Questions about underage psychedelic use/abuse (looking for advice)

[bigstoag]

To start this thread off I am 16 years old and will be 17 in a month, my psychedelic usage started about 6 months ago, and i have had about 10 trips on acid (about 5 in the last two months) and 2 trips on shrooms and smoke weed often. My acid trips range have ranged anywhere from 200ug-1500ug my first trip being 8 tabs of what was sold to me as 150ug(scared me shitless lol). I abuse other drugs occasionally such as xanax (but rarely and only while smoking, ive maybe taken it 6 or 7 times) and dxm maybe once or twice a year around the third or fourth plateau. I am going to try dmt soon within the next week or two and I have thoroughly researched every substance ive done and plan on doing for the sake of harm reduction.

Now that i have the background stuff out of the way i can begin to ask my questions. I understand that my brain is still developing and am wondering if there is any real danger of neurological damage because i keep seeing mixed answers. I would also would like to hear input from people with experience with underage psychedelic use how they think it has effected there future and their general outlook on life. Should i reduce my intake of psychedelics? Is their any real danger of heavy psychedelic experiences if i have handled them well, including the bad one i had? They have made my outlook on life thus far filled with wonder and excitement to discover what is going on behind the scenes and to answer questions about life and existence i.e. Why are we here? What are we doing? Is everything connected? etc. I would really like to continue my psychedelic usage and cut back on other substances.

Im just looking for advice i want whats for the best

 

[TheUnforeseen]

To start this thread off I am 16 years old and will be 17 in a month, my psychedelic usage started about 6 months ago, and i have had about 10 trips on acid (about 5 in the last two months) and 2 trips on shrooms and smoke weed often. My acid trips range have ranged anywhere from 200ug-1500ug my first trip being 8 tabs of what was sold to me as 150ug(scared me shitless lol). I abuse other drugs occasionally such as xanax (but rarely and only while smoking, ive maybe taken it 6 or 7 times) and dxm maybe once or twice a year around the third or fourth plateau. I am going to try dmt soon within the next week or two and I have thoroughly researched every substance ive done and plan on doing for the sake of harm reduction.

Now that i have the background stuff out of the way i can begin to ask my questions. I understand that my brain is still developing and am wondering if there is any real danger of neurological damage because i keep seeing mixed answers. I would also would like to hear input from people with experience with underage psychedelic use how they think it has effected there future and their general outlook on life. Should i reduce my intake of psychedelics? Is their any real danger of heavy psychedelic experiences if i have handled them well, including the bad one i had? They have made my outlook on life thus far filled with wonder and excitement to discover what is going on behind the scenes and to answer questions about life and existence i.e. Why are we here? What are we doing? Is everything connected? etc. I would really like to continue my psychedelic usage and cut back on other substances.

Im just looking for advice i want whats for the best

I have to commend you for your exceptional awareness of drug usage, especially at your young age. You seem like a very intelligent person.

I have also heard that underage drug use is bad for brain development and is better after it's done "developing". That being said, you've seem to have started already.

IMHO, with absolutely no scientific fact behind me, I think that the brain stops "developing" at 22-23 for males. Things just seem to get harder to do at that age, with regards to learning, compared to a younger age like 16-17. 16 does seem a bit like a vulnerable age to do drugs.

My post might be useless for what you're looking for but please stay safe. You seem like a really smart person.

 

[bigstoag]

Thanks for the input I also had a question i forgot to ask that worries me most, Im about to receive a large amount of acid and i need advice on how to keep abuse to the minimum, because the last time i got a large amount i was using it frequently around once or twice a week, and im worried that this abusive behavior will continue when i get it.

 

[TheUnforeseen]

Thanks for the input I also had a question i forgot to ask that worries me most, Im about to receive a large amount of acid and i need advice on how to keep abuse to the minimum, because the last time i got a large amount i was using it frequently around once or twice a week, and im worried that this abusive behavior will continue when i get it.

If you're worried about this, you should stop, at least for a little while so that the 'cravings' fade. Maybe take it later (a smaller dose) as a form of reward for not giving into the urges.

But what you've described is pretty scary and you should be worried. If you're going to do drugs, it should be to satisfy a craving.

 

[EastCoast]

Sup bud, I won't be your best answer, since I'm going to keep it short, but those questions are not a bad thing to be asking at your age, I started my first trip at 14 with Psilocybin. And carried on to DMT before actually having my many L experiences. I would say you should definitely calm down at your age, enjoy the smaller stuff, and keep ur psychedelic use as a reward, every summer and so forth. learn from them, don't let them make you question stuff that will manifest your life out of control.

 

[bigstoag]

If you're worried about this, you should stop, at least for a little while so that the 'cravings' fade. Maybe take it later (a smaller dose) as a form of reward for not giving into the urges.

But what you've described is pretty scary and you should be worried. If you're going to do drugs, it should be to satisfy a craving.

I do not crave acid nor am I dependent on any other substance other than nicotine. Im just wondering if there are ways to better practice self control because that seems to be an issue when there are drugs in front of me, especially acid because i enjoy the psychedelic headspace so much. It genuinely feels like i'm getting a better perspective on life and problems that need to be fixed. I would usually wait until my tolerance is low enough to where i could take around 800ug and experience a 200-300ug trip, although i found it feels a lot more intense.

but i do like the idea of a reward system for holding off. that seems like it might help.

Also can you elaborate on what you mean by if i'm to do drugs it should be to satisfy a craving? That seems like a fast way to become dependent on any substance

 

[donvliet]

Regardless of age, you're overdoing your drug use imo. Moderation is key. Keep the experiences special, don't lose the magic, minimise the risks, use common sense.

 

[Cudi]

LSD shouldn't be used once or twice a week, same goes with any psychedelic in my opinion. That could easily land you into acute or chronic psychosis even when sober if you're not careful. I'm an advocate for psychedelics being used between 1 and 5 times per year if you're going to use them. These substances are not really seen by many as recreational. And as for your age, everyone's brain develops differently so I'm not one to say how soon you started puberty and how much your brain has developed, but maybe ease back a little on the usage. Most people get shaken up so much from trips regardless if they're good or bad, that they have no desire to do psychedelics again for quite a long time.

 

[bickoma]

I do not crave acid nor am I dependent on any other substance other than nicotine. Im just wondering if there are ways to better practice self control because that seems to be an issue when there are drugs in front of me, especially acid because i enjoy the psychedelic headspace so much. It genuinely feels like i'm getting a better perspective on life and problems that need to be fixed. I would usually wait until my tolerance is low enough to where i could take around 800ug and experience a 200-300ug trip, although i found it feels a lot more intense.

but i do like the idea of a reward system for holding off. that seems like it might help.

Also can you elaborate on what you mean by if i'm to do drugs it should be to satisfy a craving? That seems like a fast way to become dependent on any substance

1) I started a little younger than you, and I just celebrated a year clean from heroin. With your self-admitted addictive behavior, I would suggest slowing down.

2) You definitely are getting a better perspective, but remember there's always a trade off in life.

Also, 800ug is.... probably more than I've personally ever dosed, and I have a lot of experience. Definitely slow down, but you are asking the right questions.

 

[Xorkoth]

I started doing psychedelics at 18, any drugs (ie, marijuana and alcohol) at 17. I tripped probably 10 times in 4 years, then at age 22 I got into research chemical psychedelics and started tripping more like what you're talking about. My usage increased to the point where I was taking huge doses, sometimes 5 days out of the week. Average 3 days of the week I'd say, for a period of 2 years or so. There was a buildup to this, starting with weekly, then twice a week, then more and more. I eventually got pretty burnt out, crashed pretty hard from exhaustion basically. Took a good year to feel totally right again. I don't think it harmed me long-term, but then again I was age 22-24 at that time. I will say that it got to the point where I didn't really even "trip" anymore except every so often, I got a lot of body and perceptual effects but it was sort of my new normal, like how weed can get if you smoke all the time. I was telling myself I was dosing this often to enhance life, to explore, etc, but in the end it really was a compulsion, a manifestation of my addictive nature. I like to be altered, so I try to rationalize altering myself all the time, and I like psychedelic alteration more than any other type of drug. It was certainly addiction.

It sounds like you realize you're feeling compulsive about it, even though you sorta denied it in a different post, but make sure you're being real with yourself. Worrying that you won't be able to control how fast you use LSD when you get a bunch of it speaks to an addictive personality and you should be extremely wary. I suggest that you never try opiates or other addictive drugs because there is a really strong chance you'll have problems with one or more of them. I got into opiates slowly but before long I was starting a 10 year long addiction that almost destroyed my life... it was horrible, I wanted to die every day by the end, my life was hell. For people with addictive personalities, opiates are extremely dangerous. I've seen a lot of people go down that road and end up miserable for life and/or dead, so just a (friendly but serious) warning about that.

I'm 33 now, and all that stuff is behind me, and I had to struggle really hard to get through it all. I still use psychedelics and some other drugs, and for the most part I'm happy with my usage rate but I do have to catch myself sometimes when I realize I'm starting to rationalize my usage frequency to myself. It's something I still struggle with although I am better at it. If you have an addictive personality and you use drugs, you have to be very aware of that aspect of yourself and really be objective about what you're doing. We have a powerful ability to lie to ourselves, which is at the core of addiction. Just stay aware and always try to step back and analyze what you're doing, and why you're doing it.

All that said, psychedelics have really been a beneficial thing in my life. I've had a few ineffable spiritual experiences that have helped shape my belief system, and I've learned a lot about how to be more aware and more connected to myself. When I was using them too often (multiple times a week, or even weekly for long periods of time), I lost that and they stopped being wonderful tools and started being just... drugs. You get so much more from psychedelics when you use them less frequently. I do think you're a little young and ideally you should wait. I started doing them when I went off to college, I wouldn't change that if I could go back, I think I was ready. But you should certainly slow down a lot, it's going to be much better for you. And it's important to start practicing moderation. You're young and developing and the behavioral patterns you set now are going to stick with you and get harder and harder to break. You can take my word on that...

You seem like a smart and thoughtful kid, that's good. I hope you can learn something from my experience and maybe find a balance in your life sooner.

 

[pupnik]

to the 16 year old OP who has managed to acquire a huge amount of LSD.

find something else in which you can be as interested as drugs for a while.
apply your youthful vigor and curiosity to learning something
save the acid in a book and hide it for later.

break bad habits and study shit while your brain is still adapting to the strangeness of the universe.

use that natural mental tropism of youth, the yearning to understand things, to make something of your self.

 

[Hilopsilo]

I had trips when I was 15/16 that were so powerful I've never been able to replicate. I think your brain is just more malleable and less grounded at that age. If you're careful, you can have some really mind opening trips. Everything is much more new to you at that age. I get shivers just thinking about those trips.

 

[Clocktower]

There is a very real risk of harm from heavy psychedelic use at your age. Use them as little as possible. The best advice would be to stop using them entirely until you're over 20 years old. You'll be glad you did.

 

[Vastness]

While tripping when I was also younger did obviously cotribute to the person I am today, as is obviously the case for many people, looking back I do think discovering such powerful drugs so early was a distraction throughout my developmental years tht probably did hold me back in some respects as my focus was not on my education or career. Once you open that Pandora's Box of different ways of looking at reality there is no closing it again and real life can seem less important, whether you realise this consciously or not.

If you do decide to continue using these substances semi-regularly my advise would be to start to be super strict with other aspects of your life, healthy eating, excersise, good habits, making sure you're getting out there with your non-drug using crowd (or if you don't have one yet, get one) as well as your other friends.

Then, don't do anything flippant or on a whim, this goes without saying obvously. No spur-of-the-moment acid parties or trying to bring that psychedelic mindset with you into the sterility of wider society (not that you shouldn't have these occasionally, planned, if you wish). If you ever have any reason to suspect what you have acquired, get that shit tested. Research everthing thoughout, read trip reports, invest in a milligram scale (which hopefully you aready have). When you plan to trip, whether alone or with friends, make you've taken at least a day to plan it and have no pressing responsibilities. In my experience, having some definite plans the day after sometimes (but not always, depends on the trip or drug) can be helpful as you know you can't just sit around smoking weed and doing other drugs all day.

Then when you have nothing planned drugs wise lock everything in a safe or box with a key, or hide that shit somewhere out of the way that neither yourself nor anyone else is likely to stumble on it or disturb it by accident. In the meantime fill your life with the kind of acitvities that people who had never taken drugs in their lives do, embrace that struggle and you'll find yourself much happier for it. Anyway my actual main points were as follows:

1) You clearly are already well read. Keep doing this, study the substances you want to take and evaluate the risk ratonally
2) Get the correct eqipment kits- scales, testings kit(s), blood pressure monitor, depending how far you want to go. Abortive substances to emergency exit a psychelic experience (ususally a benzo of something).
3) Plan your sessions, don't just drop whatever whenever out of a desire to get fucked up!
4) Record you dosages! I use a note app on my phone. Don't let youself get into a redosing haze because you can't verify what you've already taken. This really does help to keep you grounded both in time and in mindstate... in my experience it's a habit every responsible drug user should have.


I am sorry if this seems a little patronising, also have written it in a way that it may not even directly applicable to acid but drug user for younger drug us in general. However I have been thinking about this topic myself a lot recently, and advice I wish I had been given and hopefully would have taken, and one other thing I would like to add is that I think it you are going to be a responsible drug user, you need to set rules for youself, perhaps regarding frequency of us, dosafe, combinations... and NEVER break there rules, or at least, try very very hard not to. Eventually they wil become habit. For example, no getting fucked up on Sundays, dissociatives every 3 months minimum (these are some of my own rules also I have broken them on occasion). If you can do this with a little willpower I think anyone can dominate even some of the most additive substances. And also, stay smart and achieve something else, if you can do this you will help the entire drug using community by offering a shining example of a recreational user who does not deserve to be criminalised, and in your own life there will be less suspicion regarding any strange hobbies or interests related to drug use.

In the interest of full-disclosure I am actually alprzaolam'd at the moment so I hope the above paragraphs make sense, but as a general advocate of drug use, as far as such a term makes sense, I hope that my advice can help potential smart, responsible drug users to keep control over the somewhat risky path they embark on, WITHOUT becoming another governmental statistic that just continues to bolster prohibitionist laws.

 

[LucidSDreamr]

my biggest advice aside from not overdoing it.

keep your psych use to yourself, ie don't tell anyone

 

[phuckingnutz]

If you're worried about this, you should stop, at least for a little while so that the 'cravings' fade. Maybe take it later (a smaller dose) as a form of reward for not giving into the urges.

But what you've described is pretty scary and you should be worried. If you're going to do drugs, it should be to satisfy a craving.

HUH???

To "satisfy a craving"? That IS "giving in to the urges".
Did you mean "NOT to satisfy a craving"?...not starting shit, but genuinely confused.

OP, I started my drug use at about your age or younger with many of the same subs...acid, PCP, and a shit ton of other stuff, not to mention HUGE amounts of weed, although the weed from my era was considerably weaker than today.
I am an exceptionally bright person and have been since I was a little kid, long before the drugs.
This isn't for the sake of bragging, it is to make a point.

Many people, friends, family, et al say that even as smart as I AM that I would have been even smarter had I not done drugs, but there is NO way to know for sure since the me without drugs does not exist.
There is never any way to tell how someone "would have turned out" it is imfuckingpossible...think about it. Without using time travel and reliving YOUR life. One can never know how one would have been with or without drugs, money, opportunity, anything.

So, my point is this: I do think that early drug use changes you, but not necessarily for the worse.
Be responsible, DO NOT EVER huff ANYTHING and watch using anything to "excess"...again, excess is a relative term...IMO it means giving your or yours a lowered quality of life, both physically as well as emotionally.

You're obviously a smart kid and you always will be even with the drugs.
Whether you'd be smarter without them will remain a mystery though...happy travels and stay curious.
If there is ANYTHING that can hurt your brain it is complacency and lack of curiosity...never stop wondering, never stop asking why, how or what if.

 

[Nicholai]

I started my drug use a bit younger than you did. I did a yuuuuuge amount of acid in my teens, and it completely changed my personality. I'm one of the rare few people that think I would have been better off NOT doing all those psychs. I was a happy, healthy kid before doing all that, but afterwards I was a depressed mess. Of course, certain life circumstances fed into that, but that's just how things went with me.

I'd be a bit concerned about the weed smoking as well. I've read a number of studies which have found that exposure to MJ in adolescent, developing brains does indeed cause neurological changes. I started smoking weed at 13, and we always thought it was harmless. It isn't really, not at your age. I always suggest to teens to put off playing with drugs until you get older, it's just the safest way to go. Of course you do want to explore and experience new things, but you have the rest of your life to do that.

 

[PassthatT]

Teach your self to control your drug use, I was just like you when I was 16 and eventually I was doing MDMA every week and it spiraled out of control and destroyed the person that I was I'm still recovering and I'm 22 now. you have so much time to explore your mind and psychs. If you are stil going to trip, Take it slow and try not to trip so much.

Psychedelics are amazing and can teach you a lot about your self . Find more interests than just drugs, I was only interested in drugs and it led to a lot of BS! Good job on asking for advice though, take it and have fun and be safe! You have many years to have fun with LSD, keep your stuff safe and trip a couple times a year, it will keep it special!

 

[nuube]

To the OP. 16 is way to young to be taking any mind altering substances imho. I know you wont want to here that, especially as you appear very keen to take more, (that includes all substances - cannabis and alcohol included).

The easiest way of looking at this is you are 16 chances are, (baring accidents and what not), you will live another 60 years, that should give you plenty of time to trip, if you die it wont bother you that you are dead and that I'd imagine is a bigger trip anyway .

Leave aside the fact that with your brain in development you are putting large doses of acid into your system and fuck knows what that does to a developing brain. Many on here, (look it up wont take you long), much older fuck up their heads for extended periods taking these sort of substances at t he doses you are taking:

440 mcg LSD

Lasting damage

Read some of these threads they may save you! This next bit may sound patronising but I can assure you its not. OK you are well read and don't come across as dumb, however you have very potent hormones in the mix that us old fucks don't. That means you are more likely to have less self-control take risks and as evidenced by post 3 and your words:

and im worried that this abusive behavior will continue when i get it.

After thinking such a thing I'd imagine the smart thing to do would be to avoid having any LSD about you until your self control has improved, this is not a dig at you personally but in my experience, (myself included) young men are not the best at self control and that is putting it mildly.

Read post 18 and going by the responses here the general consensus here seems to be not to risk yourself. If you decide to go against this advice you really need to take a look at how you approach things. When I rediscovered psychedelics after a long break I was tripping every weekend and taking MXE during the week, I had to reign myself in but thankfully I'm an old fart and able to do so - had I been able to get my hands on this stuff as a young man fuck knows what damage I would have done.

I hope you do heed the advice here, I've gotten plenty and even when the wee voice in my head told me fuck it do it anyway I knew that the guys here are more experienced than me and I would be a fool not to take their advice - especially after asking for it.

I hope you do heed the advice, my gut tells me different! I wish you well and hope that if things go wrong its not as bad as some here have/are suffering. Stay safe.

 

[bigstoag]

update: i abused the fuck out of the lsd i got taking around 4 strips in just under a month. I've decided it would be best not to come into contact with any substance other than weed for a long time. although i may try molly at some point