Psychedelics

Hallucinogens, Psychedelics, Deliriants, Dissociatives, Mind Altering Drugs

This class of psychoactive drugs is tough to classify.  In fact, depending on who you talk to, you're likely to get a variety of responses on the matter.  Used to be that they were mostly all under the same major category (often called Hallucinogens or Psychedelics), but many people disagree about how to classify different drugs in this corner.  

The two primary reasons for this difficulty in classification are, firstly, that the effects of drugs of this type vary drastically in their manifestations, as well as the mechanisms they utilize.  Secondly, nobody really completely understands exactly what they are and are not doing to a body.  

On a chemical level, we have found many of the methods that drugs interact with the body through, but on the whole, nobody really knows explicitly what these mechanisms do in the body.  We have identified many neurotransmitters, as well as drugs which work on a chemically compatible level, and there are many guesses about what function these neurotransmitters serve in the body, but nothing has been concretely proven yet.  In other words, we can see the parts moving, but we're not quite sure how they're all working together.  

The effects of these so-called 'consciousness-altering' drugs are also often very subjective, as it's tought to separate the direct effects of the drug versus the interaction of the drug with the brain and/or mind of the recipient.  With many other drugs, it tends to be much, much easier to classify them--for example, caffeine, a stimulant, clearly does certain things to the body without causing such drastic effects to the mind.  In other words, with some drugs, we're pretty sure exactly what they do, while others have more subjective (personal) effects which may be affected by mood, expectations, etc.  

We can see a lot of what they do, but we're not completely sure why.  

The Breakdown

Consequently, this category of mind-altering drugs is now broken down into further sub-categories--psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants.  These subcategories each better reflect the associated effects of drugs.  It's important to note that not all drugs (like many things in life) can be cleanly put into just one category--cannabis, for example may be classified as a psychedelic or a depressant, and mdma (x, ecstasy) exhibits functionality of both a stimulant and a psychedelic.  

Attempts have been made to separate these drugs by their methods (chemical functionality), and we continue to learn more all the time.   

Psychedelics

This category holds many of the drugs traditionally thought of as hallucinogens--LSD (acid), psilocybin (mushrooms), mescaline (peyote), etc.  While these drugs do not often cause explicit hallucinations, they clearly affect the mind and its perceptual mechanisms.  Again, it's hard to categorize these drugs properly, since we're not sure exactly how they work.  Many of the drugs in this category are non-toxic, allowing for a drastic range of dosages. 

Different theories exist about the mind altering effects of psychedelics.  A prominent explanations is that psychedelics mitigate the brain's ability to filter out inputs, making it difficult to lie to oneself.  This theory, known as the 'reducing valve' concept was first brought forth by Aldus Huxley.  The reducing valve concept asserts that these drugs limit the ability of the brain to hold things (memories, sensations, ideas, thoughts) out of consciousness.   The effects described here would also explain the prominent use of psychedelics for spiritual and psychological exploration, the use of psychedelics to induce trance-like states, and the exploration of the uses of psychedelics in mind control and interrogation.  

Dissociatives

These drugs turn off (or reduce) sensory messages from other parts of the brain and body.  This can create a sensory deprivation effect.  Wikipedia compares the use of dissociatives to that of lucid dreaming, as you might realize you're awake, but the lack of normal sensory flow to the conscious mind can allow for "self exploration, hallucinations, and dreamlike states of mind".  

Deliriants

These drugs are often, strictly speaking, true hallucinogens--these drugs can make you see and hear things which are not there at all.  Deliriants have powerful effects similar to other causes of deliriousness (extreme fever, etc.).  Deliriants also frequently leave users out of touch with reality, often with no memory or conscious interaction, yet still up and about, making these extremely dangerous drugs.  In essence, deliriants can shut down your brain, yet leave your body up to run around and cause trouble.   

Trippin'

Psychedelic experiences are often referred to as 'Trips'.  The range of phenomena exhibited under the blanket term of  'psychedelic experiences' contains such a drastic array of differences as to make this a very generic term, however.  In many of the more extreme cases, users of psychedelics have reported the effects to be uncommunicable, or inexplicable, and human knowledge of the relationship between the neurochemistry of the brain and the conscious manifestations of the mind is still very limited.  

We are essentially attacking the problem from two distinct angles--that of the chemical interaction with the body (neurotransmitters) and that of neuropsychology (or trying to link mental constructs with physical causes in the body/brain).  

In short, the term trip may describe any psychedelic experience, though specific biological/psychological causes have not been identified.  

Bad Trips

When a trip goes bad.  Frightening, confusing experiences that arise when taking a psychedelic are often called 'Bad Trips'.  This is usually characterized by paranoia, confusion (about where one is or what's going on), and panic.  This can be an extremely disconcerting thing, but will often pass as the drug begins to wear off.  

Many people who have a bad trip will equate the experience with the use of the drug itself, and therefore never want to take it again.  Bad trips can be brought on by worries of bad trips, unexpected stimuli during the experience, interaction with other drugs, memories or thoughts, etc.   

Spirituality and Religious Uses

Because of the 'mind-expanding' properties of many psychoactive drugs, history has seen many uses in religious ceremonies and attempts at gaining spiritual insight, or deeper meaning.  

Because of the subjective nature of such experiences, and the lack of hard data correlating physical interactions of psychedlics with mental perceptions caused by their use, much of this remains a very personal (unexplained) choice/experience.  

Expectations and Setting

Unlike most other drugs, the effects of psychedelics are often influenced by the mind of the person taking the drug.  Expectations and the situation (setting, stimuli, current happenings in the area) may drastically alter the experiences created by the drug.  It has been said that if you expect to have a 'bad trip' you almost certainly will, and likewise, if you expect to have a postive experience, you almost certainly will.   

External stimuli can also influence the outcome of a trip.