Side Effects of the Drug Psilocybin Essay

This answers the complicated question, but broken down it is somewhat simple. The “altered perception and thought” side means that the psychedelic drug changes what you are seeing and mangles up what is real and what is not. These types of drugs can cause you to see things that are not there, colors or shapes, make you hear things, like songs or people and overall distorts what is actually happening. The “mind expanding” part mean that the psychedelic broadens your perspective on the world and what you are perceiving at that moment, many people say you are “re-learning” everything you see. When on a psychedelic drug you may feel as if you are able to answer anything, and everything makes sense, but at the same time nothing makes sense at all; every secret in the world has been exposed and only you know the answer but it’s in a foreign language you do not understand. Finally, the “heightened awareness but diminished control” side means that you are extremely aware of what is going on, but you have no control over what is actually happening. There is no specific purpose that a psychedelic drug is meant to fill, they were previously used in therapy sessions for extreme cases of PTSD and MDMA was used in

Psychological effects may occur and vary in intensity depending on the dosage. Doses of less than 5 mg may produce milder effects, while 10 mg or more may lead to more intense and erratic behavior. Some short-term psychological effects include: Mild to intense euphoria, Relaxation or drowsiness, Feelings of unreality and dissociation with the environment, Distorted sense of time and space, Anxiety, Depression, Panic, Terror, and the overwhelming fear of imminent death, and etc. The physical effects of PCP also depends on the intensity of the dosage. Short-term physical effects include: Impaired motor skills, Dizziness, Blank staring, Coma, Nausea, Slow, shallow, and irregular breathing, Speech disturbances, ranging from difficulty articulating to incoherent speech or inability to speak, Salivation, Very high doses may doses may result in an overdose and lead coma, convulsion, or death and

     While American Indians are well known for their use of psychedelic agents other cultures have also been known to use psychedelics, especially psilocybin. So-called “magic'; mushrooms also grow naturally in many parts of Europe and Asia. Norse tribesmen, for example, were believed to use Amanita muscaria or fly agaric mushrooms to bring on feelings of rage before going into battle. The same mushroom may have also been the inspiration to the founders of Hinduism. Preparations of datura, the agent found in jimson weed, are used in magic and witchcraft in many areas of the world, (Aaronson, 1970). More recently many artist, writers, and musicians have been known to use mescaline and psilocybin and other naturally occurring hallucinogens such as those found in morning glory seeds, and nutmeg, as well as synthesized hallucinogens like LSD. Because of their mind-expanding qualities, the high insight into reality that they seem to produce, as well as highly complex sensory experiences, some report receiving inspiration from such drugs.

These substances are in turn broken down in the body into a great many more

Ergot can affect any part of the body in both people and animals and can cause problems in any body system, known or unknown. The symptoms can range from mental to physical distresses, such as extreme confusion and hallucinations to convulsions and crippling loss of movement (Bonnet & Basson, 2004). While LSD is not addictive, it can do damage similar to, but not as extensive as, the plant of its origin, ergot.

The way it works is that a chemical in the mushrooms called psilocybin interacts with the serotonin receptors in you brain and gives you a sensory overload. This means you will experience seeing saturated colors and patterns. Your brain can be considered to be hyper-connected, with different regions communicating with each other that they otherwise wouldn’t. The connections aren’t random but are actually organized and stable. The connections return back to normal once the drugs wear off.

Not soon after the first Europeans set foot on American soil at the end of the fifteenth century, they began take note with varying degrees of fascination and revulsion of a strange indigenous custom psychedelic plant ritual. They were later to recognize this occurrence as an indispensable aspect of aboriginal religion and ritual in many parts of the New World. Intoxication by certain plants were ascribed supernatural powers by indigenous people.

c. Argument #1: The symptoms that are described in the trials are violent muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions, hallucinations, crawling sensations on the skin, and more.

Hallucinogenic drugs were not very common at the time, and were fairly hard to study. There were a few brave scientist that were trying to study different plants

Merry Pranksters were famous for using LSD and they used higher doses of LSD because they felt that they were in touch with the nature spiritually and it also gave them sensations that they never felt before. In reality, LSD is a

DMT leads us to an acceptance of the coexistence of opposites, such as life and death, good and evil; a knowledge that consciousness continues after death; a deep understanding of the basic unity of all phenomena; and a sense of wisdom or love pervading all existence. The smoked DMT experience is short, but generally incredibly intense. Onset is fast and furious, and thus the term "mind-blowing" was used to describe the effect. It is a fully engaging and enveloping experience of visions and visuals, which vary greatly from one individual to the next. Users report visiting other worlds, talking with alien entities, profound changes in ontological perspective, fanciful dreamscapes, frightening and overwhelming forces, complete shifts in perception and identity followed by an abrupt return to baseline. "The effect can be like instant transportation to another universe for a timeless sojourn" (Alan Watts).

Hallucinogenic mushrooms have been around for many years. The earliest recording of people using these mushrooms is from 7000 B.C. rock paintings in the Sahara desert (www.magicmushrooms.net). Psychedelic mushrooms were a revered tradition in native Central American cultures at the time of the European invasion, and have been in continuous use up to the present. Named teonanácatl ("flesh of the gods") in Nahuatl, they may have been employed for healing, divination and for intercession with spirits. Since the beginning of the Latin American colonial era, their use has been hidden due to persecution by the Christian church, which branded all native religious practices as "pagan"(wikipedia.org). According to the BBC(British Broadcasting Corporation), the first documented use of psychedelic mushrooms was in the Medical and Physical Journal: In 1799, a man who had been picking mushrooms for breakfast in London's Green Park included them(psychedelic mushrooms) in his harvest, accidentally sending his entire family on a trip. The doctor who treated them later described how the youngest child "was attacked with fits of immoderate laughter, nor could the threats of his father or mother

For thousands of years people have spoke of all types of visions. Whether the visions were from religious groups, Indian tribes, or self proclaimed prophets; all types of people have seen things. This was more than likely occurring with the help of different types of hallucinogens. Hallucinogens have been around since the beginning of time. Some mushrooms, cactus flowers, and even different types of mold are all able to produce hallucinogenic effects. However, it was only within the last century that man actually started to produce his own. LSD, or lysergic acid diethylamide-25, is a relatively new substance in society. All known effects show LSD, or acid, as the harmful drug most people know it as. There are people who believe

The Central Intelligence Agency and various military agencies also became interested in LSD research in the late 1950’s (Dye, 1992, p.410.) Their interest in the drug was in the area of mind control. They saw the possibility of manipulating of manipulating the beliefs of strong willed people. They gave the drug to a group of army scientists and then attempted to change some of their basic beliefs while under the influence of the drug. However, one of the scientists became psychotic and committed suicide by jumping from a hotel window. These agencies continued their research by using drug addicts and prostitutes to test their mind control theories. After extensive experimentation, it became apparent that LSD could alter LSD the mind but not control it. The United States government discontinued this sort of research. Up until today, the Food and Drug Administration have never approved LSD. This strong hallucinageous drug remains only as research and medical

In search of solace, Mettes volunteered for a study in which he was given a synthetic version of psilocybin, a compound found in mind-altering "magic mushrooms," as a potential treatment for his anxiety and depressed mood.