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Home Detox :: Drug Addiction :: Drugs of Abuse
The Straight Facts on Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs
addiction and alcoholism are believed to be a learned behavior that is masking a person's emotional or physical pain. There are almost as many treatments as there are addicts and alcoholics.
Educate yourself before making any type of life-changing decison regarding alcoholism, addiction and substance abuse treatment.
The Straight Facts on Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs
Hallucinogens and dissociative drugs come in several kinds and are taken in several different ways. What they share to their users is a sense of sensory distortion, exhilaration and bodily dissociation-the feeling of being outside or disconnected to one's body. In very controlled situations, the danger of taking these drugs is not so great. For those who use these types of drugs, however, there is nothing controlled about its use. The negative effects, such as poor judgment, psychosis, panic attacks and uncomfortable flashbacks become a very real and dangerous reality.
Only 0.4% of all people (140,000 in the U.S.) used these forms of illicit drugs and up to 1% of all teens are users. Around 12% of these become dependent and are unable to stop using. These are the people who become plagued by flashbacks, chronic anxiety and carry the greatest risk of accidental death due to poor perception and impaired judgment.
LSD (D-lysergic acid diethylamide) is perhaps the most commonly used hallucinogen. Once used as an aid for psychotherapy, it has no medical use today. It goes by the street names acid, blotter acid, dots, trips, blotters, tabs or windowpane. It is available in tablets, capsules, liquid or in tiny paper squares that can be licked or sucked on. The biggest problem with LSD is its unpredictable nature. A person can dissociate and see things that aren't unpleasant or they can have a "bad trip"-a drug-induced state often spent screaming in panic over a perception that frightens them.
Mescaline is more commonly used in certain Native American populations. Similar to LSD, it comes naturally from the peyote cactus. Its street names can be mesc, peyote or peyote buttons. Peyote buttons are eaten directly from the plant source, although some users get it through tablets or capsules. Although slightly milder than LSD, it carries the same risks of unpredictability and "bad trips".
PCP (phencyclidine) is a synthetic drug used as a veterinary anesthetic. In humans, however, an intense euphoria, coupled with altered perceptions and irrationality make PCP very dangerous to those who choose to use it recreationally. Panic attacks and psychosis are common. Going by the street names angel dust, crystal, hog, peace pill, tea, zoot and horse tranquilizer, PCP is available in a powder that can be made into a tablet, smoked snorted or injected. Those who use it risk a lack of judgment that could kill them.
Ketamine goes by the street names Special K, K, vitamin K, cat valium and kat. It causes an intense feeling of dissociation from one's body and hallucinations or nightmares are common. Ketamine comes in powdered or liquid form so that it can be snorted, smoked or ingested. It is often combined with other illicit drugs. The wrong dose can slip right past euphoria and into delirium, high blood pressure, respiratory failure and death.
Certain mushrooms have hallucinogenic properties. Called simply mushrooms or shrooms, the chemical, psilocybin, is eaten in its natural form, meaning that there is no guarantee how much you'll get at any given time. Its effects are like a mild form of LSD.
While hallucinogens have a lower potential for addiction, they have their own unique form of risk and danger. Those who take the risk don't always come out of the experience alive.
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