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Why do psychedelics exist?

Its interesting that we don't project the same mysticism onto opium poppies or monkshood plants. The sacred aconitine is rarely mentioned.
 
I guess it's because psychedelic experiences do confront you with "The mystical" and the search for meaning. Or rather, they have the potential to do so and I'm sure many of us have experienced that. Being propelled into such an state can have a profound impact in itself. -

I think it is no coincidence that psychedelics have been part of the religious traditions of many native cultures, specially through the American continent where we have psilocin, mescaline, harmaline and DMT incorporated in medicinal and divinatory practices.
 
swilow said:
Some of these things are probably metabolic by-products of other more useful chemicals.

Its never made sense that something like san pedro would evolve mescaline to defend against predators. Doseage is like 1ft, that's a hell of a lot of body to lose to make a point. ;)
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I reckon cacti like san pedro evolved mescaline to dissuade herbivory - I'm sure we're not the only creatures who find it extremely bitter. It just so happens to be trippy.
 
Clocktower said:
There is none - or you need to explain this question a bit more.


Nobody can be sure, but probably sometimes for pleasure, sometimes for religion, sometimes just by accident.


Psychedelics of one kind or another have been in use throughout human history.


Why do you exist?


No, they have powerful medical uses.


Yes.


Substituted tryptamines are very important in biology, so most of them show up in one place or another just because of random variation.


This is actually somewhat interesting - it's not random. DMT is a close chemical cousin of the amino acid tryptophan, which is one of the basic building blocks of life. Various relatives of DMT are produced naturally by many living things, including humans. They're so common that it would almost be stranger if there WERENT an animal that secretes them. (FYI, those toads don't really secrete DMT, but rather 5-MeO-DMT and 5-HO-DMT.)


There simply is no answer to this question. The closest thing is probably the fact that since substituted tryptamines are so important biologically, the DMT family was always bound to show up sooner or later.
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Ok thanks for sharing your perspectives. Yes, 5-meo thats what I meant when mentioning the frogs or toads or whatever. I want one as pets
 
MarcusJD9999 said:
I guess psychedelic drugs exist because they just do. That is the conclusion I will make from this. Everyone has their own opinions & answers/perspectives to this. So its kind of difficult to come up with a direct answer to the questions.

Thanks for sharing.
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The posts on this thread are interesting though, so feel free to continue sharing your ideas and perspectives.

What about the chemical make up of LSD? All chemicals must have started from ingredients straight out of nature, and a bunch of them are combined with molecules or whatnot from nature, like how how pickles started with cucumbers, then other ingredients are added and combined and fused to make pickles. Even the screen on my computer or iPhone must have started from natural elements straight from natural sources. Cars and lightbulbs too. Unless they came from outer space. LSD might be from Saturn. So LSD isn't extracted straight from some plant is it? Their must have been other nature elements to start, and then a lot of sophisticated chemistry behind creating it as well. It must have gradually taken years of evolution in chemistry to find the building blocks of LSD, and to create it.
 
Not years of evolution in chemistry, but years of work from Albert Hoffman.
He started making chemical derivatives of Ergoline alkaloids, toxins found in a plant pathogen fungus.

The finding that LSD had psychedelic properties was an accident, in almost all senses of the word. He was looking for some respiratory and cardiovascular stimulant for use a pharmaceuticals, as ergotamine and other ergot alkaloids were known to be vasoconstrictors.
 
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