Drug abuse side effects: Hallucinations

Hallucinogens

Many medications can cause hallucinations as an adverse effect of abuse. These medications are called hallucinogens. Hallucinogenic substances are characterized by the ability to cause changes in a person's perception of reality.

Persons that are using hallucinogenic drugs often report:

    * seeing images,
    * hearing sounds, and
    * feeling sensations that seem real, but do not exist.

Hallucinogens are sometimes called ‘psychedelic drugs’, ‘trips’, ‘magic mushrooms’, ‘LSD’, ‘acid’.

History and statistical data

Hallucinogens have been used for centuries by certain peoples. The Hindus and the Aztecs used them to accomplish meditation state, cure illness, and enhance mystical powers. Many North American tribal peoples still use hallucinogenic mushrooms and peyote in tribal rituals.
After the development of LSD, a synthetic compound that can be manufactured anywhere, the abuse of hallucinogens became more widespread, and from the 1960s it increased dramatically. All LSD manufactured in this country is intended for illegal use, since LSD has no accepted medical use in the United States.
According to the several researches done in 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately 34.3 million Americans aged 12 and older reported trying hallucinogens at least once during their lifetime. That is about 14.3% of the population.
Approximately 3.9 million or 1.6% of the population reported hallucinogen use in the past year and 929,000 (0.4%) reported current use of hallucinogens.
 
 

Nature of hallucinogens

These drugs have various different sources and structures. Some hallucinogens occur naturally in trees, vines, seeds, fungi and leaves, while others are made in laboratories by mixing different chemical substances. Some drugs, such as cannabis and ecstasy, can cause hallucinogen-like effects when used in high doses or in certain ways. Methods of administration can include sniffing or snorting, injection into the bloodstream, muscle, or under the skin. They can also be chewed, swallowed, applied to mucous membranes, or cooked into food or teas.

Mechanism of work

The main thing that every person should know about the hallucinogens is that these drugs target specific centers of the brain to induce the interpretations of sensory input.
Being under the influence of a hallucinogen is commonly called 'tripping'.

What exactly is a ‘‘bad trip’’?

Since hallucinogens are very unpredictable drugs, having an enjoyable experience the first time doesn't guarantee they will always have pleasant experiences. The experience may be different each time. The bottom line is that every person that uses these drugs is at risk of having a 'bad trip'. This can include

    * Nightmarish hallucinations,
    * Extreme panic,
    * Paranoia and
    * Nausea.

Other unpleasant side effects can include:

    * Muscle spasms and loss of coordination
    * Convulsions and unconsciousness
    * Aggressive, hostile and violent behavior

Health Effects of hallucinogens

In general, when used at low levels, they can cause a broad range of effects depending upon both the user and the particular drug that the individual is using. It is proven that hallucinogens can produce various physiological effects including:

    * Elevated heart rate,
    * Increased blood pressure, and
    * Dilated pupils.

By using the higher doses an individual is more likely to experience hallucinations and the more extreme effects. Problems with these drugs is that the symptoms they cause are often unpredictable and a user may experience different effects compared to other users or past usage.

Users often experience changes in:

    * Perception
    * Thought
    * Mood
 and/ or:
    * Depression
    * Weakness and lack of muscular coordination
    * Anxiety or paranoia
    * Trembling
    * Nausea
    * Dizziness
    * Facial flushing

Depending upon the drug, these episodes may  last from minutes to days, with after-effects sometimes lingering from hours to weeks.
There were many researches regarding the question whether these drugs are causing physical dependence or not. The answer is no! Several studies have proven that these drugs do not produce physical dependence, but the problem is that they can produce a tolerance in which the effects are reduced if the user ingests the drug regularly in a short period of time. If used by a pregnant woman, they can even cause spontaneous abortion. There is also a hypothesis that they can even cause genetic or chromosomal defects but this has not been confirmed.

After-effects

    * Depression and psychotic states

Commonly reported after-effects can include depression, ranging from mild to severe or psychotic states that may last for months. Many users are also experiencing a generalized anxiety after a hallucinogenic experience, often aggravated by panic attacks.

    * Flashbacks

A common danger reported in connection with hallucinogenic drugs is the danger of flashbacks – a spontaneous re-experiencing of the hallucinogenic state without the use of a hallucinogen.
 

Why are these drugs so dangerous?

    * First of all, most of them are illegal. Using, keeping, selling or giving hallucinogens to someone else is illegal and, if you are caught you could get penalties starting from a $2 200 fine or two years in jail to a $550 000 fine or even a life sentence. They are being manufactured illegally and sold on the street creating risks for buyers, since the substance they ingest may not be pure as they thought they were buying.
    * The second reason is that they are fatal. This category of drug is not usually fatal itself, but death can result from convulsions, toxic dosage levels, bizarre accidents, suicide, driving under the influence, or lethal effects from combinations of drugs.
    * Some other long term effects of hallucinogens may be damaged memory and concentration. Using hallucinogens may increase the risk of mental problems in some people.

Most common hallucinogenic drugs

    * LSD

Lysergic acid diethylamide, also known as LSD, is one of the most powerful hallucinogenic drugs known. It works by stimulating the centers of the sympathetic nervous system in the brain, causing dilation of the pupils, an increase in body temperature and a rise in the blood-sugar level. It also blocks the effects of serotonin. During the first hour after the ingestion, the user may experience visual changes with extreme changes in mood. The user may also suffer impaired depth and time perception, with distorted perception of the size and shape of objects, movements, color, sound, touch and the user's own body image.

    * Mescaline and Psilocybin

These drugs can be isolated from the following natural sources:

          o Lysergic acid amide from morning glory seeds,
          o Psilocybin from the "magic mushroom", Psilocybe Mexicana.
          o Mescaline is isolated from a peyote cactus but it can also be produced synthetically

Psilocybin is from the same chemical family as LSD and their effects are similar. How do these substances work? Well, these molecules fit into the same places as the neuro-transmitters and over-stimulate them, leading to false signals being created. Negative physical symptoms of psilocybin use can include vomiting, muscle weakness, drowsiness, and panic reactions. Frequent use of this drug can result in the development of  tolerance. These mushrooms are usually ingested orally, but can also be brewed in a tea or added to food to mask the bitter flavor. Once ingested, psilocybin is broken down in the user's body to produce psilocyn, another hallucinogenic substance.

    * Serotonin

Serotonin neurotransmitter that is normally found in several places in our body. Some of the most common localizations are:

          o Cardiovascular tissue,
          o Endothelial cells,
          o Blood cells, and
          o The central nervous system.

The effects of serotonin are still unknown but experts believe that it is causing similar effects to our body like all the other hallucinogenic drugs. So, in a way, it represents a kind of a personal body hallucinogen.

Other hallucinogenic drugs

    * Ketamine

      Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic developed in 1963 to replace PCP and is currently being used in human anesthesia and veterinary medicine.
      Much of the Ketamine sold on the street has been diverted from veterinarians’ offices. Although it is manufactured as an injectable liquid, in illicit use Ketamine is generally evaporated to form a powder that is snorted or compressed into pills.

    * PCP

      PCP or phencyclidine, developed in the 1950s as an intravenous surgical anesthetic, is classified as a dissociative anesthetic. Its sedative and anesthetic effects are trance-like, and patients experience a feeling of being “out of body” and detached from their environment. PCP was used in veterinary medicine but was never approved for human use because of the many possible side effects such as delirium and extreme agitation. This behavior can lead to death from drowning, burns, falls, and automobile accidents. Long-term PCP users report memory and speech difficulties.

    * Dextromethorphan

      Dextromethorphan, sometimes called DXM is a cough - suppressing ingredient in a variety of over-the-counter cold and cough medications. The most common source of abused dextromethorphan is the “Extra - strength” cough syrup. It produces dissociative effects similar to those of PCP and Ketamine.

Street names for different hallucinogens

LSD

    * Acid
    * blotter
    * blotter acid
    * dots
    * microdot
    * pane
    * paper acid
    * sugar
    * sugar cubes
    * trip
    * window glass
    * window pane
    * Zen

    
Ketamine

    * bump
    * cat Valium
    * green
    * honey oil
    * jet
    * K
    * purple
    * Special K
    * special la coke
    * super acid
    * super C
    * vitamin K

    
P C P

    * angel
    * angel dust
    * boat
    * dummy dust
    * love boat
    * peace
    * supergrass
    * zombie