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Psychedelic drug

Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and an apparent expansion of consciousness.[2][3] Also referred to as classic hallucinogens or serotonergic hallucinogens, the term psychedelic is sometimes used more broadly to include various types of hallucinogens, such as those which are atypical or adjacent to psychedelia like salvia and MDMA, respectively.[4]

"Psychedelic" redirects here. For other uses, see Psychedelic (disambiguation).

Classic psychedelics generally cause specific psychological, visual, and auditory changes, and oftentimes a substantially altered state of consciousness.[5][6] They have had the largest influence on science and culture, and include mescaline, LSD, psilocybin, and DMT.[7][8]


Most psychedelic drugs fall into one of the three families of chemical compounds: tryptamines, phenethylamines, or lysergamides (LSD is considered both a tryptamine and lysergamide). They act via serotonin 2A receptor agonism.[2][9][10][11][4] When compounds bind to serotonin 5-HT2A receptors,[12] they modulate the activity of key circuits in the brain involved with sensory perception and cognition. However, the exact nature of how psychedelics induce changes in perception and cognition via the 5-HT2A receptor is still unknown.[13] The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as those experienced in meditation,[14][3] mystical experiences,[6][5] and near-death experiences,[5] which also appear to be partially underpinned by altered default mode network activity.[15] The phenomenon of ego death is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic experience.[14][3][5]


Many psychedelic drugs are illegal worldwide under the UN conventions, with occasional exceptions for religious use or research contexts. Despite these controls, recreational use of psychedelics is common.[16][17] Legal barriers have made the scientific study of psychedelics more difficult. Research has been conducted, however, and studies show that psychedelics are physiologically safe and rarely lead to addiction.[18][19] Studies conducted using psilocybin in a psychotherapeutic setting reveal that psychedelic drugs may assist with treating depression, alcohol addiction, and nicotine addiction.[11][20] Although further research is needed, existing results suggest that psychedelics could be effective treatments for certain forms of psychopathology.[21][22][23][17] A 2022 survey found that 28% of Americans had used a psychedelic at some point in their life.[24]

(2,5-dimethoxy-4-bromophenethylamine) is a substituted phenethylamine first synthesised in 1974 by Alexander Shulgin.[37] 2C-B is both a psychedelic and a mild entactogen, with its psychedelic effects increasing and its entactogenic effects decreasing with dosage. 2C-B is the most well known compound in the 2C family, their general structure being discovered as a result of modifying the structure of mescaline.[37]

2C-B

(N,N-dimethyltryptamine) is an indole alkaloid found in various species of plants. Traditionally it is consumed by tribes in South America in the form of ayahuasca. A brew is used that consists of DMT-containing plants as well as plants containing MAOIs, specifically harmaline, which allows DMT to be consumed orally without being rendered inactive by monoamine oxidase enzymes in the digestive system.[38] In the Western world DMT is more commonly consumed via the vaporisation of freebase DMT. Whereas Ayahuasca typically lasts for several hours, inhalation has an onset measured in seconds and has effects measured in minutes, being significantly more intense.[39] Particularly in vaporised form, DMT has the ability to cause users to enter a hallucinatory realm fully detached from reality, being typically characterised by hyperbolic geometry, and described as defying visual or verbal description.[40] Users have also reported encountering and communicating with entitites within this hallucinatory state.[41] DMT is the archetypal substituted tryptamine, being the structural scaffold of psilocybin and – to a lesser extent – the lysergamides.

DMT

(Lysergic acid diethylamide) is a derivative of lysergic acid, which is obtained from the hydrolysis of ergotamine. Ergotamine is an alkaloid found in the fungus Claviceps purpurea, which primarily infects rye. LSD is both the prototypical psychedelic and the prototypical lysergamide. As a lysergamide, LSD contains both a tryptamine and phenethylamine group within its structure. As a result of containing a phenethylamine group LSD agonises dopamine receptors as well as serotonin receptors,[42] making it more energetic in effect in contrast to the more sedating effects of psilocin, which is not a dopamine agonist.[43]

LSD

(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine) is a phenethylamine alkaloid found in various species of cacti, the best-known of these being peyote (Lophophora williamsii) and the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi, syn. Echinopsis pachanoi). Mescaline has effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin, albeit with a greater emphasis on colors and patterns.[44] Ceremonial San Pedro use seems to be characterized by relatively strong spiritual experiences, and low incidence of challenging experiences.[45]

Mescaline

(4-HO-DMT) is the dephosphorylated active metabolite of the indole alkaloid psilocybin and a substituted tryptamine, which is produced in over 200 species of fungi. Of the Classical psychedelics psilocybin has attracted the greatest academic interest regarding its ability to manifest mystical experiences,[46] although all psychedelics are capable of doing so to variable degrees. O-Acetylpsilocin (4-AcO-DMT) is an acetylated analog of psilocin. Additionally, replacement of a methyl group at the dimethylated nitrogen with an isopropyl or ethyl group yields 4-HO-MIPT and 4-HO-MET, respectively.[47]

Psilocin

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Global Drug Survey (GDS) 2020 Psychedelics Key Findings Report