Hallucinogens

[Page 345]Hallucinogens are substances known to cause changes in awareness, thought processes, and feelings, thereby altering perception of reality. For centuries, hallucinogens have been used for medical purposes, recreation, and religious experiences. Scientists began experimenting with various hallucinogens to see what effects they have on the body. Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals have also used hallucinogens as part of the treatment process for certain mental illnesses.

Hallucinogens, sometimes referred to as psychedelic drugs, became very popular in Western culture staring in the mid-20th century. Hallucinogens played an especially significant role during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, as these substances were widely viewed as initiating a new social movement. Many controversies regarding hallucinogens exist, especially with regard to their place in society. Organizations have been formed in order to pursue the legalization of some hallucinogens as a way to heal the body.

Hallucinogens are divided into three categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. Psychedelics are drugs that induce stages of altered perception and thought with heightened awareness of sensory input. The drugs cause persons ingesting them to have little control over what is actually being experienced. Popular psychedelics include both synthetic forms such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and herbal and fungal forms, such as dimethyltryptamine (DMT) and psilocybe mushrooms (“magic mushrooms”). Some consider other drugs such as marijuana psychedelics, because when used in large quantities they can also produce similar effects.

Dissociatives work to reduce or block signals to the conscious mind from other parts of the brain. This occurs because some dissociatives inhibit perceptions of the physical senses while others dissociate physical senses from sensory data. Either reaction results in sensory signals being blocked from the brain, causing the brain to undergo sensory deprivation. Sensory deprivation may result in hallucinations and a dreamlike state of mind. Widely used dissociatives are phencyclidine (PCP or “angel dust”); ketamine, a common anesthetic; and dextromethorphan, an active ingredient used in cough syrups. Most dissociatives have depressant effects that slow breathing and heart rates to levels that could cause death if used in high dosages.

Deliriants are a subgroup of dissociatives, and are sometimes referred to as “true hallucinogens” because they indeed cause hallucinations. Individuals using deliriants sometimes are observed having conversations with others who are not there, or becoming upset at another who is believed to be mimicking the deliriant-taker's actions. Deliriants have been known to cause lucid dreaming, or the act of one consciously being aware of one's dreams. Side effects of deliriants include hallucinations, confusion, rage, feelings of isolation, and sleepwalking. When taken at suggested doses, deliriants have many beneficial uses. Deliriants are found both naturally, such as in plants including nightshades, mandrakes, and henbane, as well as in many pharmaceutical drugs such as antihistamines like Benadryl.

While labeled as hallucinogens, most of these drugs do not cause hallucinations. Hallucinations are perceptions that occur in the absence of external stimuli, and are often vivid, substantial, and located in external objective space. Users of psychedelic drugs experience a change in their regular perception but are very aware of the change that is occurring. Dissociatives cause sensory deprivation, which often leads to euphoria, but less often leads to hallucinations. True hallucinations most often occur when a person is under the influence of deliriants.

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