Hallucinogens

Tolerance to Hallucinogens

As the body becomes tolerant to the effects of a drug, users need to take ever-increasing quantities of the substance to achieve the same effects experienced at lower doses. This is why tolerance is such an important characteristic of dependence on certain drugs. Multiple studies have shown that tolerance to hallucinogens such as LSD, mescaline, psilocybin, and psilocin builds very quickly after three to four days of drug taking.

The History of Hallucinogens

Hundreds of species of plants contain the chemical substances we call hallucinogens, and have been altering the thoughts, moods, and perceptions of animals and people all over the world for thousands of years. A hallucinogen user may see a song, hear purple, or hold seemingly coherent conversations with family pets or house plants. A minute can feel like hours, and hours can feel like seconds. A user might become intrigued by a piece of furniture that appears to walk about the dining room, a...

Serotonin Dopamine And Norepinephrine Psychedelic Messengers

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep, pain sensation, appetite, mood, sensory perception, aggression, memory, and body temperature it often plays a role in helping us feel relaxed and at ease. The nerve cells that release serotonin are localized in a section of the brain called the raphe nuclei, which is located in the brain stem and lies just at the top of the spinal cord. The brain stem controls our autonomic processes, including, for example, breathing, heart rate, and blood...

Hallucinogens and the Law

Hallucinogens are illegal to use, possess, manufacture, and distribute, yet recreational use of these drugs continues to gain popularity among today's adolescents. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has estimated that 750,000 tablets of Ecstasy are used every weekend in New York and New Jersey alone. Recent reports estimate that over two million tablets of MDMA are smuggled into the United States each week. At every level local, state, and federal the U.S. government attempts to...