Can one get addicted to psychedelics

[Ismene]

No you can't get addicted to psychedelics because if you take them more often than once a week they quickly stop working.

You can be excited and think about them all the time - but I'd prefer to call that being in love with psychedelics rather than addicted to them.

 

[huolesoh]

almost everyone has addictions, whether it's spending too much time on the internet or watching TV, eating junk food, obsessing over the person you love, exercising compulsively, buying stuff you don't really need, etc

yes well put !

" the only addictive psychedelics i have known are cannabis, and ketamine " - Mrs. Shulgin

i find hallucinogens to be the last thing i could possibly be addicted to - i can't imagine anything more awful then taking acid every day all day - the hyperactive intuition and emotional volatility. i just cannot on a practical level live in that world, although i'd be damned if i never holiday'd over there

would agree a little they can be infatuating - after all these kinds of things are, by their nature, far more attention grabbing then the mundane, and that is perhaps the whole point

i think addiction has to do with feeling as if one ' needs ' something whereas infatuation is moreso ' desiring ' to have it

sugar however is the super crack of them all

 

[kanobo]

I have previously had a problem staying away from ketamine, that was more of a need to escape scenario than desire to trip, though (not denying the k-holes weren't awesome).

Hallucinogens have become an exciting treat for me every once in a while. I think if I used them too much they would lose their magic, like MDMA has (only taken it maybe maximum 15 times, but they were close enough together than the loveyness just doesn't happen )

I wouldn't worry too much, just make sure that you do leave time between trips, I find that's how I get the most out of them from a psychological perspective.

 

[artsncrafts]

i think addiction has to do with feeling as if one ' needs ' something whereas infatuation is moreso ' desiring ' to have it

I think this minimizes what addiction can mean, though. The lines can get blurred at points; "I can quit anytime".

Which isn't to say that psychedelics are physically addicting, etc. But we've (probably) all met that one dude who dropped acid or ate shrooms everyday of the week for a summer, and crashed and burned pretty badly.

Certain psychedelics play on certain neural receptors in the brain, and either mimic or increase seratonin production. Others can mimic dopamine levels in the brain. Doing psychedelics can cause a drop in the natural production of both. So...I think someone can become psychologically dependent on hallucinagens not necessarily for their enlightening properties, or their spiritual benefits. I think that escape from reality and a means of achieving chemical enjoyment in a potentially chemically depleted brain, are two very real factors in psychological dependence. At that point, I think that infatuation can become dangerous.

 

[awkwardchild]

Dont use them too often or they will lose their magic

 

[Tryptamino]

Ketamine, Cannabis, PCP, nitrous oxide, DXM, and MXE are all psychedelic drugs (albeit not the traditional phenythylamine/tryptamine variety) that are extremely addictive. many of my friends consider DMT extremely addictive, although i don't, but can see how someone can get "addicted" to it. one particular friend of mine considers mescaline to be addictive, although not in the habit-forming manner, more of the craving aspect. I believe that when used properly, traditional psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, DMT, etc.) are not addictive at all, and have little to no adverse physical or mental effects.

 

[Black]

I think if I used them too much they would lose their magic, like MDMA has (only taken it maybe maximum 15 times, but they were close enough together than the loveyness just doesn't happen )

it's not necessarily because you didn't space your mdma doses out enough. in my circle of friends (with different usage patterns) nearly everyone has lost the magic after 10-15 times. even when waiting something between 2 months up to a year between each dose.

 

[Ismene]

^^

Might need to get some good MDMA, I always found if the MDMA is good enough the magic returns after a good 3-6 month layoff.

 

[2cme]

I'd say it's rare but not impossible to get psychologically addicted to psychedelics. As another member mentioned, it's kind of a honeymoon stage type thing.

You're diving off into completely new territory unlike anything your nervous system's experienced before. Sometimes you're awe-struck by the beauty and feel the need to keep re-experiencing it, sometimes you may feel like you're right on the cusp of grasping some ultimate/divine truth, etc. but whatever the reasons you want to keep diving down the hole.

I believe it was in the documentary DMT The Spirit Molecule, that one of the interviewee's mentioned how it's so easy to see how you can change yourself and the world for the better when you're on psychedelic drugs as long as you don't get lost in the beauty, and can come back, so to speak, and apply what you've learned.

But eventually, like others have said you begin to lose the magic. Then you really just need to give your brain a while to recover. Eat healthy, exercise, abstain from all drugs and that magic should come back.

 

[MrKitty2]

I went for a year or 2 of dosing phens/tryps and dxm(tolerance to dxm happened for sure), Ive never had a problem with tolerance unless I dosed twice in one day, or purposely ingested more drugs to "get Higher".. Not everyone who takes them will get tolerance, IME everyone is diff, ive known people who couldnt dose 2 or 3 days in a row, while id take the same dosage 3-5 days a week with minimal tolerance.

if everyone had my metabolism, there would be a lot more addicts lol, be safe tho. Ive gotten promotions at work at raises all the while my boss cant figure out what drug im on