Psychedelics Encyclopedia

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Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and an apparent expansion of consciousness. [2] [3] Also referred to as classic hallucinogens or serotonergic hallucinogens, the term psychedelic is sometimes used more broadly to include various types of hallucinogens, such as those which are atypical or adjacent to psychedelia like salvia and MDMA, respectively. This article makes use of the narrower classical definition of psychedelics. Classic psychedelics generally cause specific psychological, visual, and auditory changes, and oftentimes a substantially altered state of consciousness. [4] [5] They have had the largest influence on science and culture, and include mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT. [6] [7] Luke, D.P., & Kittenis, M. (2005). A preliminary survey of paranormal experiences with psychoactive drugs. Journal of Parapsychology 69/2, 305-27.

Stroup, T.S.; Gray, N. Management of common adverse effects of antipsychotic medications. World Psychiatry 2018, 17, 341–356.Garcia-Romeu, A.; Kersgaard, B.; Addy, P.H. Clinical applications of hallucinogens: A review. Exp. Clin. Psychopharmacol. 2016, 24, 229–268. Several researchers have also commented on the importance of dosage. 97 Indeed, Blewett 98 warned that giving participants low doses of LSD may not be sufficient to break through the barrier between the normal and the full-blown psychedelic state, and as a result be merely disorientating rather than transformative. Support for this logic is also evident in escalating dose research with DMT. 99 It is additionally advised that experienced participants control their own dosage, 100 as in the experiment by Wezelman and Bierman. 101 Participants’ self-reports of the depth of the altered state were considered better than dosages as indicators of subjective effects. 102 Self-reports using the Hallucinogenic Rating Scale were seen to be more accurate indicators of dosage than physiological measures, 103 though the use of a scale of transpersonal experience, such as the Self-Expansiveness Scale Form, 104 would also likely be fruitful in discerning the relevant depth of the psychedelic state of consciousness. Furthermore, some researchers, 105 have noted that the issue of dosage is largely irrelevant in comparison to the influence of the psychological factors of set and setting, as originally noted in psychedelic research by Leary, Litwin, and Metzner. 106 In discussion of this, Vayne 107 suggested that the influence of psychological factors on psychoactive drugs can vary their effects so much that the drug can be thought of primarily as an experience, composed of set, setting, and substance.

Grof, S. (2001). LSD Psychotherapy (3rd ed.). Sarasota, Florida, USA: Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. Wulff, D.M. (2014). Mystical experiences. In Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the Scientific Evidence (2nd ed.), ed. by E. Cardeña, S.J. Lynn, & S. Krippner, 369-408). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Endnotes Gasser, P.; Kirchner, K.; Passie, T. LSD-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety associated with a life-threatening disease: A qualitative study of acute and sustained subjective effects. J. Psychopharmacol. 2015, 29, 57–68. Thompson, M.A.; Moon, E.; Kim, U.J.; Xu, J.; Siciliano, M.J.; Weinshilboum, R.M. Human indolethylamine N-methyltransferase: cDNA cloning and expression, gene cloning, and chromosomal localization. Genomics 1999, 61, 285–297.

Rhead, J.; Turek, I.; Richards, W.; Yensen, R.; Kurland, A.; Ota, K. Psychedelic Drug (DPT)-Assisted Psychotherapy with Alcoholics: A Controlled Study. J. Psychedelic Drugs 1977, 9, 287–300.