Albia Dugger • Miami Dade College

Chapter 13 Hallucinogens

Altered Consciousness

• About 6,000 different types of plants are capable of altering consciousness

• About 150 plants are used for hallucinogenic purposes

• Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) are synthetic hallucinogens

Terminology

• Hallucinogens • Drugs that induce perceived distortions in time and space

• Phantasticants • Term used to describe hallucinogenic drugs

• Psychedelic (“mind-manifesting”)• Term used to describe hallucinogenic drugs

• Psychotomimetic • Refers to drugs that produce psychotic-like symptoms

• Psychotogenic • Refers to drugs that generate psychosis

The Search for Hallucinogens

• Humans have long used agents that cause visual, auditory, tactile, taste, and other hallucinations or that induce artificial psychoses

• Mind-altering drugs were central in many Eastern religions, where they were used to achieve religious revelations

• Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann developed LSD as a possible headache remedy in 1938

Amanita muscaria

• Amanita muscaria is one of the oldest and most common hallucinogens; derived from the fly agaric mushroom

• In India 3,500 years ago, the Rig Veda, an ancient Hindu book, called it soma

• Viking warriors ingested Amanita muscaria to make them feel more fierce

• This mushroom grows throughout the US, and can be lethal

Saint Anthony’s Fire

• Ergotism • A condition resulting from ingesting a fungus that grows on

grains; marked by muscle tremors, burning, mania, delirium, hallucinations, and eventual gangrene

• St. Anthony’s fire • Burning sensations caused by ergot poisoning• People during the Middle Ages would visit the shrine of St.

Anthony in an attempt to cure it

The U.S. Experience

• LSD reached the US in 1949, when it was used to study mental illness

• It was later used by musicians and artists to enhance their creativity, and by government officials to determine its effectiveness as a mind-control agent

LSD and Mental Health

• One of the first uses of LSD was to study mental illness, especially schizophrenia

• Psychiatrists gave patients LSD to help them develop personal insight and to recall repressed experiences

• LSD was given to terminally ill cancer patients to help them cope with impending death

• Presently, LSD and other hallucinogens have no accepted medical uses

LSD and Creativity

• Objectively, LSD does not seem to improve creativity, although artists who take it seem to enjoy its effects

• Some artists believe that the perceptual changes from LSD have a profound, positive effect

• In another study, artists believed that their drawing skills vastly diminished under the influence of LSD

LSD and Government Experiments

• Research with LSD was conducted at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland in the early 1950s

• In 1953, the CIA gave LSD to government scientist Frank Olson without his knowledge – he experienced a psychotic response and jumped to his death from a 10th-story window

• Prostitutes in San Francisco were given LSD unknowingly to evaluate the drug’s effect on their sexual activities and experiences and on their patrons

LSD and the U.S. Culture

• In the early 1960s, people took LSD as a means of dealing with society and its inherent problems

• At Harvard University Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert studied the psychological effects of psilocybin, a hallucinogenic mushroom, on humans

• Leary and Alpert believed that LSD and other hallucinogens were psychologically and spiritually beneficial

Timothy Leary helped popularize LSD

LSD

• LSD • The most powerful known hallucinogen• Tolerance develops rapidly• Has no taste, color, or odor• Used as microdots placed on blotter paper and licked• Behavioral effects last 6 to 8 hours• Operates on the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain• Causes chromosome damage

Three Phases of an LSD Trip

• Phase 1: lasting 1 to 2 hours, is marked by euphoria and either crying or laughing

• Phase 2: 2 to 3 hours after ingestion, visual illusions and hallucinations appear

• Phase 3: 3 to 4 hours after ingestion, is characterized by distortion of time, ego disintegration, mood swings, and occasionally panic and depression

Psychological Effects of LSD

• Synesthesia: the blending of senses in which the person hears or tastes colors and sees sounds

• Depersonalization and disorientation

• Fear or panic can lead to a “bad trip”

• Flashbacks: A person re-experiences the effects of LSD days, weeks, or months after it was last used

Peyote

• Peyote • A cactus containing the hallucinogen mescaline• Used by Aztec Indians for religious rituals

• Mescaline • Psychoactive agent derived from the peyote cactus• Produces effects similar to norepinephrine• In small doses, produces euphoria• In larger doses, generates intense hallucinations

Two Stages of Peyote Intoxication

• Stage 1: Contentment and sensitivity

• Stage 2: Great calm, muscular sluggishness, and a shift of attention from external stimuli to introspection and meditation

• Medical uses:• To treat patients with angina pectoris• Respiratory stimulant for patients with pneumonia

Effects of Peyote

• Peyote takes 30-90 minutes to take effect

• Stays in the body about 10 hours

• The hallucinogenic effect lasts about 2 hours

• Tolerance to mescaline forms quickly and there is a cross-tolerance between mescaline and LSD

The Peyote Cactus

Psilocybin

• Psilocybin mushrooms• Called teonanacatl by Aztecs• In 1958, Albert Hofmann isolated the psychoactive

ingredient• Effects are similar to LSD, but not as intense• Converted into psilocin by a stomach enzyme • Has no current medical use

Psilocybin Mushrooms

Salvinorin A

• Salvinorin A• Relatively new hallucinogen derived from the sage family• Not yet illegal in the US, but banned in some states• When smoked, psychoactive effect lasts 15 minutes• Research into the effects of long-term medical and

recreational use of the drug is limited

Anticholinergic Hallucinogens

• Anticholinergic hallucinogens • Found in datura and in Amanita muscaria mushrooms• Interfere with the action of acetylcholine to produce

hallucinations• Have been used as medicines, poisons, and beauty aids• Can be highly toxic in large doses

• Plants containing anticholinergic hallucinogens include belladonna, datura, henbane, and mandrake

Anticholinergic Hallucinogens

• Belladonna (deadly nightshade) • Found in Europe, North Africa, and Asia• Member of the tomato and potato family• Can be extremely toxic

• Datura (locoweed, Jamestown weed, or jimsonweed)• Used in ancient China, Greece, India, and Africa• Side effects are potentially harmful and noxious• Recreational use is increasing

Anticholinergic Hallucinogens

• Mandrake• Derived from the nightshade family• Used during the Middle Ages in connection with witchcraft

and sorcery• In large amounts, can cause coma and death• Two psychoactive drugs: scopolamine and atropine• Scopolamine has been used to treat motion sickness• Atropine is used to dilate the pupils and lessen lung

congestion

Nutmeg and Mace

• Nutmeg and Mace• From seeds and fruit of the Myristica tree• Used without effect in food preparations• Large quantities induce visual and auditory hallucinations

• Myristicin • Substance found in nutmeg and mace• Chemically similar to mescaline• Unpleasant side effects

Fruit of the Myristica fragrans Tree

Dimethyltryptamine

• Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)• From leaves, bark, and seeds of various plants grown in

South and Central America• First synthesized in 1931 (“businessman’s LSD”)• Euphoric effects last 1 to 2 hours• May result in a psychotic episode• Tolerance does not develop• Reduces heart rate and blood pressure

Phencyclidine Hydrochloride (PCP)

• Phencyclidine hydrochloride (PCP or “angel dust”)• Developed in the 1950s as a surgical anesthetic• Illegal in the US since 1978• Generates anesthetic, hallucinogenic, stimulating, or

depressing effects depending on the dosage and method of administration

• Dissociative anesthetic • Alters perception of pain without loss of consciousness

Early Use of PCP

• Distributed under many names: angel dust, dust, rocket fuel, trank, crystal, PeaCe Pill, and hog

• Popularity declined because it induced bizarre, violent behavior

• Initially distributed in tablet or capsule form, but it also can be injected, snorted, or smoked

• Acute effects last 4 to 6 hours, but the user may be in a state of confusion for 8 to 24 hours

Illegal Use of PCP

• Illegal use of PCP escalated toward the end of the 1960s and into the 1970s

• Frequently used in place of other drugs such as LSD, THC, mescaline, or amphetamines

• Because users are disoriented, paranoid, and violent, police and hospital personnel are wary of people who are using it

Effects of PCP (Small dosage)

• Feelings of warmth• Relaxation• Poor concentration• Depersonalization• Nystagmus• Agitation• Muscle rigidity• Sudden mood swings• Faster heart rate• Elevated blood pressure

• Euphoria• Numbness• Distorted body image• Confusion• Poor coordination• Slow reaction time• Excessive salivation• Repetitive behavior• Higher body temperature

Effects of PCP (Large dosage)

• Anorexia• Violent behavior• Restlessness• Suicide• Seizures• Paranoia

• Insomnia• Amnesia• Depression• Coma• Death

Ketamine

• Ketamine (K, Special K, or vitamin K)• Used in veterinary medicine in place of PCP• Effective for pain management in humans• Considered a dissociative anesthetic• Capable of producing confusion, hallucinations, delirium,

excitement, irrational behavior, muscle rigidity, tremors, respiratory depression, irregular heartbeat, loss of appetite, skin rashes, nausea, and cardiac arrest