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Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs (Updated) Long-Term Effects of Hallucinogens See Page 5 Hallucinogens and Dissociative Drugs (Updated) Long-Term Effects of Hallucinogens See page 5. from the director: Research Report Series Hallucinogens and dissociative drugs — which have street names like acid, angel dust, and vitamin K — distort the way a user perceives time, motion, colors, sounds, and self. These drugs can disrupt a person’s ability to think and communicate rationally, or even to recognize reality, sometimes resulting in bizarre or dangerous behavior. Hallucinogens such as LSD, psilocybin, peyote, DMT, and ayahuasca cause HALLUCINOGENS AND emotions to swing wildly and real-world sensations to appear unreal, sometimes frightening. Dissociative drugs like PCP, DISSOCIATIVE DRUGS ketamine, dextromethorphan, and Salvia divinorum may make a user feel out of Including LSD, Psilocybin, Peyote, DMT, Ayahuasca, control and disconnected from their body PCP, Ketamine, Dextromethorphan, and Salvia and environment. In addition to their short-term effects What Are on perception and mood, hallucinogenic Hallucinogens and drugs are associated with psychotic- like episodes that can occur long after Dissociative Drugs? a person has taken the drug, and dissociative drugs can cause respiratory allucinogens are a class of drugs that cause hallucinations—profound distortions depression, heart rate abnormalities, and in a person’s perceptions of reality. Hallucinogens can be found in some plants and a withdrawal syndrome. The good news is Hmushrooms (or their extracts) or can be man-made, and they are commonly divided that use of hallucinogenic and dissociative into two broad categories: classic hallucinogens (such as LSD) and dissociative drugs (such drugs among U.S. high school students, as PCP). When under the infuence of either type of drug, people often report rapid, intense in general, has remained relatively low in emotional swings and seeing images, hearing sounds, and feeling sensations that seem real recent years. However, the introduction but are not. of new hallucinogenic and dissociative While the exact mechanisms by which hallucinogens and dissociative drugs cause drugs is of particular concern. their effects are not yet clearly understood, research suggests that they work at least partially by temporarily disrupting communication between neurotransmitter systems throughout NIDA research is developing a clearer picture of the dangers of hallucinogenic the brain and spinal cord that regulate mood, sensory perception, sleep, hunger, body and dissociative drugs. We have compiled temperature, sexual behavior, and muscle control. the scientifc information in this report to inform readers and hopefully prevent the use of these drugs. Nora D. Volkow, M.D. Director National Institute on Drug Abuse Psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and Salvia divinorum are commonly used hallucinogenic and dissociative compounds. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | National Institutes of Health Common Hallucinogens and Research Report Series Dissociative Drugs Classic Hallucinogens* LSD (d-lysergic acid Peyote (Mescaline)— prevents the normal breakdown of diethylamide)—also also known as buttons, DMT in the digestive tract. Ayahuasca known as acid, blotter, cactus, and mesc— tea has traditionally been used for healing doses, hits, microdots, is a small, spineless and religious purposes in indigenous sugar cubes, trips, tabs, or window cactus with mescaline as its main South American cultures, mainly in the panes—is one of the most potent mood- ingredient. It has been used by Amazon region. and perception-altering hallucinogenic natives in northern Mexico and the drugs. It is a clear or white, odorless, southwestern United States as a part Dissociative Drugs water-soluble material synthesized from of religious ceremonies. The top, or lysergic acid, a compound derived from “crown,” of the peyote cactus has PCP (Phencyclidine)—also a rye fungus. LSD is initially produced disc-shaped buttons that are cut out, known as ozone, rocket fuel, in crystalline form, which can then dried, and usually chewed or soaked love boat, hog, embalming be used to produce tablets known as in water to produce an intoxicating fuid, or superweed—was “microdots” or thin squares of gelatin liquid. Because the extract is so bitter, originally developed in the 1950s as a called “window panes.” It can also be some users prepare a tea by boiling general anesthetic for surgery. While it can diluted with water or alcohol and sold the plant for several hours. Mescaline be found in a variety of forms, including in liquid form. The most common form, can also be produced through tablets or capsules, it is usually sold as however, is LSD-soaked paper punched chemical synthesis. a liquid or powder. PCP can be snorted, into small individual squares, known DMT (Dimeth- smoked, injected, or swallowed. It is as “blotters.” yltryptamine)—also sometimes smoked after being sprinkled on marijuana, tobacco, or parsley. Psilocybin known as Dimitri—is a (4-phosphoryloxy- powerful hallucinogenic Ketamine—also known N, N-dimethyl- chemical found naturally occurring in as K, Special K, or cat tryptamine)—also some Amazonian plant species (see Valium—is a dissociative known as magic mushrooms, shrooms, “Ayahuasca”) and also synthesized in currently used as an boomers, or little smoke—is extracted the laboratory. Synthetic DMT usually anesthetic for humans as well as animals. from certain types of mushrooms found takes the form of a white crystalline Much of the ketamine sold on the street in tropical and subtropical regions of powder and is typically vaporized or has been diverted from veterinary South America, Mexico, and the United smoked in a pipe. offces. Although it is manufactured States. In the past, psilocybin was Ayahuasca—also as an injectable liquid, ketamine is ingested during religious ceremonies by known as hoasca, generally evaporated to form a powder indigenous cultures from Mexico and aya, and yagé—is a that is snorted or compressed into pills for Central America. Psilocybin can either hallucinogenic brew illicit use. Because ketamine is odorless be dried or fresh and eaten raw, mixed made from one of several Amazonian and tasteless and has amnesia-inducing with food, or brewed into a tea, and plants containing DMT (the primary properties, it is sometimes added to drinks produces similar effects to LSD. psychoactive ingredient) along with a to facilitate sexual assault. vine containing a natural alkaloid that *In this report, the term “hallucinogen” will refer to the classic hallucinogenic drugs LSD and Psilocybin. 2 NIDA Research Report Series DXM (Dextromethorphan)— Past-Year Use of Hallucinogenic and Dissociative also known as robo—is Drugs Among 12th-Grade Students a cough suppressant and 8.0 expectorant ingredient in Salvia some over-the-counter (OTC) cold and LSD 6.0 cough medications that are often abused PCP by adolescents and young adults. The most common sources of abused DXM 4.0 are “extra-strength” cough syrup, which typically contains around 15 milligrams of DXM per teaspoon, and pills and Use in the Past Month (%) 2.0 gel capsules, which typically contain 15 milligrams of DXM per pill. OTC 0.0 medications that contain DXM often also 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 contain antihistamines and decongestants. Source: Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 2014 Overview Salvia divinorum—also known as diviner’s sage, While regular use of hallucinogenic Maria Pastora, Sally-D, and dissociative drugs in general has Why Do or magic mint—is a remained relatively low in recent years, People Take psychoactive plant common to southern one study reported that the United States Hallucinogenic ranks frst among 36 nations in the Mexico and Central and South America. or Dissociative Salvia is typically ingested by chewing proportion of high school students ever fresh leaves or by drinking their extracted using LSD or other hallucinogens in Drugs? juices. The dried leaves of salvia can also their lifetime (6 percent versus 2 percent Hallucinogenic and dissociative drugs be smoked or vaporized and inhaled. in Europe) (Hibell, 2012). have been used for a variety of reasons Additionally, tourism to the Amazon (Bogenschutz, 2012; Bonson, 2001). for the purpose of using ayahuasca has Historically, hallucinogenic plants have How Widespread become increasingly popular among been used for religious rituals to induce Is the Abuse of Americans and Europeans in recent states of detachment from reality and Hallucinogens and years, and ayahuasca use has also been precipitate “visions” thought to provide reported in major cities in Brazil and mystical insight or enable contact Dissociative Drugs? abroad (Barbosa, 2012; McKenna, with a spirit world or “higher power.” According to the 2013 National Survey on 2004). Although DMT is a schedule More recently, people report using Drug Use and Health, 229,000 Americans I drug, plants containing DMT are hallucinogenic drugs for more social or ages 12 and older reported current (past- not scheduled, and there is ambiguity recreational purposes, including to have month) use of LSD and 33,000 reported over ayahuasca’s legal status in the fun, help them deal with stress, or enable current use of PCP (Substance Abuse and United States (McKenna, 2004). Two them to enter into what they perceive Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Brazilian churches have obtained as a more enlightened sense of thinking 2013). Among high school seniors, salvia permission to import and use these or being. Hallucinogens have also been was signifcantly more popular than plants in their ceremonies. investigated as therapeutic agents to LSD or PCP when it was added to the treat diseases associated with perceptual Monitoring the Future survey in 2009. distortions, such as schizophrenia, Past-year use was reported to be 5.9 obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar percent for salvia, 2.7 percent for LSD, disorder, and dementia. Anecdotal reports and 1.3 percent for PCP. Fortunately, rates and small studies have suggested that have dropped signifcantly for saliva—to ayahuasca may be a potential treatment 1.8 percent in 2014—with LSD and PCP for substance use disorders and other use dropping slightly (Johnston, 2014).
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