Psychedelic experiences on non-psychedelics?

[solistus]

^ There is a difference between drugs that directly cause a psychedelic episode and those that might be involved in a psychedelic experience by pure accident. You could have such an experience without any drug at all.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'psychedelic episode' as a specific event that some drugs can cause and others can't (if opioids make some people hallucinate, see the world differently and rethink their place in it, what exactly makes this not a psychedelic episode?). I'm also confused by what you mean when you say 'by pure accident' - are you implying that 'true' psychedelics are sentient and intend us to trip, or are you just saying that the trip itself was unexpected/unplanned because it's not a typical experience with that compound? Or something else entirely, for that matter?

@Survived Abortion: couldn't agree more. The label 'psychedelic' has become increasingly problematic as we've gone from knowing of three relatively similar serotonergic psychedelics to dozens of chemicals with a wide range of effects, some quite similar to the classics and some rather unique. There is no one state of mind called tripping and no one drug effect called a psychedelic episode. Psychedelic can be a label for the subjective impact of any experience, but it can also mean a (poorly) defined group of specific compounds.

 

[Mjäll]

I'm not sure what you mean by 'psychedelic episode' as a specific event that some drugs can cause and others can't (if opioids make some people hallucinate, see the world differently and rethink their place in it, what exactly makes this not a psychedelic episode?). I'm also confused by what you mean when you say 'by pure accident' - are you implying that 'true' psychedelics are sentient and intend us to trip, or are you just saying that the trip itself was unexpected/unplanned because it's not a typical experience with that compound? Or something else entirely, for that matter?

If and opiate makes some people hallucinate, it is because it makes them relax and nod. If a psychedelic does it, it is because it stimulates a cascade of neurotransmittors that does excactly this, pharmacologically. The opiate is as much a psychedelic as a barbeque party is.

Accident as in the later of your two definitions (did you even have to ask?)