It is no secret that drug use has the ability to completely alter a person’s state of consciousness, whether it be through extreme euphoria, increased hyperactivity, pain relief or psychedelic hallucinations. Although many drugs are used for medical purposes, the global issue of recreational drug use is now being fronted as an extremely serious matter that is steadily on the uprise. Recreational drug use is often associated with negativity, addiction and as having serious physical and mental repercussions. One of the few class of drugs that is often associated with both positive and negative connotations are hallucinogens, otherwise known as “psychedelics”, which have powerful altering effects on ones sense of perception, brain function and mood (Nichols, 2004).
Hallucinogens are a class of drug that, as suggested by its name, have the ability to induce powerful hallucinations, and can even be “psychotomimetic” (Nichols, 2004), meaning that it has the ability to mimic the signs of psychosis. Hallucinogenic drugs often stir reactions in serotonin (5-HT) receptors in the brain. Serotonin, being “neurotransmitter” (Nichols, 2004) is responsible for various brain functions, inclusive of memory. Once these receptors respond to the ingested drug, the person may experience a range of both psychological and physiological onset effects, including “somatic symptoms” such as nausea, dizziness, frailty and lethargy, “perceptual symptoms” such as acute sensory functions, warped colours, warped shapes and trouble concentrating on surroundings and finally “psychic symptoms”, inclusive of perception of time, hallucinogenic manifestations and changes in emotional state (Nichols, 2004). All of these effects combined resulted in the phrase “trippin...
... middle of paper ...
...sca users. Drug Test Analysis, 4(7-8), 601–609. doi: 10.1002/dta.1383
Buckman, J. (1971). Social and medical aspects of illicit use of LSD. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 17(3), 163-176. doi: 10.1177/002076407101700301
Kowalski, K. M. (2000). What hallucinogens can do to your brain. Current Health 2, 26(8), 6-12. Retrieved May 16th, 2014, from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/docview/211706136/abstract?accountid=15112.
McKenna, D. J. (2005). Ayahuasca and human destiny. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 37(2), 231-234.
Nichols, D. E. (2004). Hallucinogens. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 101(2), 131 - 181. Retrieved May 14th, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2003.11.002
Vale, A. (2007). LSD. Medicine, 35(12), 631. Retrieved May 14th, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.uow.edu.au/10.1016/j.mpmed.2007.09.010
A largely debated topic in today's society is whether or not psychedelic drugs should be legalized for medicinal purposes and if they should, how this legalization would affect the communities in which they’re being prominently medicinally used. Although many scientists have argued that psychedelics pose a mental health risk, closer examination shows that communities would have a significantly lower depression rate if certain psychedelics were legalized. Now to fully understand how psychedelics could be beneficial or the opposite thereof, you’ll need to understand how they work and what they are. What a psychedelic drug is, the immediate effects, both mentally and physically, and how communities might benefit and function with the sudden use of these drugs.
Psychedelic drugs were an icon of the 1960s, its role embedded within the rising counterculture in response to the economic, social, and political turmoil throughout the United States. As a means to impose a central power and control social order, federal authorities were quick to ban the recreational and medical use of psychedelic drugs without consideration of its potential benefits. The recent state laws on the legalization of marijuana in Oregon and Colorado with others soon to follow, is a sure sign of an eventual collective shift in the perceptions of psychedelic drugs. Not only does Daniel Pinchbeck document his reflections on the personal consumption of psychedelic drugs in his unconventional novel Breaking Open the Head, he also advances several assertions on modern Western society in his exploration of polarized attitudes on this controversial topic.
Sullum, J. (2014, March 04). First Study Of LSD's Psychotherapeutic Benefits In Four Decades Breaks Research Taboo. Retrieved from Forbes: www.forbes.com
LSD has proved that the mind contains much higher powers and energies, beyond the average10% of the brain that a typical human uses. These powers and energies, under the right circumstances, can be taken advantage of to benefit human kind spiritually, creatively, therapeutically, and intellectually. LSD has given human kind the option to chemically trigger mental energies and powers. Arguments that LSD is potentially a dangerous discovery and mind control should be strictly prohibited by the government holds much validity, although there are benefits and arguments of personal freedom of neurology to consider. Whether LSD reflects negativity as a weapon and mind control drug, or radiates euphoria as a mind-expanding chemical and sacrament, the choice to engage in such an experience should be through personal reasoning. It is not the states and other bureaucracies’ duties to take control of the human brain and body.
2)Strassman, R. Human Hallucinogenic Drug Research: Regulatory, Clinical and Scientific Issues. Brain Res. 162. 1990.
Sessa, B. "Is It Time to Revisit the Role of Psychedelic Drugs in Enhancing Human
Although in the modern world such drugs have developed an almost taboo status, it is impossible to ignore the tales of enlightenment reported by ancient cultures and even those rebels that use such drugs illegally today. While the American government has been one of the main influences on today’s society’s negative attitudes towards psychedelic drugs, they have granted some scientist and psychologists permission to experiment with such agents, and despite the controversy and varying results there seem to be many positive uses of psychedelic agents. These positive uses and the research that has been directed toward these uses will be reviewed in the following, as well as a brief history of psychedelic drugs.
Hofmann, Albert. "LSD — My Problem Child." The Psychedelic Library. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. .
The frequently used maxim for psychedelics, “use in a good place at a good time with good people,” is an example of this. Two rituals that are in harmony with the maxim are the selection of a pleasant rural setting for psychedelic use and the timing of use to avoid driving while ‘tripping.’ Informal sanctions, which are followed by both small and large groups of users, indicate the appropriate time, place and way in which a drug is taken and can also provide the users with a safe environment. Some users refuse to learn how to do things such inject on their own and only let a trusted person or group of people inject them in an effort to restrict drug use. Jean-Paul Grund uses an interview based experiment in “Rituals of Regulation” (Grund, 1993) to demonstrate the symbolic dimension of frontloading; meaning through sharing drugs, the bonds between the users are strengthened, increasing the caution taken to make sure themselves and their friends are all free of harm due to
While hallucinogenic drugs have been used for centuries, it was not until the discovery by Western society of their mind-altering properties (Hofmann 1959; Stoll 1947; Delgado, Pedro L; Moreno, Francisco A) that these compounds began to be more widely used for treatment of mental disorders (see Abraham, Aldridge & Gogia 1996; Strassman 1995; Neill 1987; McGlothlin & Arnold 1971; Freedman 1968; Delgado, Pedro L; Moreno, Francisco A). Hallucinates are derived from plants or the fungus that grows on plants, the first recorded hallucination was a tossup between mental issues that were then used for a political push or the ergotamine during the Salem witch trails in 1962, far after that Albert Hofmann became the creator of LSD from ergotamine a chemical from the fungus ergot, in Switzerland 1938. From that time LSD has played a part in history, studies have shown that much has changed in the half-century since LSD was first used by psychiatrists and then found widespread recreational use in the 1960's and 70's. Modern psychiatry has embraced drugs that affect the same brain molecules that are tweaked by hallucinogens (Blakeslee,
Boyer, B., Boyer, R., & Basehart, H. 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism M. Hamer, Ed.. England: Oxford University Press.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is categorized as a hallucinogen, psychedelic, and a psychotomimetic. LSD is not as commonly used like nicotine and heroin but is still prevalent in the world today. This drug has been around for many years taking users to different worlds and giving a whole new sight on the world around us. Despite the fact LSD is an illegal drug, without it certain movies, songs, and art would not be around that many people know and love today. Many drugs do not have much of a benefitting effect, but LSD does have a few, along with some bad effects as well. Ever since the creation of LSD, scientists have been gaining knowledge of the effects it has on the human body and also the effects on society once it was released to the public.
Drugs are used to escape the real and move into the surreal world of one’s own imaginations, where the pain is gone and one believes one can be happy. People look on their life, their world, their own reality, and feel sickened by the uncaringly blunt vision. Those too weak to stand up to this hard life seek their escape. They believe this escape may be found in chemicals that can alter the mind, placing a delusional peace in the place of their own depression: “Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly halucinant,” (52). They do this with alcohol, acid, crack, cocaine, heroine, opium, even marijuana for the commoner economy. These people would rather hide behind the haze than deal with real problems. “...A gramme is better than a damn.” (55).
Nichols, D. E., & Chemel, B. R. (2011). LSD and the serotonin system's effects on human
Firstly, drug use is not a concept new to the twenty-first century. The use of psychedelic/hallucinogenic drugs results in perception-altering effects manifested as