Where do I go from here? Several questions at once, your thoughts appreciated...

[GreatArc]

Hello all! First post, glad to meet you all, and thanks for opening this up.

I am a relative newcomer to psychedelics, have gotten a lot of good things out of a few medium dosage experiences with mushrooms. I am fascinated to explore different brain states and to spend time in this endlessly intriguing and relatively unknown area of exploration safely and respectfully, but also do not bring any real sense of anxiety or fear with me as this seems to be one of the most worthwhile experiences available to a person.

For being nearly 40 years old and having grown up in Toronto, I confess I am quite naive about a great deal of things surrounding drug experimentation, legality, slang or basic drug experience concepts (not that it's a race), but I am hoping to use your site to gain some education, stay safe, and learn from your mistakes. I have read the rules and guidelines, so I will throw out several questions at once regarding the site, some things I am curious about, and asking advice on an entry point for exploring different psychedelics.

1.) At the risk of trespassing overtly on the "NO 'SHOULD I TAKE?' THREADS" rule right from the start, am I welcome to ask the advice of members what substances they think are the best pathway into psychedelic exploration? Can I ask what substances and dosages theirs were and if they feel those were rewarding and what they would change if they could?

Essentially, I definitely AM interested in asking general questions about drugs, particularly to help determine for myself which Research Chemicals (available quite widely and easily here in Canada from most of my initial reading and investigation) I would like to experiment with. Will I get myself banned or thread taken down if I were to simply ask people what they consider to be a good, safe, rewarding pathway into psychedelic research chemicals, specifically; which drugs and why?

I know much of this is vague, left to personal taste, what is hoped to be accomplished, etc. I am a scuba diving enthusiast and people ask me what kind of stuff they should buy or what kind of diving is best. I explain that shallow freshwater ice diving in a Canadian lake to see a wreck is very different than doing a deep reef wall dive, a shark dive, a cave dive, etc. What I can suggest to them is very much dependent upon finding out what they WANT to explore before I can offer good specific advice. But this does not render the entire enterprise of general advice meaningless. For a novice person, I can certainly describe some of the things they are likely to experience--dark caves, bright clear reefs, high visibility, low visibility, a sense of flying high over a reef, a tight cavern system with few animals, a reef with lots of life, huge sea creatures, and so forth. And I can definitely say things like I would recommend a new diver start with high visibility in shallow, open water with sandy bottom so they don't crush coral being new at it, don't feel claustrophobic, and can learn while doing it, what kinds of things they like and don't like, and help them determine what kind of dives they should sign up for. May I ask people to help bring me from 'Gee, I'm interested in scuba diving/psychadelics' to 'Here are four or five dive locations/research chemicals I would recommend for you as a beginner and here's why...', which I could go read about them and decide for myself?

Is it possible to be able to get help sorting these things out? There are dozens, hundreds! of research chemicals at least available for me to explore, but must I individually familiarize myself with what each does, compare and contrast dozens of drugs which mimic many of the same effects and weigh each and every one against another before making a decision, or can I not simply begin by asking general questions that basically come off as 'SHOULD I TAKE?' questions?

Can I ask what do you take, and why?

Can I ask what kinds of effects and feelings are common to different drugs that I'm likely not even aware of to research or ask about?

Can I ask general questions like; what substances would you recommend for a relative beginner in Canada with all of these different research chemicals available, interested in rewarding and different psychedelic experiences?

Can I ask if they have a link to good descriptions of the research chemicals and which are the best choice in places where the effects are redundant?

Simply put, I am not a chemist, and there are so many drugs on offer that I want to know if it is unreasonable to get help narrowing the field at least by at least asking and also answering a few questions about drug selection? Can I ask people to think of questions to ask me to help decide what I should take?

Thanks very much for reading this, particularly moderators. Just very curious about how I am going to be able to use this site without being in violation of the rules.

-GA

 

[pupnik]

well
here you are
from toronto - the six!
groovy

at 40 do you have a wife/husband and kids, do you have a reliable job and home?
downtown or suburbs?

do you have to commute for work? subway or car? what kind of work is it?

these things affect your free time and the amount of time that is available for tripping, not driving and being responsible.

those issues figure into you choice for further experimentation.

 

[TheAppleCore]

Hi GreatArc,

Can you elaborate a little more on what aspects of the psychedelic experience interest you in particular? For starters, I would say that the 4-substituted tryptamines are a fairly logical first step, for a few reasons:

1) You already have a little experience with them (in the form of psilocybin mushrooms), which you indicate was rewarding for you.
2) They are generally regarded to be one of the safest families of research chemicals, with very few serious complications ever having been known to arise, even with very high doses (however, keep in mind that they're research chemicals, and nothing is certain).
3) Each of the members of this chemical family are quite distinct from one another, possessing their own unique profile of effects. Some are darker, some more euphoric; some are much more visual, others are more conceptual/emotional; etc.

 

[GreatArc]

From Toronto, but I now live in a beautiful part of the prairies and self-employed with considerable time to explore. Spend a lot of time outdoors/camping stuff like that. Driving is not a concern, I would no more trip and drive than I would drink and drive.

Work tends towards long stretches in remote wilderness locations and weeks off, so I have room for more leisurely or longer trips, but all told I guess I am happier with a substance whose effects are active for a couple hours, not 12+ hour periods.

 

[GreatArc]

Hi GreatArc,

Can you elaborate a little more on what aspects of the psychedelic experience interest you in particular? For starters, I would say that the 4-substituted tryptamines are a fairly logical first step, for a few reasons:

3) Each of the members of this chemical family are quite distinct from one another, possessing their own unique profile of effects. Some are darker, some more euphoric; some are much more visual, others are more conceptual/emotional; etc.

I am not sure how to answer this exactly, since a part of what I am hoping for is not to be able to sort of have a la carte experiences, and more learn from the drug effects and how I feel about them and what they have to show me, if anything. Certainly, I am not looking to be social on drugs at all, outside of a more experienced friend of mine I trust as a sitter and non-judgemental confidante. I enjoy the visuals and euphoria a lot, but certainly my favourite aspect of mushroom consumption has been enjoying the unbound thoughts and curious turns one's brain takes trying to process the altered chemistry. Sort of the 'deep thought' aspect where we can de-personalize and look at our problems and anxieties more objectively and put them in their place in the larger picture. Things like that.

Although the idea of trying 'breakthrough' or 'loss of ego' and self-awareness associated with DMT (or tons of other drugs in high dosages) is frankly fascinating, I think I am going to take a long route to high dosages and deep trips, instead trying to see how I might like to get there, and what substance I would like to help get to those more alien brain states. For now something safe, common, positive, easy to take RC which is generally regarded as 'euphoric' or positive, available legally in Canada, and in a pre-measured dose so as not to screw up would be worth learning about. RCs you could think of for a short list to start investigating and considering would be helpful and appreciated.

For instance, of those 4-sub tryps you mentioned, I notice that 4-aco-dmt is among them, which I understand is very similar to psilocybin. Have you experienced others in that group that you would use ahead of 4-aco-dmt and why? What meets the description of a visual/euphoric 4-sub and which would be a more conceptual/emotional 4-sub?

Thanks for responding so far! Very much appreciated.

 

[TheAppleCore]

Most research chemicals are supplied in the form of bulk powders, so you'll need a milligram scale to properly measure doses, although the psychedelics which are active in very small doses (such as the lysergamides) are sold in pre-measured doses on blotter paper. Of all the legally available lysergamides, ALD-52 (or 1A-LSD) is generally the most well-received, with the fewest complaints of negative side-effects, and is subjectively closest to its illicit parent, LSD-25 (for which ALD-52 is a prodrug).

As far as the 4-substituted tryptamines go, since you express an interest in the deeper, psychological aspects of the psychedelic experience, but also something safe and positive, I would suggest that 4-HO-MiPT is most likely to satisfy your particular needs, although this is debatable. 4-AcO-DMT is indeed very similar to psilocybin, and it's also a wonderful psychedelic. I can't really rank the tryptamines in any overall order of preference, but I enjoy being able to use other compounds in order to explore their unique qualities, and experience something novel. As to your last two questions: 4-HO-MET is an example of a tryptamine where visuals and euphoria tend to dominate over the more "serious" psychological content. 4-HO-EPT is a relatively unexplored tryptamine which is noteworthy for its relative lack of visuals, and dominance of other aspects of the psychedelic experience such as imagination enhancement.

If you're interested in talking to someone with a lot of experience with research tryptamines, Kaleida is another forum member you might want to contact.

 

[PsychaStevic]

I know a decent bit but don't consider myself and 'expert' when talking RCs a very good beginners starting point is 1p-LSD is a great one to just get your toes wet, resembles the real LSD experience but a little more gentle on the mind and body, AL LAD is great to, a bit more visual and a lot less of a mind racing head space. Can't speak for the synthetic Tryptamines as I'll be trying my first (MiPT) within the week. Xorkoth is an awesome knowledgeable member here and I've learned a lot reading on his threads, as well as kaleida as AppleCore said. Happy travels friend!

 

[pupnik]

@greatArc, I think you should get some Al-Lad and begin to explore from that point.