As a public service, NEWS of the WORLD reprints The FUNNY STUFF FUNNIES, an educational comic book giving basic facts on drugs and alcohol. Each post reproduces a page from the booklet, which is aimed at young persons and which avoids sermonizing and excessive wordiness.
XIV
G&R: Knocking on Heaven's Door
BN1
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On this page you will find facts about mind bender chems such as marijuana and LSD, as listed just below. While it is true that the chems Ecstasy and ketamine certainly are potent mind benders, it was more convenient to talk about them on the Sex and Chems page.
On this page are facts about:
Mind benders tend to mess with your head by producing hallucinations and the idea that you are not your usual self. Sometimes these effects can be fun, even exhilirating. Other times they can be disturbing, or even terribly frightening.
It's not true that mentally well-balanced people are immune from bad trips. Anyway, nearly everyone is pretty confident in their stability. But these drugs dial down that part of your mental system that maintains control. Though letting go can be fun, it can also turn out to be one big hassle -- sort of like letting go of the steering wheel while you're driving. Might be OK. Might not.
As a rule, hallucinogens can have these physical effects, which become more apparent with higher dosage:
A possibly unwelcome effect of mind bender usage is the flashback: suddenly a piece of a nightmare trip flashes into your field of vision. You're hit with a sudden dose of terror. These can occur weeks, and even years after your bad trip. When dealing with someone having a bad trip, it is important that you present yourself as calm and helpful. Tell the person:
Marijuana is a big thing among teenagers these days. But, if you smoke it regularly as a kid, the stuff can dumb you down permanently. Studies show that your IQ is liable to drop significantly.
Tho you're unlikely to die of a marijuana overdose, you could die of a side effect of being high. The slow reactions and too-mellow thinking of a marijuana high make for deadly danger behind the wheel, or when operating other machinery.
Young women have been told by marijuana dispensaries that they can ease morning sickness by chilling with an MJ joint. But, pot smoking elevates the danger to the unborn baby. Children of pot-smoking moms tend to be born underweight and to show developmental problems.
Now with both medicinal and recreational usage permitted in quite a few states, MJ has become even more of a party drug. As a result, hospital emergency rooms are seeing more patients with acute THC toxicity. That is, they're freaked out and don't know which end is up.
Freakout reactions may not be the norm, but hey, you can't really predict how this stuff will affect you, despite you having been cool in the past. That's because marijuana is not only a relaxant, it's also a hallucinogen. Usually the hallucinatory state is mild and brings on relaxed, pleasant, even giggly feelings. But hallcinations can get rather severe, leading to a general loss of confidence, and even to paranoia or panic.
Hashish is made from compressing the part of the Cannabis plant with the most THC. This product is sometimes called dab or superdab, since you only need a dab to get high.
Another way to swallow a bunch of THC is to eat MJ-laced food, like brownies or cookies. You might casually take in more than you intended because you thought you weren't getting high. But, while it takes only one or two draws on smokable MJ to start feeling something, with edibles the high doesn't come until your body digests the stuff -- maybe a half hour after you eat.
Heavy THC use can have bad consequences. A person who smokes high-THC stuff routinely may one day suddenly wig out, and require hospitalization. Chem-induced psychosis is not necessarily easy to treat. Some victims stay locked up for quite a spell.
Can heavy pot use bring on schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness in which victims see and hear things that others don't, believe off-the-wall ideas that no one else can grasp, and -- most importantly -- have great difficulty caring for themselves and others responsibly. One major study shows that men in their 20s cut their risk of schizophrenia by nearly one-third if they cut out heavy use of MJ. For males between 15 and 50, the chance of becoming schizophrenic fell by 15 percent for those who put down the happy weed habit.
Withdrawal symptoms are not that serious, but not easy to cope with:
What is going on with you that you only feel right if you dose yourself daily? Maybe you should ask yourself some questions.
Possible short-term effects of marijuana:
Elton: Lucy...
Fred: Judy in Disguise with Glasses
LSD
It is not true that mentally well-balanced people can't experience bad trips on LSD.
LSD -- or lysergic acid diethylamide -- is sold under the table in various guises -- usually as a tablet, capsule, liquid-soaked sugar cubes or colored blot on blotter paper.
People report all kinds of psychedelic experiences while tripping on LSD, which can last somewhere between six and 15 hours. The stuff can be seductive, because it can create the impression that you are gaining powerful spiritual insights. But, it turns out, that these chems do little to solve your life problems. It's too much like an "easy" game. In any case, 100 "good trips" do nothing to make up for one "bad trip," which can result in longterm drug-induced psychosis. If you think Russian roulette is cool, then LSD is for you.
After all, the chem can meddle with your sense of self, something you need in order to get along in life. How can you retain control of where your mind is going if the chem is causing your brain's neurons to fire every which way but right? There's a brain filter called the thalamus that stops filtering your brain signals correctly. That's OK sometimes. Other times, it's way uncool.
People who are freaking out on a bad trip are usually given benzos to bring them down. But there is no guarantee the patient won't have long-lasting mental problems stemming from that trip. Sometimes nasty flashbacks bedevil a person for days or months, and occasionally years, after the bad trip.
LSD by itself is rarely fatal. But people can die from the crazy decisions they make while their heads are blasted.
Mescaline is the ingredient in peyote cactus buttons that induces strange head trips. Peyote has been smoked or eaten for thousands of years by Native Americans living in what is now Northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.
If you eat or smoke the buttons, you may become very nauseous and start puking your brains out before you actually experience the psychedelic effects.
Yet even if you use straight artificially made mescaline, the chance of a bum trip seems to be pretty high. Sure, you may be fortunate and have a pleasurable experience, in which your brain makes colorful geometric patterns out of what you see and does weird things with music. But how would you like to be in a hellish, paranoid state for some 16 hours? Might be better not to go there.
The fresh or dried buttons are typically chewed or soaked in water to make a potent drink. Or they may be ground into a powder that is mixed into a smokable like marijuana or tobacco. Sometimes the powder is put into capsules. Aside from triggering vomiting, peyote's physical effects are pretty much the same as for other hallucinogens (see above).
Mescaline was heavily studied by scientists in the first half of the 20th Century, but eventually they lost interest, in part because of the chem's unpredictability. One person would have a delightful trip; the next would undergo a horrible freakout.
Psilocybin is the chemical ingredient found in several types of mushrooms that brings on a high. The crumbled plant is usually brewed in tea or mixed with food, thus masking the bitter taste.
After 30 minutes or so, the drug takes effect, sending the user on a trip that lasts some six to eight hours. During that time perception of people and objects is altered.
With shrooms, you never know what you're getting. You might get too high a dose, or something mixed in that hikes the potential for a bad trip. There is also a chance the mushrooms aren't the "magic" ones, but rather are poisonous lookalikes.
Psychiatrists are testing psilocybin as an aid to psychotherapy. Doses are carefully controlled and patients are carefully monitored, which is not the situation for casual users.
DMT
DMT is a chem easily extracted from Australian and South American plants, such as Ayahuasca. Users get a quick trip to lala land, the world of psychedelic experience. But rather than lasting hours, DMT generally wears off after 30 minutes.
It may come served like tea.
As with LSD and other psychedelics, users face the risk of unpredictable bad trips.
Here are some chemical names: 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe.
And here are some street names: N-bomb, Smiles, 25I, 25C, 25B.
These drugs are super-potent, something like a combo of acid and meth. That's not a good combo, because you not only are perceiving reality in a distorted way, you are also amped up and liable to become paranoid or aggressive -- even wildly violent.
It's a bad drug. Numerous people have died while their brain and body systems were going bonkers.
At least 200 other psychedelics have been formulated since LSD was concocted in 1938. Among them are the 2C compounds of phenethylamines. Another of the mind-benders goes by the handle Bromo-Dragonfly.
A problem with taking such pills is that if you wind up in an ER, the doctors may not be fully informed as to the best way to treat you. What did you take? You may think it was LSD. But was it?
Angel dust, PCP
Angel dust is a street name for the drug PCP, or phencyclidine. It has a very bad reputation. Many a user feels like a combative space alien who is 10-feet tall and bulletproof.
Harry: Zombie Jamboree
Angel dust is often found in marijuana or tobacco cigarettes (superweed, whacko tobacco and so on).
PCP is a hallucinogen with narcotic, or opioid, properties. The pure stuff comes as a white powder, but, as it is often concocted in home labs, it may well be contaminated with stuff that makes what you get brown and gummy.
Originally, PCP was used for medical purposes, but these days it's no longer legally available. Illegally, it is sold in tablets or capsules. Or, as a colored powder which can be either smoked or snorted.
PCP base is sold as a liquid and may come dissolved in ether, a highly flammable solvent.
Most angel dust is smoked after having been sprayed onto tobacco, marijuana or some herb such as parseley. Injection by hypodermic syringe is another possibility.
Some effects:
Stepp: Born to be Wild
Jimi: Purple Haze
PCP is addictive and use often leads to psychological dependence, craving, and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. Long-time users of PCP report symptoms of:
Those going thru a PCP overdose need to be professionally monitored and restrained to prevent them from harming themselves and others.
Salvia
Salvia divinorum is a plant used by Native Americans in Mexico for religious experiences.
The leaves from the plant contain the potent hallucinogenic chemical salvinorin A. As used by the tribespeople, the plant is plenty strong. But aside from being chewed, it can be smoked or vaped.
In any case, the processed stuff used by recreational users is liable to be much stronger than what the medicine men have been using over the centuries. That fact may easily yield a trip so unpleasant that you'll never do it again -- if you survive your temporary insanity.
Maybe you'll be OK. Maybe you won't die when you play Russian roulette, either.
You take your chances.
The author of The Funny Stuff Funnies takes sole responsibility for the content of this e-booklet. This booklet has not been sponsored, either directly or indirectly, by any government or non-government organization or fellowship, such as AA or NA.
Go to NEXT page.
Find table of content for Funny Stuff Funnies at this link.
The Lunapic image editor contributed greatly to this booklet's pictorial enhancement. Other image editors used were Palette and Petalica.
Do your friends and your friends' kids a favor, and post one or more Funny Stuff links on social media.
On this page are facts about:
Marijuana and hashish
LSD
Peyote, mescaline
Psilocybin, magic mushrooms
DMT
N-bombs and the like
Angel dust (PCP)
Salvia
BN2
Fab Four: I Am the WalrusMind benders tend to mess with your head by producing hallucinations and the idea that you are not your usual self. Sometimes these effects can be fun, even exhilirating. Other times they can be disturbing, or even terribly frightening.
It's not true that mentally well-balanced people are immune from bad trips. Anyway, nearly everyone is pretty confident in their stability. But these drugs dial down that part of your mental system that maintains control. Though letting go can be fun, it can also turn out to be one big hassle -- sort of like letting go of the steering wheel while you're driving. Might be OK. Might not.
As a rule, hallucinogens can have these physical effects, which become more apparent with higher dosage:
Dilation of the pupilsSpiritual experiences have often been reported by users of mind bender drugs. We don't argue with that claim. But in general we see little evidence that such experiences solve a person's life problems. After the "oh wow" effect wears off, most people go back to their same-o-same-o behaviors, whatever their drug-aided insights.
Rapidly pounding heart
Heightened blood pressure
Boosted body temperature
Heavy perspiration
Headaches
Muscle weakness
Poor coordination
BN3
Hallucinogen bad trips include distorted reality, fear, agitation, confusion, delirium, psychosis. You may even go into a drug-induced schizophrenia. At the ER, you'll be given tranquilizers, but that doesn't mean you're out of the woods.
A possibly unwelcome effect of mind bender usage is the flashback: suddenly a piece of a nightmare trip flashes into your field of vision. You're hit with a sudden dose of terror. These can occur weeks, and even years after your bad trip. When dealing with someone having a bad trip, it is important that you present yourself as calm and helpful. Tell the person:
You are not your thoughts. You are OK. You'll feel better soon.With quite a few hallucinogens, tolerance is a concern. Your body builds up resistance to the chem, which it regards as toxic, and so as your use progresses you find you need more and more to obtain the result you're hoping for. The trouble with that scenario is you increase the likelihood of taking just a bit too much and winding up in some nightmarish bad trip that leaves you either dead or mentally screwed up for years to come.
BN4
MarijuanaMarijuana is a big thing among teenagers these days. But, if you smoke it regularly as a kid, the stuff can dumb you down permanently. Studies show that your IQ is liable to drop significantly.
Tho you're unlikely to die of a marijuana overdose, you could die of a side effect of being high. The slow reactions and too-mellow thinking of a marijuana high make for deadly danger behind the wheel, or when operating other machinery.
Young women have been told by marijuana dispensaries that they can ease morning sickness by chilling with an MJ joint. But, pot smoking elevates the danger to the unborn baby. Children of pot-smoking moms tend to be born underweight and to show developmental problems.
BN5
Marijuana is the chopped leaves, flowers, stems and seeds from Cannabis plants. These days MJ is quite a bit stronger than it was in your boomer grandparents' heyday. Growers bred the plants to yield higher THC content, the ingredient that causes your brain's neurons to light up all over.Now with both medicinal and recreational usage permitted in quite a few states, MJ has become even more of a party drug. As a result, hospital emergency rooms are seeing more patients with acute THC toxicity. That is, they're freaked out and don't know which end is up.
Freakout reactions may not be the norm, but hey, you can't really predict how this stuff will affect you, despite you having been cool in the past. That's because marijuana is not only a relaxant, it's also a hallucinogen. Usually the hallucinatory state is mild and brings on relaxed, pleasant, even giggly feelings. But hallcinations can get rather severe, leading to a general loss of confidence, and even to paranoia or panic.
BN6
The chance of a negative result goes up with the THC content.Hashish is made from compressing the part of the Cannabis plant with the most THC. This product is sometimes called dab or superdab, since you only need a dab to get high.
Another way to swallow a bunch of THC is to eat MJ-laced food, like brownies or cookies. You might casually take in more than you intended because you thought you weren't getting high. But, while it takes only one or two draws on smokable MJ to start feeling something, with edibles the high doesn't come until your body digests the stuff -- maybe a half hour after you eat.
Heavy THC use can have bad consequences. A person who smokes high-THC stuff routinely may one day suddenly wig out, and require hospitalization. Chem-induced psychosis is not necessarily easy to treat. Some victims stay locked up for quite a spell.
BN7
Another risk of routine use of high-grade Cannabis is addiction. At one time the idea of physical addiction to MJ seemed preposterous. But the high THC-drugs around these days have changed that view. The addicted person's mind and body develop a craving for the THC when it is not present.Can heavy pot use bring on schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness in which victims see and hear things that others don't, believe off-the-wall ideas that no one else can grasp, and -- most importantly -- have great difficulty caring for themselves and others responsibly. One major study shows that men in their 20s cut their risk of schizophrenia by nearly one-third if they cut out heavy use of MJ. For males between 15 and 50, the chance of becoming schizophrenic fell by 15 percent for those who put down the happy weed habit.
BN8
At present, some 16 million Americans have Cannabis use disorder. That is, they can't or won't put the stuff aside. That situation may worsen as more and more people take up decriminalized pot, which these days is rather potent.I was a teen weed addict
https://www.thefp.com/p/legal-weed-destroying-my-generation
Archived version
https://archive.ph/e9PwJ
GrouchinessIn any case, it's certainly possible to become psychologically dependent on the stuff. Perhaps 10 percent or more of users develop a Cannabis use disorder.
Sleeplessness
Poor appetite
Anxiety
Cravings
What is going on with you that you only feel right if you dose yourself daily? Maybe you should ask yourself some questions.
Possible short-term effects of marijuana:
Not great for lungs (in fact, vaping THC can lead to fatal illness)
Heart beats faster
Altered senses, as in seeing brighter colors or hearing musical sound more pleasurably
Altered sense of time
Mood changes
Poor reflexes and coordination
Slow thinking and poor problem-solving
Impaired memory
Hallucinations (with high doses)
Delusions (with high doses)
BN9
Fab Four: Lucy in the Sky with DiamondsElton: Lucy...
Fred: Judy in Disguise with Glasses
LSD
It is not true that mentally well-balanced people can't experience bad trips on LSD.
LSD -- or lysergic acid diethylamide -- is sold under the table in various guises -- usually as a tablet, capsule, liquid-soaked sugar cubes or colored blot on blotter paper.
People report all kinds of psychedelic experiences while tripping on LSD, which can last somewhere between six and 15 hours. The stuff can be seductive, because it can create the impression that you are gaining powerful spiritual insights. But, it turns out, that these chems do little to solve your life problems. It's too much like an "easy" game. In any case, 100 "good trips" do nothing to make up for one "bad trip," which can result in longterm drug-induced psychosis. If you think Russian roulette is cool, then LSD is for you.
After all, the chem can meddle with your sense of self, something you need in order to get along in life. How can you retain control of where your mind is going if the chem is causing your brain's neurons to fire every which way but right? There's a brain filter called the thalamus that stops filtering your brain signals correctly. That's OK sometimes. Other times, it's way uncool.
People who are freaking out on a bad trip are usually given benzos to bring them down. But there is no guarantee the patient won't have long-lasting mental problems stemming from that trip. Sometimes nasty flashbacks bedevil a person for days or months, and occasionally years, after the bad trip.
LSD by itself is rarely fatal. But people can die from the crazy decisions they make while their heads are blasted.
BN10
Peyote, mescalineMescaline is the ingredient in peyote cactus buttons that induces strange head trips. Peyote has been smoked or eaten for thousands of years by Native Americans living in what is now Northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.
If you eat or smoke the buttons, you may become very nauseous and start puking your brains out before you actually experience the psychedelic effects.
Yet even if you use straight artificially made mescaline, the chance of a bum trip seems to be pretty high. Sure, you may be fortunate and have a pleasurable experience, in which your brain makes colorful geometric patterns out of what you see and does weird things with music. But how would you like to be in a hellish, paranoid state for some 16 hours? Might be better not to go there.
The fresh or dried buttons are typically chewed or soaked in water to make a potent drink. Or they may be ground into a powder that is mixed into a smokable like marijuana or tobacco. Sometimes the powder is put into capsules. Aside from triggering vomiting, peyote's physical effects are pretty much the same as for other hallucinogens (see above).
Mescaline was heavily studied by scientists in the first half of the 20th Century, but eventually they lost interest, in part because of the chem's unpredictability. One person would have a delightful trip; the next would undergo a horrible freakout.
BN11
Psilocybin, magic mushroomsPsilocybin is the chemical ingredient found in several types of mushrooms that brings on a high. The crumbled plant is usually brewed in tea or mixed with food, thus masking the bitter taste.
After 30 minutes or so, the drug takes effect, sending the user on a trip that lasts some six to eight hours. During that time perception of people and objects is altered.
With shrooms, you never know what you're getting. You might get too high a dose, or something mixed in that hikes the potential for a bad trip. There is also a chance the mushrooms aren't the "magic" ones, but rather are poisonous lookalikes.
Psychiatrists are testing psilocybin as an aid to psychotherapy. Doses are carefully controlled and patients are carefully monitored, which is not the situation for casual users.
DMT
DMT is a chem easily extracted from Australian and South American plants, such as Ayahuasca. Users get a quick trip to lala land, the world of psychedelic experience. But rather than lasting hours, DMT generally wears off after 30 minutes.
It may come served like tea.
As with LSD and other psychedelics, users face the risk of unpredictable bad trips.
BN12
N-bombs and the likeHere are some chemical names: 25I-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25B-NBOMe.
And here are some street names: N-bomb, Smiles, 25I, 25C, 25B.
These drugs are super-potent, something like a combo of acid and meth. That's not a good combo, because you not only are perceiving reality in a distorted way, you are also amped up and liable to become paranoid or aggressive -- even wildly violent.
It's a bad drug. Numerous people have died while their brain and body systems were going bonkers.
At least 200 other psychedelics have been formulated since LSD was concocted in 1938. Among them are the 2C compounds of phenethylamines. Another of the mind-benders goes by the handle Bromo-Dragonfly.
A problem with taking such pills is that if you wind up in an ER, the doctors may not be fully informed as to the best way to treat you. What did you take? You may think it was LSD. But was it?
Angel dust, PCP
Angel dust is a street name for the drug PCP, or phencyclidine. It has a very bad reputation. Many a user feels like a combative space alien who is 10-feet tall and bulletproof.
BN13
Dead: Casey JonesHarry: Zombie Jamboree
Angel dust is often found in marijuana or tobacco cigarettes (superweed, whacko tobacco and so on).
PCP is a hallucinogen with narcotic, or opioid, properties. The pure stuff comes as a white powder, but, as it is often concocted in home labs, it may well be contaminated with stuff that makes what you get brown and gummy.
Originally, PCP was used for medical purposes, but these days it's no longer legally available. Illegally, it is sold in tablets or capsules. Or, as a colored powder which can be either smoked or snorted.
PCP base is sold as a liquid and may come dissolved in ether, a highly flammable solvent.
Most angel dust is smoked after having been sprayed onto tobacco, marijuana or some herb such as parseley. Injection by hypodermic syringe is another possibility.
BN14
The "high" -- if you want to call it that -- lasts some four to six hours.
Some effects:
A feeling of being a far-off observer of your surroundings and those around you.High doses of PCP can also bring on seizures, coma and death.
Feeling like Superman
Numbness of hands and feet
Slurred speech
Poor coordination
Blank stare
Rapid eye movements
Crazy, exaggerated gait
Hearing voices that no one else hears
Things look weird
Strange moods
Amnesia
Acute anxiety, with a feeling of impending doom
Paranoia
Violent hostility
Schizophrenic state of mind
Suicide -- even after a low dose
BN15
Stepp: Magic Carpet RideStepp: Born to be Wild
Jimi: Purple Haze
PCP is addictive and use often leads to psychological dependence, craving, and compulsive PCP-seeking behavior. Long-time users of PCP report symptoms of:
Memory lossAngel dust is even more dangerous when mixed with other depressants, such as alcohol or benzos. The risk of coma or respiratory failure rises. In the case of PCP and alcohol, the violence factor is really bad.
Difficulties with speech and learning
Depression
Weight loss
Those going thru a PCP overdose need to be professionally monitored and restrained to prevent them from harming themselves and others.
Salvia
Salvia divinorum is a plant used by Native Americans in Mexico for religious experiences.
The leaves from the plant contain the potent hallucinogenic chemical salvinorin A. As used by the tribespeople, the plant is plenty strong. But aside from being chewed, it can be smoked or vaped.
In any case, the processed stuff used by recreational users is liable to be much stronger than what the medicine men have been using over the centuries. That fact may easily yield a trip so unpleasant that you'll never do it again -- if you survive your temporary insanity.
Maybe you'll be OK. Maybe you won't die when you play Russian roulette, either.
You take your chances.
BN16
The author of The Funny Stuff Funnies takes sole responsibility for the content of this e-booklet. This booklet has not been sponsored, either directly or indirectly, by any government or non-government organization or fellowship, such as AA or NA.
Go to NEXT page.
Find table of content for Funny Stuff Funnies at this link.
The Lunapic image editor contributed greatly to this booklet's pictorial enhancement. Other image editors used were Palette and Petalica.
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