Hello Bluelight,
It has been 7 years since I tried marijuana for the very first time at 16. Since then, my life has never been the same. Marijuana, LSD and psychedelics in general opened so many things within myself that I could confidently say it was one of the most important decisions of my life: to go on an acid trip. I’ve had hundreds of trips, solo and with other people in the last 7 years and I got the chance to not only write about my experiences on Vietnamese social media groups but also one of the leading people from the generation which emphasizes “harm reduction” on psychedelic/general drug use.
Towards the end of 2022, after I had just turned 21, I thought I had to do something about it: to write down my journey, almost every single trip and my experience/tip of combining drugs from 2-CB to LSD to psilocybin to MDMA to MDA, to Kratom.
I never touched heroin or meth, thank God, and I advise anyone who wishes to embark on such a journey to never do so. I was very cautious, with my set and setting, as well as my dosing as to not get things out of hand and followed very thorough guidance on such websites as Erowid, Shroomery, Reddit, DMT-Nexus and Bluelight.
The book consists of (as of current that I’ve structured) the following sections:
The first section is the preface, entitled Introduction to FEAR AND LOATHING: A VOYAGE INTO PSYCHOACTIVE VIETNAM ( DRUGS I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED)
The second section is “My unconventional journey as a Vietnamese psychonaut” - my overall view of what you're about to read in the book.
The third section consists of interviews I’ve done with people that have used psychedelics in Vietnam. The descriptions for the experiences of each individual are unique and worth a look through. From a tarot reader (which in every town exists one set of them), to the founder of the largest psychedelic community of Vietnam from the 2010-2020s period.
The next section is write-ups of my experiences with (that I’ve recalled so far) about 23 substances that I have had the chance to try and combine with one another. Each contains tips, tricks and even dosage guide. Included, also, are some of the most prominent trip reports I had from 2017 to 2024.
The fifth is a tribute section to some of the greatest figures in the psychedelic scene known to mankind: This section is both a tribute to the greats and a means for the current as well as future generation in my country to look back and reflect on the impact they had made on psychedelic culture and to some extent studying as a whole. These are the people that changed everything, not just on a scientific level but also everything else which the culture represented, demonstrated through the shifts in collective consciousness and society as whole.
Finally, the book will touch upon (with my own point of view) Modern psychedelia, psychedelic psychotherapy, Jungian perspective, and use for meditation.
The title of the book, if you haven’t realized already, is a reference to Alexandra and Ann Shulgin’s (in)famous work: SiHKAL: Shulgins I Have Known and Loved, in which the psychonaut couple noted down all the properties of the drugs that Alexandra Shulgin (or “Sasha”) synthesized.
In short, this book is to give a clearer view for non-Vietnamese who are interested in the psychedelic scene in Vietnam. And yes, we do have a scene here! Hola!
Everything that is said in the book can be found anywhere on the internet with a little work. As a matter of fact, it takes any curious, well-educated, well-grounded (so-so) teenager a couple of minutes of Googling to find out how Salvia works on one’s mind after hearing their friends mention it in a chemistry class while giggling with some even sharing unverified lores (“a friend of my friend smoked Salvia and was stuck in a trip for 20 years), or what a DMT and methamphetamine combination would be like.
The book is set out to be the very first book dedicated to unconventional/illegal psychoactives by Vietnamese and for Vietnamese, as well as to give the psychedelic world culture a broad perspective on the psychedelic culture of Vietnam that started relatively late compared to the rest of the world (early 2010s) and is on their rise with a lot of youngsters taking psychedelics as well as acknowledging the effects they have on their minds, their general productivity, their abilities to be creative (for instance production of music/films), their perspectives completely changed on religion, science and spirituality. As such, a (sub)culture was born out of the midst of change the past 10 years or so.
Short bio:
I am a writer and illustrator resided in Dalat, Vietnam, mainly an author for Vietnamese magazines/websites such as Vietcetera, also my blog on which I have written about music, cinema, mental health or just general perspectives on life which was inspired hugely by Tim Urban’s Wait But Why blog. The illustrations in this book took cues from my blog and expanded upon the style, with a more serious tone, also more refined, more focused on the information.
I am (as of current) neither a student in psychology or psychiatry, but rather just a huge advocate of psychedelics and am very enthusiastic as well as trying as hard as I can within my limited ability to push for therapy treatment using psychedelics/dissociatives as I think it is crucial, regardless, for every single country in the world to decriminalize psychedelics, and I am willing to do anything as long as I am alive and having, still, the interest in psychedelia.
The only matter is how and when psychedelics shall be legalized completely in every nation of this world. We have still got a long way to go.
I am aware of the impact of organizations such as Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies or The Third Wave and would love to contribute to the world of scientific research on psychedelics by sending the very first draft of this book to mentioned organizations.
English is my second language so pardon for any errors that I might be making along the way of the FEAR AND LOATHING project. If you have any questions or would like to give feedback on my project (which I would appreciate tremendously) please send to my email [email protected].
It’s currently sitting at around 25000 words now (I’ve procrastinated quite a bit due to my work schedule), and I am planning to finish it by my 25th birthday - which falls on the 15th of October, 2026. It should contain about 150000 to 200000 words by then.
I am thinking of putting my project on a platform such as Kickstarter but I think the procedure is quite a pain in the butt so, maybe later.
Please also drop a comment for any suggestions for my next move.
Peace and love,
MTL
It has been 7 years since I tried marijuana for the very first time at 16. Since then, my life has never been the same. Marijuana, LSD and psychedelics in general opened so many things within myself that I could confidently say it was one of the most important decisions of my life: to go on an acid trip. I’ve had hundreds of trips, solo and with other people in the last 7 years and I got the chance to not only write about my experiences on Vietnamese social media groups but also one of the leading people from the generation which emphasizes “harm reduction” on psychedelic/general drug use.
Towards the end of 2022, after I had just turned 21, I thought I had to do something about it: to write down my journey, almost every single trip and my experience/tip of combining drugs from 2-CB to LSD to psilocybin to MDMA to MDA, to Kratom.
I never touched heroin or meth, thank God, and I advise anyone who wishes to embark on such a journey to never do so. I was very cautious, with my set and setting, as well as my dosing as to not get things out of hand and followed very thorough guidance on such websites as Erowid, Shroomery, Reddit, DMT-Nexus and Bluelight.
The book consists of (as of current that I’ve structured) the following sections:
The first section is the preface, entitled Introduction to FEAR AND LOATHING: A VOYAGE INTO PSYCHOACTIVE VIETNAM ( DRUGS I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED)
The second section is “My unconventional journey as a Vietnamese psychonaut” - my overall view of what you're about to read in the book.
The third section consists of interviews I’ve done with people that have used psychedelics in Vietnam. The descriptions for the experiences of each individual are unique and worth a look through. From a tarot reader (which in every town exists one set of them), to the founder of the largest psychedelic community of Vietnam from the 2010-2020s period.
The next section is write-ups of my experiences with (that I’ve recalled so far) about 23 substances that I have had the chance to try and combine with one another. Each contains tips, tricks and even dosage guide. Included, also, are some of the most prominent trip reports I had from 2017 to 2024.
The fifth is a tribute section to some of the greatest figures in the psychedelic scene known to mankind: This section is both a tribute to the greats and a means for the current as well as future generation in my country to look back and reflect on the impact they had made on psychedelic culture and to some extent studying as a whole. These are the people that changed everything, not just on a scientific level but also everything else which the culture represented, demonstrated through the shifts in collective consciousness and society as whole.
Finally, the book will touch upon (with my own point of view) Modern psychedelia, psychedelic psychotherapy, Jungian perspective, and use for meditation.
The title of the book, if you haven’t realized already, is a reference to Alexandra and Ann Shulgin’s (in)famous work: SiHKAL: Shulgins I Have Known and Loved, in which the psychonaut couple noted down all the properties of the drugs that Alexandra Shulgin (or “Sasha”) synthesized.
In short, this book is to give a clearer view for non-Vietnamese who are interested in the psychedelic scene in Vietnam. And yes, we do have a scene here! Hola!
Everything that is said in the book can be found anywhere on the internet with a little work. As a matter of fact, it takes any curious, well-educated, well-grounded (so-so) teenager a couple of minutes of Googling to find out how Salvia works on one’s mind after hearing their friends mention it in a chemistry class while giggling with some even sharing unverified lores (“a friend of my friend smoked Salvia and was stuck in a trip for 20 years), or what a DMT and methamphetamine combination would be like.
The book is set out to be the very first book dedicated to unconventional/illegal psychoactives by Vietnamese and for Vietnamese, as well as to give the psychedelic world culture a broad perspective on the psychedelic culture of Vietnam that started relatively late compared to the rest of the world (early 2010s) and is on their rise with a lot of youngsters taking psychedelics as well as acknowledging the effects they have on their minds, their general productivity, their abilities to be creative (for instance production of music/films), their perspectives completely changed on religion, science and spirituality. As such, a (sub)culture was born out of the midst of change the past 10 years or so.
Short bio:
I am a writer and illustrator resided in Dalat, Vietnam, mainly an author for Vietnamese magazines/websites such as Vietcetera, also my blog on which I have written about music, cinema, mental health or just general perspectives on life which was inspired hugely by Tim Urban’s Wait But Why blog. The illustrations in this book took cues from my blog and expanded upon the style, with a more serious tone, also more refined, more focused on the information.
I am (as of current) neither a student in psychology or psychiatry, but rather just a huge advocate of psychedelics and am very enthusiastic as well as trying as hard as I can within my limited ability to push for therapy treatment using psychedelics/dissociatives as I think it is crucial, regardless, for every single country in the world to decriminalize psychedelics, and I am willing to do anything as long as I am alive and having, still, the interest in psychedelia.
The only matter is how and when psychedelics shall be legalized completely in every nation of this world. We have still got a long way to go.
I am aware of the impact of organizations such as Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies or The Third Wave and would love to contribute to the world of scientific research on psychedelics by sending the very first draft of this book to mentioned organizations.
English is my second language so pardon for any errors that I might be making along the way of the FEAR AND LOATHING project. If you have any questions or would like to give feedback on my project (which I would appreciate tremendously) please send to my email [email protected].
It’s currently sitting at around 25000 words now (I’ve procrastinated quite a bit due to my work schedule), and I am planning to finish it by my 25th birthday - which falls on the 15th of October, 2026. It should contain about 150000 to 200000 words by then.
I am thinking of putting my project on a platform such as Kickstarter but I think the procedure is quite a pain in the butt so, maybe later.
Please also drop a comment for any suggestions for my next move.
Peace and love,
MTL
