Hallucinogens
Hallucinogens are drugs that bend your mind so that you see and hear things that don't really exist - you have hallucinations. There are many drugs in this category. Some come from plants and others are made in illegal laboratories. Although such drugs as cannabis, amphetamines, and alcohol are not usually called hallucinogens, large doses of them can sometimes cause hallucinations.
Hallucinogens are unpredictable: the effects are fast-changing and unexpected. How they affect you depends a lot on your "mind-set" - your expectations, experience, and mood - and on the setting (you're likely to have a different "trip" at a rock concert than listening to soft music at home).
Here is what some different hallucinogens look like and a few of their effects.
LSD: the most powerful of the hallucinogens, LSD has no color, odor, or taste and is so strong that a dose (30 micrograms) is too small to see. It is packaged in miniature power pellets ("microdots"), gelatin chips ("windowpane"), or squares of LSD-soaked paper ("blotter"). LSD is usually swallowed but may also be "snorted" or injected. It has some effects on the body, causing weakness, clumsiness, nausea, chills, enlarged pupils, and rapid heartbeat. But it mainly affects the way you think, feel, and act.
Psilocybin: the mushrooms that are its source can be dried and sold as is, or as a powder in capsules. Purified psilocybin forms white crystals. The drug is usually swallowed but can be injected. It may make you feel relaxed or tired, and you may have mystical or "religious" experiences.
PCP: often sold in white or colored chunks or crystals, PCP can also come in the form of a powder or tablet. Mixed with tobacco, marijuana, or dried parsley, it is usually smoked, but it can be swallowed or injected. Effects can last as long as two weeks. Although it makes users "high", it also often makes them violent toward themselves and others. An overdose can be deadly, and PCP's effect on the mind has caused many deaths by accident, suicide, and homicide.
Mescaline: the "buttons" of the peyote cactus containing the drug are dried, then chopped or ground and sold in capsules. It is usually swallowed but can be smoked or injected. Physical effects include enlarged pupils, high temperature, muscles weakness, and vomiting. Mental effects include rapid mood changes, a sense of separation from your body, and a belief that you are experiencing "truth".
MDA: usually MDA is a white to light-brown powder and sometimes an amber liquid. It is ordinarily swallowed, but is sometimes sniffed or injected. It most often makes people feel they are "in touch" with themselves.
Other hallucinogens: the active ingredient in morning glory seeds is related to LSD, but it is about one-tenth as strong. The insecticides and other chemicals they are treated with can be posonous. Nutmeg powder, which is sometimes eaten or sniffed, is chemically related to mescaline. Both getting and recovering from a nutmeg high can be unpleasant. The leaves and berries of jimson weed make your skin hot and dry and your eyes blurry, besides giving you hallucinations.
Are hallucinogens dangerous? They can be. Here's why: Dealers often substitute another drug, sometimes a stronger drug, for the one you thinkk you are getting (e.g. LSD or PCP for mescaline, psilocybin, or MDA). You don't know what you're taking or how it will affect you. Sometimes, for no obvious reason, hallucinogen users take a "bad trip". They suddenly feel paranoid (seeing "enemies" everywhere) and intensely anxious about losing control. These feelings can lead to bizarre and even violent behaviour, especially with PCP and sometimes with LSD. Because these drugs are powerful and unpredictable, using them in a situation in which you don't feel safe and at ease is asking for trouble.
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