Monday 2/22  Current Event due Friday 2/26 Do Now: *on google classroom* What are Hallucinogens? Can you name a few different type of drugs that are hallucinogens? What type of effects do they cause?

Tuesday 2/23  Current Event due Thursday 2/25 Do Now: *on google classroom* Are hallucinogens/psychedelics addictive? Is there a physical dependence created from the drug? A psychological dependence?

Illicit Drugs Hallucinogens/Psychedelics

Hallucinogens  Hallucinogens - substances capable of creating auditory or visual distortions and heightened states  Psychedelics - drugs that distort the processing of sensory information in the brain  Primary effect is to alter feelings, perceptions, and thoughts in a user

Psychedelics The major receptor cites for most of these drugs are in the part of the brain that is responsible for filtering extraneous or irrelevant outside stimuli before allowing these signals to travel to other parts of the brain  Reticular formation - an area in the brain stem that is responsible for relaying messages to other areas in the brain  Synesthesia - a drug-created effect in which sensory messages are incorrectly assigned  Ex. User hears a taste or smells a sound

LSD  LSD - Psychedelic drug causing sensory disruptions; also called acid  The most notorious psychedelic drug  First synthesized in the 1930s by Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman  LSD resulted from experiments to derive medically useful drugs from the ergot fungus found on rye and other cereal grains

LSD  Seemed capable of unlocking the secrets of the mind  psychiatrists felt it could be beneficial to patients unable to remember suppressed traumas  Young people started to use it to “tune out” the war in Vietnam  LSD peaked in 1972 but then tapered off due to the inability to control the dosages accurately

LSD  Due to the recent wave for nostalgia for the 1960s, this dangerous psychedelic drug has made a comeback  Known on the street as “acid”, LSD is available in just about every state  Over 11 million Americans, most under the age of 35, have tried LSD at least once

LSD  An odorless, white crystalline powder, LSD is most frequently dissolved in water to make a solution that can be used to manufacture the street forms of the drug  The most common form of the drug is blotter acid

LSD Forms  Blotter Acid - small squares of blotterlike paper that has been impregnated with the liquid  The blotter is swallowed or chewed briefly  Most common form of LSD  Windowpane - tiny, thin squares of gelatin  Microdots - tablets one tenth of the size of an aspirin pill

Physical Effects of LSD  Increased heart rate  Elevated blood pressure and temperature  Goose flesh (roughened skin)  Increased reflex speeds  Muscle tremors and twitches  Perspiration  Increased salivation  Chills  Headaches and mild nausea

Psychological Effects of LSD  Euphoria  Dysphoria- a sense of evil and foreboding  Shortens attention span- causing mind to wander  User experiences several different thoughts at once  Enhanced sensory experiences  Bad trips- depending on the mood. Can perceive increased heart rate as a heart attack or have a suppressed memory come up  Lasts generally 4 to 6 hours with single dose

LSD  Doesn’t create a physical dependence  Does create a psychological dependence  Many users become depressed for one or two days after a trip and revert back to the drug to relieve this depression  Results in a cycle to relieve post-LSD depression which often leads to psychological dependence

Mescaline  Mescaline - a hallucinogenic drug derived from the peyote cactus  Peyote - a cactus with small “buttons” that, when ingested, produce hallucinogenic effects  Grows in Southwestern United States and Latin America  Natives of these regions have long used the dried peyote buttons for religious reasons

Peyote  Native American Church have been granted special permission to use the drug during special religious ceremonies in some states  Users usually swallow dried peyote buttons  These buttons taste bitter and generally induce nausea or vomiting  Long term users claim less nausea with frequent use

Peyote  Users feel effects within minutes when mescaline reaches maximum concentration in the brain  Effects can last up to nine to ten hours  Mescaline is a powerful hallucinogen and also a CNS stimulant  Street names of this drug include: DOM, STP, TMA, and MMDA

Psilocybin (Shrooms)  Psilocybin and psilocin are the active chemicals found in a group of mushrooms sometimes called “magic mushrooms”  Can be cultivated from spores or harvested wild  Psilocybe mushrooms that are eaten  Similar effects to LSD  Effects last four to six hours

Phencyclidine (PCP)  PCP was originally developed as a dissociative anesthetic for medical use  Used to keep the patients eyes open, remain conscious, and feel no pain during medical procedures  Caused postoperative delirium, confusion, and agitation leading doctors to abandon it and PCP was withdrawn from the legal market

PCP  PCP is a white, crystalline powder that users often sprinkle onto marijuana cigarettes  Dangerous and unpredictable regardless of method of administration  Street names include: angel dust, peace pill, and horse tranquilizer (used as an animal anesthetic for a while)

Physical Effects of PCP  Effects depends on the dosage  Small amounts ( 5mg ) will produce effects similar to a strong CNS depressant- slurred speech, reduced feeling of pain, impaired coordination, reduced heart & respiratory rate  5-10mg - fever, salivation, nausea, vomiting, and total loss of sensitivity to pain  10mg plus- drastic drop in blood pressure, coma, muscular rigidity, violent outbursts, possible convulsions and death

Psychological Effects of PCP  May produce euphoria or dysphoria  Produce hallucinogens  Delusions  Overall delirium  Some users experience a prolonged state of “nothingness”  Long term effects are unknown