Fantasy and the Drug Experience

1. Fantasy and the Drug Experience Were it not for the motion and color play of the soul, man would suffocate and rot away in his great passion, idleness. -Carl G. Jung

2. History of psychedelics • Psychedelic substances were introduced to the Europeans by the Mexicans once Cortes viewed the Aztec ceremonies using mushrooms (teonanactl- flesh of the gods) • Mescaline is the active ingredient in Peyote cactus • Psychedelic research began in 1897 when mescaline was isolated

3. Albert Hofmann • Albert Hofmann isolated LSD from ergot (a fungus on rye grass) when he accidentally ingested it through the skin and had the first recorded “trip” • 20 years later he isolated psilocybin in mushrooms • Finally he learned to produce LSD, a synthetic hallucinogen • When he died recently (2008) he regretted that no research had found viable uses for the drug • Timothy Leary in the 1960s was a promoter of LSD, believing this could elevate people into a more spiritual orientation to life: “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.”

4. Shamanism • These religions believed animals, plants held the Great Spirit. • Hallucinogenic plants were thought to expand the understanding of self and God. • Hallucinogens were first used in animistic religions.

5. Peyote cactus • Mescaline is the active chemical in peyote. • Native American Church uses it in dried or green form for ceremonies.

6. Mushrooms • Psilocybin is the active chemical in mushrooms. • Effects are similar to LSD. • Dosage makes the difference in effects. • Useful in treatment of OCD.

7. Hallucinogens and the Brain • Tryptamines (LSD, psilocybin) • Phenethylamines (mescaline, MDMA) • Dissociative anesthetics (ketamine, PCP) • Mescaline, psilocybin, LSD are similar to serotonin • They act on: • the cerebral cortex- critical to cognition, perception, mood • Locus coeruleus- critical in panic attacks, agoraphobia, anxiety • Consciousness results from interaction of cortex, thalamus, & striatum

8. LSD • Forms of microdots or gelatin (window panes) • Most potent mood & perception altering drug known • Most common effect is perceptual distortion- objects merge, faces distort, sense of time is lost, identity is altered • Effects dependent on user’s mood before use- euphoric to panicky • Described as watching a theater in the mind • One part of psyche watches what the other part creates • Effects last 6 – 12 hours • Long term effects- tolerance to psilocybin/ mescaline, flashbacks, persistent psychosis, mood shifts, distortion of reality, hallucinations, ability to think rationally

9. Ram Dass & Timothy LearyLSD gurus of the 1960s

10. LSD • First popular in 1960s • Does not produce physical dependency • Trip is determined by mood and mental set • Sensory perception changes • Mood swings • Detachment, depersonalization • Synesthia • Altered time perception

11. Side effects of LSD • Bad trips can be frightening, leading the user to act violently, or self-destructively • User can feel out of control or grandiose • Extreme paranoia • Depression can drive suicide • Disrupts intuition so that products aren’t truly creative • Mental confusion, distortion • Flashbacks for some time after use

12. Dissociative Drugs • PCP and ketamine originally developed as surgical anesthetic • Hallucinogenic as they bring about detachment from reality, distortion of space, body image- dissociations, not true hallucinations

13. MDMA/ Ecstasy • Club drugs- used to heighten stamina for dancing and for sexual effects • Acts as both stimulant & hallucinogen • Increases heart rate & temperature to point of heart/ kidney failure • Forces dehydration & overdrinking & throws electrolytes out of balance, producing death • Damages brain cells that produce serotonin, resulting in memory loss & inability to learn

14. The hug drug • Ecstasy was first introduced in the 1970s for therapy clients who were inhibited. • E overstimulates serotonin to produce euphoria, emotional trust, empathy. • It leads users to act more overtly sexual. • Users say the drug allows them to be themselves, without inhibitions of society. • Speed aspect allows them to dance all night, with no concern for their feet, pain, etc.

15. PCP • Zombie, peace, angel dust • Alters receptor sites for glutamate which affect pain perception, learning & memory • PCP rush comes from dopamine dumped into the nucleus accumbens which lasts hours, even days • Even a year later there can be memory loss/ depression • Effects on the body: elevated body temperature, increased heart rate, blood pressure

16. Ketamine • Special K, cat valium, used as a date rape drug because of profound anesthesia and amnesia after use • Victims can’t remember who they left the bar with, whether they were assaulted

17. Dextromethorphan • Abuse can occur with extra strength cough syrups • If dosage exceeds 4 oz. dextromethorphan, dissociative effects occur • Also contributes to unwitting addiction by users with sinus infections, etc.

18. Benefits of hallucinogens • Ecstasy was originally used in therapy to facilitate reduction of inhibition, affection between partners • With terminal cancer patients, LSD & therapy foster peace of mind and aid development of spiritual beliefs • When facing death, people can no longer escape the idea of mortality • We will have to leave this life exactly as we entered it- with nothing or no one • Letting go of bonds of attachment is wrenching

19. Facing Death can open up spiritual transcendence • The brain is programmed for spiritual quest, but this is housed in the right side of the brain, generally overridden by the left rational brain. • Following left brain strokes, patients often feel oceanic, released from the concerns of this world. • It requires therapy to re-install the rational control & boundaries exerted by the left brain.

20. In 1990 research with psychedelics was legalized again • In the 1950s military, intelligence research with LSD was unethical & exposed many people to risk, even death (remote viewing experiments) • Today research focuses on cluster headaches, OCD, anxiety in cancer patients, PTSD • Beneficial effects of psychedelics result from downsizing serotonin receptors which reduces perceptions of pain, opening up opportunities for insight, transference, enhanced symbolism, heightened suggestibility, controlled regression, integration between thoughts & emotions.