Hallucinogens
And their dangers on the street
What are hallucinogens?
What can Hallucinogens do to your body?
Short term Effects
increased heart rate
nausea
intensified feelings and sensory experiences
changes in sense of time (feeling like time is passing by faster or slower.
Specific short-term effects of some hallucinogens include: increased blood pressure, breathing rate, or body temperature loss of appetite dry mouth sleep problems mixed senses (such as "seeing" sounds or "hearing" colors) spiritual experiences feelings of relaxation or detachment from self/environment uncoordinated movements excessive sweating panic paranoia—extreme and unreasonable distrust of others psychosis—disordered thinking detached from reality Long term Effects Not much is known about the long-term effects of hallucinogens. Researchers do know that ketamine users may develop symptoms that include open sores in the bladder, kidney problems, and poor memory. Repeated use of PCP can result in long-term effects that could continue for up to a year or more after usage stops, such as: speech problems memory loss weight loss depression and suicidal thoughts anxiety
Examples of hallucinogens
Common hallucinogens include:
Ayahuasca is a tea made from one of several Amazonian plants containing dimethyltryptamine(DMT), the primary mind-altering ingredient. Ayahuasca is also known as Hoasca, Aya, and Yagé.
DMT is a powerful chemical found in some Amazonian plants. Manufacturers can also make DMT in a lab. The drug is usually a white crystalline powder. A popular name for DMT is Dimitri.
D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is one of the most powerful mood-changing chemicals. It is a clear or white odorless material made from lysergic acid, which is found in a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. LSD has many other names, including Acid, Blotter, Dots, and Yellow Sunshine.
Peyote (mescaline) is a small, spineless cactus with mescaline as its main ingredient. Peyote can also be synthetic. Buttons, Cactus, and Mesc are common names for peyote.
4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine(psilocybin) comes from certain types of mushrooms found in tropical and subtropical regions of South America, Mexico, and the United States. Other names for psilocybin include Little Smoke, Magic Mushrooms, Purple Passion, and Shrooms.
When/why do people begin using them?
hallucinogenic plants have been used for religious rituals to induce states of detachment from reality and precipitate “visions” thought to provide mystical insight or enable contact with a spirit world or “higher power.” More recently, people report using hallucinogenic drugs for more social or recreational purposes, including to have fun, help them deal with stress, or enable them to enter into what they perceive as a more enlightened sense of thinking or being. Hallucinogens have also been investigated as therapeutic agents to treat diseases associated with perceptual distortions, such as schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and dementia.