by blocking the NMDA receptors. However, 5-HT2A receptor activation can also lead to dissociative experiences.
3. Deliriants
Deliriants are differentiated from psychedelics in one key area â they produce visions and hallucinations that are untethered from reality. The user is often unaware that they are having a hallucination at all â often engaging in conversation with a person that isnât actually there.
They can walk around, talk, and perform most actions normally while experiencing hallucinations that have no basis in the current reality.
These drugs are dangerous because someone having a delirious experience may react unpredictably. They may become violent or combative. A sitter is a requirement for safely using these drugs â however, even a sitter may not be enough to control or protect someone in a delirious state of mind.
The most common deliriants are datura, brugmansia, DPH, high-dose DXM, and the borrachero tree.
4. Entactogens & Empathogens
An entactogen or empathogen describes any substance that increases feelings of oneness or emotional openness.
They essentially make it easier to feel empathetic towards the feelings of others and more in tune with how youâre feeling yourself.
The classic empathogen-entactogen is MDMA but there are many others as well.
LSD, psilocybin, and mescaline can all be considered empathogenic. They make you feel more connected with the world and the people around you.
5. Oneirogens
An oneirogen is a substance that either induces, enhances, or facilitates vivid dreaming. These compounds arenât necessarily psychedelic, but they do produce similar experiences through dream states.
Many of the compounds included in the classes mentioned above offer additional effects as an oneirogen.
Classical oneirogens have little psychoactivity while awake but lead to pronounced dream states after you go sleep.
Classic oneirogens include Amanita muscaria, Calea, damiana, and LSA (morning glory and Hawaiian baby woodrose).
I. Natural Psychedelic Substances
The natural world has a surprising number of psychedelic compounds in the form of various plants, fungi, and even a few animals.
Natural psychedelic compounds have been integrated with human culture for thousands of years for spiritual healing, divination, and sacrament. Virtually every culture on Earth has ties to psychedelics in one form or another.
The exception is the Inuit of North America â simply due to the lack of psychoactive substances in this part of the world.
List of natural psychedelics:
Tropane Alkaloids (Datura, Mandrake, Borrachero Tree)
LSA (Morning Glory & Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Seeds)
Mescaline (Peyote & San Pedro)
Salvinorin A (Salvia)
Nitrous Oxide (NO2)
II. Synthetic Psychedelics
While there are a ton of potent psychedelics offered by nature in the form of plants and fungi â there are ten-fold more in the form of synthetic or semi-synthetic compounds manufactured in labs.
The first psychedelics in this class were arguably LSD. It was discovered by accident, but as soon as the weight of its discovery reached the greater scientific community, it hit the ground running. Sandoz, the manufacturer of LSD, began handing it out for free to any researcher that wanted it. They wanted to find a suitable application for this interesting new psychedelic drug.
This eventually led to the mainstream adoption of psychedelics, and a gamut of other psychoactive substances started to pop up in its wake.
Today, there are more man-made psychedelics, empathogens, and entactogens to list. The vast majority of these compounds have not yet been explored in a scientific setting.
List of synthetic psychedelics:
Dextromethorphan (DXM)
Arylcyclohexylamines (Ketamine, PCP, DCK, MXE, & more)
MDMA (3,4-Methylâenedioxyâmethamphetamine)
Dipt (Diisopropyltryptamine)
The Psychedelic Playbook
Psychedelics are a large and diverse group of compounds. Today, there are literally hundreds of hallucinogenic compounds available, and likely many thousands more we have yet to discover.
Psychedelics can be an incredibly powerful tool for self-growth and mind expansion.
Theyâve also been shown to offer powerful benefits towards various mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and addiction.
These compounds can also be very dangerous if used incorrectly, so always make sure you do your research before you even consider trying a psychedelic.
Educate yourself about how these substances have been used in the past and what we know about their safety and applications today by following the Tripsitter project.