Psychoactivation

This article neither encourages nor condones the recreational use of DXM. However, if you find yourself using DXM and are in need of some ideas for songs, then this list is your ticket. Even if you have no interest in DXM whatsoever, this list will nonetheless help to expand your music horizons through access to some great songs. Without further ado, a snapshot of DXM-conducive music and 30 solid songs:

Ulrich Schnauss - Goodbye

Alice in Chains - Rotten Apple

B-52s - Planet Claire

Belle and Sebastian - Sleep the Clock Around

Brian Eno - Qu’ran

Mogwai - Tracy

TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me

Tool - Right in Two

Orbital - Halcyon + On + On

R.E.M. - Leave

Dinosaur Jr. - Forget the Swan

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

Portishead - Glory Box

Morphine - Like A Mirror

M83 - The Highest Journey

Caribou - Niobe

The Doors - This is the End

Mirwais - Disco Science

VAST - Dirty Hole

Prodigy - Break and Enter

My Bloody Valentine - Sometimes

Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless

The Pixies - No. 13 Baby

Mew - An Envoy to the Open Fields

Radiohead - Climbing Up The Walls

Flaming Lips - In The Morning of the Magicians

Smashing Pumpkins - Galapagos

Sonic Youth - The Sprawl

Nine Inch Nails - Just Like You Imagined

Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space

Ambien CR is a commonly-prescribed prescription sleep aid that contains the active ingredient zolpidem.  The extended release form of ambien is a dual-layer pill that has a fast-dissolving component that helps to bring on sleep rapidly, and another layer that dissolves more slowly and helps the user stay asleep.  Although ambien is a popular means to combat insomnia, it also has revealed itself in the psychoactive community as a substance with the potential for psychoactive exploration.  This article will examine some of the common psychoactive effects and side effects associated with ambien.

Since ambien is a prescription sleep aid, it goes without saying that any psychoactive effects will occur when the individual fights the urge to fall asleep and remains awake for the duration of the dose.

The following data was compiled from 34 experience reports obtained from Erowid.org.  These 34 experiences involved the use of ambien only and can be found here.  Other experience reports in which the individual used other psychoactives such as cannabis, alcohol, or LSD were not included in the survey.  The experience reports were evaluated on the basis of eight symptomatic criteria, including five targeted psychoactive effects and three side effects.  For clarification, visual hallucinations refer to specific visual stimuli that are complete fabrications of the user’s brain, rather than distortions or variations of existing stimuli in the visual field.  Much in the same way, auditory hallucinations refer to sounds, voices, music, or other auditory stimuli that exist completely independent from stimuli that already exists in the individual’s environmental reality.

Before reporting the results, I will lay out some background on the individuals who wrote the reports.  The dosages are measured in milligrams, and weights are measured in pounds.

Average Dosage: 27.5mg

Average Weight of User: 169.5lbs

Average Dosage per Pound of Weight: 0.162mg/lb

Here are the results of the survey broken down by category of effect.  Remember that these results are based on explicit references in the experience reports to these specific effects.

Motor Impairment: 22 Users, 65%

Dry Mouth: 3 Users, 9%

Visual Distortion: 29 Users, 85%

Closed-Eye Visuals (CEVs): 2 Users, 6%

Visual Hallucinations: 1 User, 3%

Auditory Distortion: 8 Users, 24%

Auditory Hallucination: 1 User, 3%

Hangover: 8 Users, 24%

Looking at the results, it is clear that both motor impairment and visual distortion are commonly associated with waking-use of ambien.  The relatively low percentages of reported auditory and visual hallucinations suggest that ambien is not strong enough to produce psychedelically suggestive stimuli.  Hangover occurred in about a quarter of the reports, though most occurred with dosages much higher than recommended.  CEVs were relatively rare in the final tally, but it is possible that the users avoided closing their eyes for an extended period of time to stave off sleep.  In all of the cases, it is important to note that the results are based only on what the authors explicitly stated in their experience reports.  Coupled with the memory loss sometimes associated with ambien use, the authors may not have included all elements of their experience that could have provided a more detailed glimpse into the recreational ambien experience.

In conclusion, it is clear that ambien should be respected as an effective psychoactive substance.  Judging by its effects on auditory and visual perception, as well as motor control, the sleep-aid can produce a psychoactive experience.  This article neither condones nor encourages the use of ambien CR for recreational purposes, but is rather intended as an educational resource.  It is inadvisable to take any pharmaceutical drug above its prescribed dosage or in conjunction with other substances that can possibly amplify side effects or adverse reactions.  As always, be careful and be educated before deciding to use any psychoactive substance.

Atropa Belladonna, also known as Deadly Nightshade is a perennial herb that is common in many parts of the western hemisphere.  It has a long, sometimes sordid history.  Cleopatra is reputed to have tested the herb on her slaves in order to gauge its effectiveness as a poison and it was a popular method of dispatch in the Roman Empire.  It’s use has not always been associated with intentional death, but also has an uneven history of therapeutic use in both modern and historic times.  Women living in the Italian Renaissance used belladonna to increase the appearance of their eyes through its effect on pupil dilation, which is where the name “belladonna” comes from.  Today, the plant is primarily used in controlled pupil dilation in optometry, for counteracting the effect of nerve agents called cholinesterase inhibitors, and as an experimental treatment in Parkinson’s Disease.  Whatever the intent behind the action, the efficacy of belladonna through the ages has hinged upon the alkaloids it contains.

Belladonna alkaloids belong to a family known as tropane alkaloids.  Basically, tropane is an organic nitrogenous compound and an alkaloid is a naturally-occurring amine (another compound with an active nitrogen site).  Many plants and some fungi produce toxic alkaloids as a defense mechanism against predators.  The effects can be deadly, as with the alkaloids from mushrooms like the Destroying Angel or hallucinogenic like the alkaloids found in psychedelic mushrooms or morning glory seeds.  Tropane alkaloids encompass a wide array of chemicals.  The most well-known is probably cocaine, a common tropane alkaloid produced by the coca plant.  The leaves, roots, and berries of the belladonna plant contain a number of active tropane alkaloids, most notably atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine.

These chemicals are toxic to the human nervous system and belladonna toxicity is similar to that of isolated atropine.  Dilated pupils, tachycardia (elevated heart rate), loss of coordination, flushing, fever, dry mouth, and urinary retention are just a few symptoms that can occur after ingesting belladonna alkaloids.  These symptoms can be traced to the function of tropane alkaloids as nervous system inhibitors, particularly with respect to the autonomic nervous system responsible for involuntary functions in the human body.  These involuntary functions include mucous and saliva secretion, as well as control of smooth-muscle organs like the bladder and small intestine.  Because belladonna alkaloids inhibit the function of these involuntary processes, extreme “drying out” of the body can occur and organs may not function properly.  In some cases of overdose, coma and death can occur.  Although belladonna has been used even in modern medical practice, the therapeutic dose of tropane alkaloids is dangerously close to dangerous doses.  Thus, the chance of ingesting a lethal dose in recreational use of belladonna is compounded by the uncertain potency of different strains of the plant.

Due to the thin margin for error in terms of dosage and the potential lethality of belladonna alkaloids, the plant is a poor choice for attaining a psychoactive experience.  Although I don’t have statistics on poisonings directly attributed to belladonna, during 2005, there were 975 poisonings reported to U.S. Poison Control Centers from anticholinergic plants containing tropane alkaloids.  In addition to belladonna, these plants include datura, mandrake, and henbane.  Of these reported incidents, there were no fatalities.  There are not many trip reports on which to base an empirical assessment, but based on those that do exist and the pharmacological literature, I would strongly advise against using belladonna for recreational purposes.  This is not a benign substance and should only be consumed according to strict medical guidelines for a specific condition.  They don’t call it Deadly Nightshade for nothing.

Morning glory, like other psychoactive substances, carries the risk of certain side effects associated with either active or inactive chemicals contained in the seeds.  This article is concerned with compiling data on both desirable morning glory effects and undesirable morning glory side effects.  The following data was compiled from 49 experience reports on Erowid.org.  These users only used morning glory during their experience.  The reports can be found here.

Here are the average dosage and weight characteristics of the 49 surveyed morning glory users.

Average dose: 321 seeds

Average weight: 156 lbs

Average dose/weight: 2.09 seeds per pound

Now, we will look at effects of the drug that can be described as targeted effects from morning glory that users generally seek to attain.  These effects require some clarification.  Although there was a significant amount of gray area in the trip reports, there are basic definitions that can help to classify these different morning glory effects.  Visual distortion refers to open-eye distortion of light, images, or colors within the basic framework of their conceptual reality.  This includes melting effects, tracers, flanging, and rippling effects.  CEVs refer to visual distortion that occurs when the eyes are closed.  Visual hallucinations are separate from visual distortion in that visual distortions are sensory alterations of things that exist in reality, while visual hallucinations involve seeing something that does not exist in reality and is independent of any other visual stimulus.  For example, seeing faces growing out of a computer screen would fall under the category of visual distortion whereas seeing a man standing in a field who is not actually there would be classified as a visual hallucination.  The man has no connection to the environment and has not “grown out of” anything in the field of vision, so he would be classified as a hallucination.  Similarly, auditory distortion differs from auditory hallucinations.  For example, hearing increased depth in music would be considered auditory distortion whereas hearing voices that don’t exist would be considered an auditory hallucination.

Here are the number of users who reported the surveyed targeted effects and the percentages of the whole sample of 49 users:

Visual distortion: 43 users, 88%

Closed-Eye Visuals (CEVs): 20 users, 41%

Visual hallucinations: 6 users, 12%

Auditory distortion: 14 users, 29%

Auditory hallucinations: 2 users, 4%

Visual Distortion was a common morning glory effect that varied considerably from mild peripheral light distortions to intense flanging and color fluctuations.  CEVs were also common as well.  Auditory distortion was not as commonly-reported as visual distortion, though it seems likely that this is in part due to a lack of reporting.  Visual hallucinations and auditory hallucinations were rare, which supports the pharmacology of morning glory LSA as less potent than psychedelic LSD.

Now, we will look at morning glory side effects.  These side effects can be defined as unpleasant experiences that the user generally does not wish to experience.  Nausea includes any form of stomach or gastrointestinal discomfort associated with ingesting the morning glory seeds.  Disorientation includes difficulty moving around and exaggerated movements.  Hangover is defined as still feeling primary or secondary effects of the morning glory the next morning, or any side effects that were included in this study or not.  Other morning glory side effects that were not included that can persist in a hangover include photosensitivity (sensitivity to bright lights), drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, slurred speech, and irritability.  Panic refers to a user experiencing episodes of intense fear that can include elevated paranoia and fear of injury/death/permanent damage that can be accompanied by physical effects such as tachycardia (elevated heart rate) and hyperventilation.

Here are the number of users who reported the surveyed morning glory side effects and the percentages of the whole sample of 49 users:

Nausea: 42 users, 86%

Vomiting: 19 users, 39%

Disorientation: 13 users, 27%

Hangover: 19 users, 39%

Panic: 8 users, 16%

Of the unpleasant morning glory side effects, nausea was by far the most common.  Nearly all users reported at least mild stomach discomfort, nausea, queasiness, or cramps.  The next most prevalent side effects were vomiting and hangover.  Concerning hangover, it is important to note that many users took their morning glory dosage at different times in the day.  Those who took the seeds during the evening hours generally had a higher incidence of reporting hangover when waking up the next morning than those who took the seeds earlier in the day.  Disorientation was also relatively common, with around a third of the users reporting some form of motor impairment.  Panic was relatively rare and generally occurred with either high doses of morning glory or when a user found him or herself in a situation or environment not conducive for taking a psychedelic substance.

In conclusion, it is safe to say that morning glory users are likely to experience visual distortions and CEVs more than full-blown visual hallucinations.  This relationship seems to be true, as well, with auditory distortions as opposed to auditory hallucinations.  As far as morning glory side effects go, there is a strong chance that a user will experience nausea after ingesting the seeds, with vomiting, and disorientation having half the rate of incidence.  The relatively small percentage of users that reported strong psychedelic effects or side effects like visual hallucinations and panic suggests that morning glory is a weak psychedelic substance compared to other more popular psychedelics like psilocybin or LSD.

It is important to note that the data was limited to what users mentioned in their trip reports.  Just because a morning glory user did not report a side effect in his or her report does not mean that it did not occur.  Therefore, these figures should be used as rough approximations of the prevalence of a certain side effect.  As usual, this article is not meant to encourage or condone the use of morning glory seeds and is intended as an educational resource to those seeking knowledge about morning glory side effects.

If you’re curious about obtaining a legal psychoactive experience, then chances are you’ve come across the claim that smoking peanut skins will get you high.  This is a preposterous claim and like banadine, the mythical chemical found in banana skins, the idea was likely started as a practical joke in the online community.  Before you go out and drop money on a big bag of unroasted peanuts and spend hours shelling and peeling them, please rest assured that smoking peanut skins will have no psychoactive effect.

To start, I have come across no scientific studies that suggest there is a psychoactive chemical in peanuts or support the claim that smoking peanut skins will get someone high.  Since George Washington Carver, the peanut has been pretty well scrutinized.  This lack of scientific studies has helped to perpetuate the idea that the described process actually works, because users are more apt to use empirical evidence collected in online forums to either support or reject their curiosity.

The peanut skins hoax is similar to a number of others wherein it’s claimed that a common food product or material will get the user high if prepared in a certain way.  The myth of effectiveness is accented by the idea that the active chemicals are found in a particular part of the food, not the whole.  The more complex the process, chemical or physical, the more legitimate the claim sounds.  In this case, the claim is not that one can get high off peanut shells or whole peanuts, but off of the thin membrane or “skin” that separates the actual legume from its shell.  The myth is made more complex by the claim that roasted peanuts are less effective than those that are not roasted.  Since few grocery stores sell undesirable whole-shell peanuts that are not roasted, the impressionable user thinks that since the best ones are also the rarest.  Thus, the idea of the peanut skins high will gain more gravity through the quality of being a relatively unknown, underground practice.

Another reason that smoking peanut skins has persisted in practice is because of the placebo effect which users believe is a mild psychoactive experience.  When inhaling smoke from any substance, whether it’s wood or tobacco, there is a slight neurological response to the infusion of a foreign chemical and temporary lack of oxygen in the body.  Since peanut skins give off a thick, dry smoke similar to wood, the body is more affected than with other bogus substances.  This accounts for the dulled, airy sensation that users report after smoking a bowl of peanut skins.  Coupled with the force of suggestion that the substance does indeed work, the user will feel “something” for a couple of minutes.

If smoking peanut skins does not produce a psychoactive effect, then should people be worried about harmful side effects?  Peanut skins are mostly made up of harmless cellulose and contain no toxic chemicals.  If they did, then peanut vendors would not be allowed to sell whole peanuts without warning labels since often the legume is consumed with the skin still attached.  The smoke produced from the skin is not any more harmful than smoke inhaled from other kinds of burning plant material.  You run the same risks of lung damage from prolonged use.  However, it would seem (and I would hope) that users will quickly discern that smoking peanut skins produces no effect and is little more than a waste of time perpetuated by internet jokesters bent on ridiculing impressionable youth.