Hallucinogens - Rehab Guide

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens

Hallucinogens: Everything You Need to Know

Different types of psychedelic drugs, their effects and insight into the scientific studies carried out on hallucinogens. 

What Are Hallucinogens?

In simple terms, a hallucinogen is a substance that causes the user to experience hallucinations. These drugs cause people to have these disjointed experiences with reality.

Whether that means that the user is hearing things or seeing things that aren’t there, hallucinogens can be extremely dangerous because it’s during these trips that people can severely harm themselves or others that are around them at the time of their trip. Quite a few hallucinogens can be created from plants, but there are also several that are man-made in labs.

While users may enjoy the trips they take these trips aren’t always fantastic and colourful. There are times when these trips can be terrifying and scary. Not to mention the continued use of hallucinogens can cause prolonged issues for those that are using them.

There are various hallucinogenic drug effects that someone may experience. We’re going to detail some of the effects of the hallucinogens that users go through when taking the drug.

What are some effects of hallucinogens?

Paranoia

One of the bad effects of hallucinogens is paranoia. This is when the user may feel as if people or things are out to get them and harm them. Because of this paranoia, a person may be led to act first.

This may result in them attempting to hurt themselves or others because they believe that is the way to avoid the dangerous situation that they’ve created in their mind.

Drug-Induced Psychosis

When someone uses psychedelics, they may have a psychotic break and enter what is known as psychosis. Some people that have these breaks from reality have been able to heal and return to normal while others find that the damage done to their brains is permanent.

Drug-induced psychosis can take months or even years to heal from. The cause of this psychosis is taking a trip that is so severe that your body physically and mentally has problems returning to normal. People find that they’ve become mentally ill after experiencing a drug-induced psychosis episode.

Dehydration

When someone is in the midst of a trip, they are focused on the experience and nothing else. A common side effect of using psychedelics is sweating and nausea.
These are both things that can leave someone severely dehydrated. And if someone reaches this point dehydration can cause them to become sick and be hospitalized.

Death

Any type of constant use of any substance can lead to death. Various side effects come with using drugs that can cause a drug-related death.

When someone is using their heart can work overtime leading to a heart attack or stroke. If they aren’t found in time, their chances of surviving can be reduced significantly.

Drug addiction is serious, and in some cases, can cause permanent consequences such as death.

Flashbacks

When someone uses psychedelics frequently, they may find that even when they’re not using, they will have flashbacks. These flashbacks may lead to them hearing things that aren’t there or seeing things that aren’t there.

It may cause them to flashback to things that they experienced during their trip. Hallucinogens are one of the only drugs that are documented to cause this kind of brain damage. Even when someone has been clean for years, they may still experience flashbacks.

Depression

Any substance that causes the brain to work in ways that it’s not supposed to can result in brain damage. Primarily because once someone has stopped using the substance, their brains struggle to return to the way it was before.

Because a persons brain function don’t return to normal, it can lead them to feel depressed because they don’t feel normal. Knowing how hallucinogenic drugs affect the body is essential.

Are Halluginocenic Drugs Addictive?

Currently, there’s not enough evidence to support that the drug itself is addictive. What researchers have concluded this far is that users are addicted to the psychological aspect of using drugs.

They are fascinated with the trips that they take when using the drug. Once you feel as if you’ve experienced seeing God or other otherworldly beings, it may lead you to continue pursuing that same experience no matter the consequences.

As more time continues to past, researchers will continue to study the effects of the drugs on the body as well as to reevaluate things like drug tolerance. Hallucinogenics are one of the only drugs that show no signs of tolerance building against them. But, that may change as more and more is done to study its effects.

Types Of Hallucinogens

Here is a list of hallucinogenic drugs and how they work.

LSD

One of the most commonly heard of and used hallucinogenic drugs is LSD. If you were trying to find one psychedelic that embodied the hallucinogens definition LSD is going to be the one. The generic name for this drug is lysergic acid diethylamide.

This hallucinogen is extremely potent and came to be in 1938.

The acid that’s used to create this drug comes from a fungus known as Ergot. This fungus grows on grains commonly including rye.

There are several ways that users take LSD, including:

  • Tablets
  • Liquid LSD
  • Gelatin Squares
  • LSD-soaked paper

When someone is under the influence of LSD, they may find that their blood pressure is elevated as well as their heart rate. As mentioned before, when someone is on a trip, they don’t focus on nourishing their bodies. A common side effect of LSD is experiencing the loss of one’s appetite.

Another dangerous side effect of this drug is experiencing shifts in one’s emotional state at an alarming rate. Because of these emotional changes, it may cause someone to begin to act and make irritational decisions.

Peyote

You may be surprised to find out that this hallucinogen makes a list legal hallucinogens UK, as long as it’s not being used for hallucinogenic purposes. However, one thing that should be noted is that this hallucinogenic cactus can’t commonly be found in the UK and those that use it have to search for it elsewhere.

Peyote can also be found under the name Peyotl, Ubatama, and Anhalonium. Mescaline is a common component of Peyote and if you recall was something that Huxley experimented with early on in his journey with psychedelics.

People that are using Peyote may find that they lack control of their movements. This could be due to loss of muscle control or spasms that occur during the trip. Peyote also causes people to continuously sweat, which if they don’t replace this lost water, it can lead to dehydration.

More studies will need to be conducted to figure out other specifics of Peyote use, but researchers do understand that if you’re a woman that’s expecting steer clear of this substance at all cost.

DMT

DMT is commonly known as the spirit molecule because many that use it either liken the experience of dying or coming in touch with spiritual beings. The trip that this psychedelic takes people on can be extremely severe and intense in nature.

DMT is a hallucinogens examples that are used frequently during religious ceremonies and shamanic meetings held in other cultures. Users believe it provides them with an awakening that other substances don’t provide them with.

People that are using DMT may find themselves increasingly agitated because of both visual and auditory hallucinations that they experience while under the influence. Another dissociative hallucinogen effect is an altered reality.

Seeing or hearing things that aren’t real or are more intense than it really is. Because of this, people may become scared or overwhelmed during the trip. Again, as mentioned before if the trip takes a turn for the worst, it could cause the user to make a decision that could change their lives in ways they never imagined.

These changes could leave them in a state where they have to rely on others to help them do simple things for the rest of their lives.

Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is not a powder, but it’s a tea that is commonly used and ingested by people. When the hallucinogen is ingested this way, it can lead to someone taking a trip for longer than the average 45 minutes.

People may experience a host of issues when drinking this tea, including constant changes in their behaviour and their way of thinking. If too much tea is consumed, it can also lead to severe vomiting.

The tea is made by brewing leaves that are taken from a plant known as Psychotria Viridis. The beginning of the word ‘aya’ means vine of the soul it’s no wonder that it’s used during for both spiritual and medical reasons.

Magic Mushrooms

Magic mushrooms are mushrooms that contain the hallucinogen drugs psilocybin and psilocin.

Psilocybin is a Class A drug and has a high potential for abuse. Psychedelic mushrooms can cause effects ranging from frightening hallucinations, depression and panic attacks.

There are several other effects when it comes to the use of magic mushrooms. Most of these effects can be likened to the effects that one would experience when using acid or other psychedelic drugs.

  • Distorted Sense of Reality
  • Altered Sense of Time
  • Rapid Heart Rate
  • Loss of Bladder Control

Famous celebrities that have enjoyed a trip or two

Aldous Huxley is the first name that we shall mention on our list. It should come as no surprise that he experimented with psychedelics because his written works have to do with detailed research about hallucinogenics. It’s documented that he first took a substance called mescaline in 1953.

As he continued his research, so did his experimentation with psychedelics, including hallucinogenic mushrooms. It is said that when he was passing, his last wish from his wife was to inject him with LSD for one final trip. Multiple images of hallucinogenic mushrooms may pop into your mind right now.

The Beatles and psychedelics almost seem like they go hand in hand. The group had frequent interactions with LSD beginning in 1965. This first encounter was a result of someone else giving it to both George and John. According to members of the group, the use of LSD helped inspire them to write several hit songs, including Tomorrow Never Knows.

The late Anthony Bourdain spoke in the past about using hallucinogens. While he spoke briefly of the hallucinogenic encounter, one can assume that a lot when into preparing the honey-soaked mushrooms.

We hope we answered the questions that you had about hallucinogens in our guide. From some of the most common side effects of using them to the different kinds of psychedelics and how they work. If you find that you’re using psychedelics and need help to stop contact The Rehab Guide.

We’ve got programs that can help you get to the bottom of your addiction. And provide you with the resources you need to take control back and stop using today.

Sign up to our Newsletters by Email