Hallucinogens are drugs taken recreationally to alter thoughts, perceptions and emotions. The hallucinogens, more commonly known as psychedelics, produce visual, auditory and other sensory hallucinations--experiences that are not real. Euphoria may occur, but these drugs also commonly cause agitation, confusion, anxiety, paranoia, delusions, loss of social inhibitions, and wildly labile emotions. Large doses of hallucinogens can cause psychosis, ruptured brain blood vessels, brain damage, seizures, and potentially fatal respiratory and heart failure. According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 1.1 million Americans use hallucinogenic drugs.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide
Lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD is a potent hallucinogenic drug. In a 2010 study published in the journal "Psychopharmacology," Drs. A. Halberstadt and M. Geyer confirm what other researchers have also observed; LSD produces effects through interactions with serotonin receptors in the brain. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that facilitates interactions between nerves causing varied effects in the brain and body.
Physical effects of LSD include increased blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature, nausea, tremors and weakness. Sweating is typical along with dilation of the pupils. Psychic effects of LSD include distorted perceptions of distance and time, and visual, auditory (hearing) and touch-related hallucinations. Heightened emotions typically change frequently and abruptly. Paranoia, agitation, fear, anxiety and panic may occur. LSD can have long-term effects on the brain. Flashbacks--reexperiencing distorted perceptions and emotions that occurred while under the influence of the drug--can occur long after the drug was taken. Hallucinogen-induced persisting perceptual disorder or HPPD is a condition wherein people who have taken LSD or another hallucinogen have persistent flashbacks, which interfere with their ability to function.
Phencyclidine
Phencylidine or PCP was once used as an anesthetic, but this medical use was abandoned because of the disturbing mental effects of the drug. Physical effects of PCP may include nausea and vomiting, shallow breathing, decreased heart rate and blood pressure, blurred vision, sweating and drooling, dizziness, incoordination, loss of balance, and numbness in the limbs. Mental and emotional effects of PCP include agitation, anxiety, aggression, paranoia, delusions, distortion of visual and auditory perceptions, irrational thinking and dissociation--a sense of being detached or outside of yourself and your environment. The psychological state produced by PCP is similar to that of people with the mental disorder schizophrenia. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports long-term use of PCP may cause depression, memory loss and abnormal speech and thought patterns.
Mescaline
Mescaline is a hallucinogenic chemical found in the peyote cactus. It can also be manufactured. Physical effects of mescaline include nausea, elevated body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, incoordination, tremors and weakness. The drug distorts thoughts, emotions and sensory perceptions. Euphoria may occur, but anxiety, agitation and intense fear are also possible. Flashbacks and HPPD can occur in people who use mescaline.
Psilocybin
Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic substance found in certain species of mushrooms. The effects of this drug are similar to LSD, although it is not as potent as LSD. Physical effects include weakness, incoordination, nausea and pupil dilation. Mental and emotional effects include euphoria, nervousness, anxiety, panic, terror, paranoia, delusions and sensory hallucinations. NIDA reports long-term effects may occur with use of psilocybin, including memory disturbances and persistent flashbacks.
References
- U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, National Findings
- Psychopharmacology: LSD but Not Lisuride Disrupts Prepulse Inhibition in Rats by Activating the 5-HT2A Receptor
- U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration: Drugs of Abuse, Uses and Effects
- U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Hallucinogens
- National Institute on Drug Abuse: InfoFacts, Hallucinogens
