Psychedelic substances are the topic of debate between their users and anti-drug movements. They have been criminalised as Class A drugs in many countries, meaning they are considered most dangerous by the state despite their reported potential to unlock creativity, therapeutic/spiritual effects, and heal illnesses and addictions. Even with research presenting comparatively low health risks to legal intoxicants, many people are afraid of them. Due to the difficulty of gaining government approval to perform psychedelic drug research as well as prevalent spin-doctored information, individuals have taken experimentation into their own hands forming communities and cultures to exchange personal reports. This experienced psychedelic drug user and dealer advises a responsible approach and discusses the differences between different psychedelic drugs and other drug types.
DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is arguably the deepest psychedelic. It is the mother psychedelic – any other psychedelic drug is kind of like DMT’s bastard children. It is the most molecularly simple psychedelic drug and its easily broken down in the body which probably points towards the idea that your body already knows what it is and is used to dealing with it. Most tryptamines aren’t broken down so easily, 5-MeO-DMT (natural psychedelic tryptamine found in bufo toad venom and other plants) does, but that’s very similar. Psilocybin, the chemical in magic mushrooms, feels similar to DMT but gets broken down more slowly so you have a few hours of the experience rather than just a few minutes.
There’s a really good drug that I’ve been able to get recently called 4-AcO-DMT which gets broken down into psilocybin in your body, so basically, it’s chemical magic mushrooms. The effects are very similar to mushrooms only with a bit of a one dimensional edge to them as in they feel a lot smoother. It’s a very nice drug, out of the RCs (research chemicals) that I’ve tried, it’s a clean, clear and natural feeling compared to the ones that are chemically further away from DMT. Those tend to be a bit more confusing and not so deep.
Drugs like LSD can be very context sensitive. I see psychedelics that are taken in clubs as pure entertainment, this is one way where my opinion differs from some people who feel that taking acid and dancing all night in a club or in a festival is a deep experience. I see that as more pure entertainment because you’re tripping balls, you have loads of energy, you’re dancing and having fun. At times there are powerful revelations going on in your head but it’s more of an extroverted high and I feel the more transformative psychedelic experiences are introverted. It’s more about going within or sitting back and observing than running around psytrance parties. Some psychedelics which aren’t so deep, like 2c-B, are better to party on because you see pretty colours, you have energy and an empathic ecstasy. You’re involved with the celebratory party setting and aren’t so deep within yourself.
You can get addicted to psychedelics to some degree. Not learning from your experience is part of the reason. Also, if you’ve had a really positive experience, you try to recreate it and run away from a reality that isn’t as satisfying by chasing that good trip. You expect too much. I feel the best time to take psychedelics is when you deserve it; when you’re doing well in your life or even after some physical exercise or yoga. If you take psychedelics as a reward, it then feels more rewarding in its effects. If you don’t strike the balance between work and reward by taking psychedelics constructively, you set yourself up negatively; because if you haven’t worked, you don’t get the reward. This is perhaps why it doesn’t appeal to some recreational drug users, because if you take cocaine or ecstasy, you most likely get that same reward whenever you take it and the experience is far less of a commitment than a psychedelic. The people who take psychedelics sparingly, more often have a good trip every time because they’re not just trying to get fucked up, they intrinsically know that it’s more than that and set themselves up to have a good experience.
I’ve come to realise that taking psychedelic drugs all the time is not a good thing. There was a time when I was taking every single psychedelic chemical I could get my hands on. After one heavy summer I realised it was becoming more detrimental than rewarding. I learnt from that summer, that it reaches a plateau. My tolerance to psychedelics was very high then. It’s still higher than most people’s now, but it’s at an easier level. I’m putting a more acceptable amount of substances into my body rather than 5 times the amount of everyone else. You can bring your tolerance down, but tolerance with psychedelics is different because more than half of it is just your perception of what is happening. If you take 5 drops of LSD one week and then again the next week and have half as strong an experience, I don’t know if it’s because you are familiar with that mindset so it hasn’t given more of an impact or if there is a chemical-biological resistance of some kind. The fact that there isn’t anything more it needs to show you the second time, and you don’t have a balance to establish i.e. lesson to learn, is another factor.
I feel I have a certain set of responsibilities when I sell psychedelic drugs. I get in situations where I’ve been asked to sell drugs to people who really shouldn’t be taking drugs. I still sell them because part of learning is making personal choices and if they’ve made the wrong choice then it’s a lesson they can learn from. It’s difficult though, I feel gutted when someone has a bad trip but bad trips are just as relevant or valid as a good one; they’re no less positive overall. This is why I like to have good quality chemicals and information on dosing different drugs because dosing someone too high or too low is irresponsible. It’s not just about making cash and ripping people off, to me, it’s much more than that. I don’t make me a great deal of money selling psychedelics as I do with other drugs like MDMA or weed but I have a bit of a calling to give people these drugs and help them to open their minds with them. I don’t want to go so far to say I am a shaman/doctor as it is still a learning process for me. I am experienced with drugs and I want to be able to offer the opportunity and be there to help people get the most out of it. I have to offer advice, personally experiment with them and work out which substances best suit their needs, circumstances and environment.
If someone is having a bad trip, sometimes they try to kill the experience with valium and continually do so whenever it happens. I don’t think this is the best thing to do if you’re being shown something by the experience that perhaps you were running away from during your everyday life. It’s better that you face it and come to terms with it, and in a way, free yourself from the fear that holds you back. A quarter of a valium could ease the panic without destroying the essence of the trip that you should be learning from.
DMT and similar chemicals, are transcendental. They bring out the general archetypal/ mythological layer we exist in, whereas other chemicals like stimulants and dissociatives still put you in an altered state so you can learn a lot but are limited or focused on one narrow aspect. You can go deep with ketamine, but when you’re there, you can find yourself at a dead end where you can’t learn much more. Psychedelics can be like that. The 2C family is happier and lighter, but also bring you to a dead end. They’re really enjoyable and I advise people try them. They’re perfect for when you want a trippy, yet not full-on psychedelic experience at a party. But for deep experiences, it’s like being in your bath when you want to go swimming.
Psychedelics can give you an ‘acid ego.’ It happens when the experience re-confirms your world view rather than open you to new things. I try and take a step back from trying to come up with theories through psychedelics, because it might not be true and it’s arrogant to assume you’ve suddenly got it all just because you took some drugs. My ego is still floating around but psychedelics have helped me control it better and achieve a balanced and slightly skeptical worldview. I am able to step back, research things and come up with real ideas and be skeptical of other ideas and not be like, “I’ve got it! I’ve got IT.” It also helps me understand those patterns in other people too. Seeing patterns in other people also comes with age, you spot the patterns as they go off the rails or if they are onto something good. However, I still see people around the age of 50 who behave like confused kids because they don’t question themselves and their imaginations run away with their crackpot theories. Psychedelics bring the kid out in you and some people have frightened, tortured kids inside them that need to come out and have light-hearted fun. However, it is bollocks that you are most likely to go insane and psychedelics are dangerous, you’re more likely to become sane which isn’t necessarily going to make you happy or useful to society but is definitely a good starting point.
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