The Big & Dandy 'Age and Psychedelics' thread

[dragonslayer428]

Yeah. I found that the older you get, the more stresses you have (money, job, relationships etc), which can lead to high anxiety.

My first trip was when I was about 15 or 16. Did it about 8 times over the years. The first 4 experiences were magical and awesome. Then, I started getting bad anxiety attacks, which in turn, would cause a 'bad trip.'

I ditched the drug all together. I started to hate the feeling that once you put that paper on your tongue, you're f*cked for 12 hours. At least, that's the way I was perceiving it.

 

[Sykoknot]

Oh, yes Sykoknot, that is a good idea. If you're predisposed, then stay away from them drugs, my dear (all of them, I reckon). Very prudent of you to decide against taking acid (though, the earlier the better).

Though i know what the consequences might be, I still continue to do drugs, I just avoid psychedelics. Ill smoke weed maybe once a month, and also like some prescription opiates. Im looking for some ket also.

Anyway, I think in my situation moderation and mindfulness are the key to my safety. Also no psychedelics or stimulants.

 

[DOB]

I want to be 15 years old aggain ( I am 18 )

weed and psychedelic drugs are much better when you are younger.... its becose your body have more water in it,better hearing and that open mind space,everything is still fresh and new.

 

[Sykoknot]

I want to be 15 years old aggain ( I am 18 )

weed and psychedelic drugs are much better when you are younger.... its becose your body have more water in it,better hearing and that open mind space,everything is still fresh and new.

Im not sure about the water part...
But yes, when I was younger there was definitely an "novel" aspect to drugs.
That novel feeling has never faded with one drug though, good ol' DMT.

 

[Damien]

I want to be 15 years old aggain ( I am 18 )

weed and psychedelic drugs are much better when you are younger.... its becose your body have more water in it,better hearing and that open mind space,everything is still fresh and new.

You hittin up the retirement home soon or what?

 

[psilocybonaut]

All the friends I used to do it with (It was the same bunch every time) also agreed it no longer had its magic

You are totally off. You just got weaker shit -- eat more tabs or get better shit. LSD does not "lose its magic" like MDMA can.

Visuals do NOT get weaker with age. Effects do not get weaker with age. LSD should do the same thing it did to you before -- it might be a different trip because you have learned more since your last experience -- but it shouldn't have "lost its magic"

I'm 95% sure you got weaker acid. There is always weak acid going around.

 

[ResinTeeth]

You are totally off. You just got weaker shit -- eat more tabs or get better shit. LSD does not "lose its magic" like MDMA can.

Visuals do NOT get weaker with age. Effects do not get weaker with age. LSD should do the same thing it did to you before -- it might be a different trip because you have learned more since your last experience -- but it shouldn't have "lost its magic"

I'm 95% sure you got weaker acid. There is always weak acid going around.

Agreed. LSD's biochemical effects are not going to weaken just because you're older and more jaded (or so you seem to make it sound). You got weaker product for sure. The tones of your trips can certainly change, but anybody that eats a 10 strip with no tolerance should be off their rocker, regardless of age, if the hits are worth anything.

 

[Sykoknot]

Agreed. LSD's biochemical effects are not going to weaken just because you're older and more jaded (or so you seem to make it sound). You got weaker product for sure. The tones of your trips can certainly change, but anybody that eats a 10 strip with no tolerance should be off their rocker, regardless of age, if the hits are worth anything.

I never said the strength of the experience went down, it just changed drastically.

And the ten strip did put me off my rocker, for about 18 hours to be exact. Crossed the psychedelic threshold after an hour an a half, and didnt come back for what felt like eons. Apparently It appeared to other people I was just sleeping, but had no response to any outside stimulation. I was dead weight.

Anyway, the acid I got when I was older was very strong. When i was cutting up a page of it I accidentally cut myself with the scissors, and tripped nuts.

People jump to conclusions far too quickly sometimes. Irratating..

 

[Feste]

I'm going to go in the opposite direction. My trips now (I'm 22) are far more enjoyable than when I started at 18.

 

[PepperSocks]

^ Same.

My early psychedelic experiences were all quite difficult. Things are much better now

 

[HofmannBlotter]

Mhhh my acid trip never changed for me.... it's always very visuals and *mindfuck* whatever my age... i think hum weak acid... for sure ! If despite this, it's not enough, I think you should take a look into LSD microdots, Liquid forms or geltabs... At least head to DOx, 2C-X blotters who are more strong for sure (oh yeah it is trust me, i ate 2 hits of DOI and i went to hospital cuz total mindfuck and strong hallucinations ><") so be safe !

Take Care !

Peace Out bro'

 

[anarchogen]

To the jumped to conclusion side of the conversation:

I ate 20 ""double dosed"" sugar cubes, it was frytastic.
Made some cigarette butt friends in ash tray.
That was a few years ago when the acid seemed pretty LSDish for the time.

Most people eat one and were disappointed, when that batch was around.
I'm sure it's just taking the right (larger) ammount, if you know what it is/ source/ and all that.


I think when you're younger and more care-free acid trips are a lot more fun,
and when we get older things get more serious and stressful (for the most part), and that comes out in the trips, because its heavily on our conscious before hand.

The beautiful trips in the adult world seem to have that nostalgic feeling attached to them,
I think if you can just get into the youthful mindset on the trip it would make it worthwhile.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[psood0nym]

This spanned over a few years, easy access to a good supply of LSD and a curiosity for knowledge will do this I'm now 20.. i don't really indulge in LSD anymore, the experience becomes far to analytical and I've been through enough of that. I don't mind Mushrooms or DMT on occasion.. but in general.. once you go far enough, your happy to give up the psycho-naught days

The John Hopkins psilocybin study participants were hallucinogen-naive and ranged in age from 24 to 64, with an average age of 46 years. 97 percent were college graduates. At two months after the experience, more than two thirds of the psilocybin group rated it as in the top five experiences of their lives, and one third rated it as the top experience of their lives (for some, presumably this includes rating it higher than their marriage day or even the birth of their first child).

It's ironic how many people describe "growing out of" psychedelics in their 20s when this study suggests the experience is something far-older and more mature people benefit most from growing in to.

I think as long as a person keeps expanding their knowledge and faculties of thought in their day-to-day lives there will always be new and valuable things to discover with psychedelics.

 

[EntheoDjinn]

Well Sykoknot, there's a few of us old timers lurking around here, some of us in our 50' and 60's, and I'm sure a few who're older. I don't think we'd still be tripping if it wasn't still one of the most magical experiences of our lives

"Set", one of the great three parameters to be sorted for tripping, is all about yourself. I reckon if you've got a good "set", as well as a good "setting" and knowledge of your mileage, the magic will never go.

But then I'm just an old optimist

 

[Mjäll]

Well Sykoknot, there's a few of us old timers lurking around here, some of us in our 50' and 60's, and I'm sure a few who're older. I don't think we'd still be tripping if it wasn't still one of the most magical experiences of our lives

"Set", one of the great three parameters to be sorted for tripping, is all about yourself. I reckon if you've got a good "set", as well as a good "setting" and knowledge of your mileage, the magic will never go.

But then I'm just an old optimist

I reckon you were around in the "psychedelic" late 60's?

I have a question for you (anyone similarly old and tripping is also welcome): Do you consider that your tripping has gone from silly and fun to more centred around meditative purposes, as you've grown older? Or is it perhaps the silly fun that is harmony and meditation, and the "serious" stroke a mere adolescent crisis?

It would be nice to know some more in general as well about the correlation between psychedelic experience and age, if you would be so kind

 

[Sykoknot]

I to have been curious of the experience people 40+ get from psychedelics, and how it has changed, and how it changed you.

 

[psood0nym]

^I'm not past 40, but I'm in my late twenties, so I'm still well past the age window where psychedelics are often part of a phase or are mostly encouraged by a social group. I don't write off the possibility of being radically changed by a psychedelic trip, but I think of tripping these days as more about maintaining a mind state that is partially unconscious and cannot be accessed in the same way without at least occasional use or a radical lifestyle change. The psychedelic state continues to change for me, however. It tends far more towards the visionary and ecstatic than earlier experiences, which were characterized more by introspection, wild flights of imagination (as distinct from visions) and amazement.

That said, I think that older people are more likely to benefit from first time use than the under-twenty set since, well, psychedelics are "mind manifesting" and older people tend to have a lot more mind to manifest. They also tend to have qualities of mind, such as the perspective of long-committed love/ abandoned dreams/ etc., that are more conducive to significant psychedelic experiences. These differences may also help them to apply the psychedelic experience to their lives in ways that are more concrete and realistic than they might have during their younger years. As advised by another poster above, I'd also say that those who have "got the message and hung up the phone" should sample psychedelics again every few years or so (you probably won't have connects, so get something "full-spectrum" like 4-AcO-DMT and just store it in the deep freeze). The message usually changes with you, and even if it doesn't, remembering it is nothing like hearing it again.

Here's a press release describing the findings of the two-year followup to the John Hopkins psilocybin study I linked to above--avg. participant age is 46.

 

[B9]

There's a good question (I'm in my late forties btw) - it does change because you as an individual change - you're reaction to tripping is more measured because you're more familiar with the state. I'd imagine many people go through a phase or two of excessive use of psychedelics not allowing sufficient time to integrate their experiences into the "real world".
Psychedelics have changed me somewhat, but realistically what they have done is permitted me to have certain perspectives I feel I'm unlikely to have obtained otherwise, these perspectives opened my mind to ideas & possibilities that I believe I wouldn't otherwise have experienced. This knowledge can then be applied to ones real life - although quite how often that actually happens is a moot point - not as often as it should. Tripping with my partner for example is a good way of maintaining a deep relationship much is aired verbally during the golden hours of a trip or in the aftermath - things which aren't always easy to find the time or inclination or inspiration during the common humdrum of family life.
Also it definitely causes you to stop & think in order to create a space for the trip - so you're preparing time for yourself & perhaps other people in a thoughtful focussed way you are more aware of yourself & others - this cannot be a bad thing. In short it does make you think a little more - - not too much mind, that way lies some kind of mental paralysis which takes an effort to dislodge.
Also it's a good way of letting go & having a laugh - it ought to be much more than just getting fucked up - preparation to enjoy things in & of itself for you & others is a very postive thing.
All in all I've found it to be a state I like & despite some negatives ( from which I sincerely hope I've learned) I find it to be a great addition to my life.

There have been times when it was my life - this is not the way one ought to approach it.


Response fired off in about 3 minutes without reading the thread - my apologies if I've made another waaaay of course post :D

 

[Mjäll]

Very good insightful posts from both psood0nym and B9.

 

[leigh12]

i first done it maybe 6 months back , prob 6 or 7 times since , and im 24

all positive experiences , no mindfuck whatsoever

i doubt i wlda been able to handle it if i took it at 15-16

especially with the crowd i was hanging with at the time