Psychedelics and the recovering addict

[daysonatrain]

ok, well, thats your opinion.

 

[bbx4]

hmm, personally i find acid almost as stimulating as mescaline (not quite but close). also, from the original post stimulants were the last listed, before alcohol, ghb and benzos, so as far as i see it mescaline would be as good (though imo better than) acid.

i recomended mescaline because it is the most pleasant and least mind-bending of the traditional psychs (dont take that out of context, mescaline can still be pretty mind bending). but and i find it hard to see how anyone could have a "bad trip" on mescaline.

obviously thats just my opinion, lsd would be the second psychedelic id recommend (not to mention mescaline can be obtained "legally" )

id still suggest being drug free for a good amount of time, 12 months would be optimum as b9 suggested, but i think 6 would do just fine.

bbx4, have you made any decisions on what your planning to do yet? oh, and congrats for having the initiative to get clean.

as for the whole lsd debate going on here, there is a *very small* chance that you would get a dox chemical (though if you got it from a friend whose tried it that is next to none unless your friend is a retard), so basically you WILL be buying lsd you just wont know the concentration of lsd in each tab.

Mescaline is actually what I've been thinking about exploring. I have tried peyote before but I was not in the right mental state at all, although the experience wasn't entirely unpleasant. I was only 16 at the time.

I have a baby Peruvian Torch cactus that probably won't be ready for consumption for at least another year. Maybe that will be my next step. Patience is extremely hard for me right though, I definitely feel that part of my piqued interest in psychedelics comes from that urge to escape/alter my mind and I know that's not healthy. So I will wait...

I have tried 2c-t-7, 2c-c, LSD, DOC, AMT, and mushrooms before but I never have used them to strengthen myself as a person. I feel like I have a lot to learn before I take mescaline, I am getting the feeling the more you put into a trip the more you get out.

 

[Delta-9-THC]

Now this may be one person who would benefit from my guide to psychoactives....

Teo, your way off topic in this thread. Why do you always try to turn every thread you post in into one that serves your own personal agenda? Give it a rest.

Suggesting iboga or ayahuasca is fine but don't try to turn this into a natural vs synthetics thread again by copy and pasting your dogmatic "check list".

 

[daysonatrain]

Mescaline is actually what I've been thinking about exploring. I have tried peyote before but I was not in the right mental state at all, although the experience wasn't entirely unpleasant. I was only 16 at the time.

I have a baby Peruvian Torch cactus that probably won't be ready for consumption for at least another year. Maybe that will be my next step. Patience is extremely hard for me right though, I definitely feel that part of my piqued interest in psychedelics comes from that urge to escape/alter my mind and I know that's not healthy. So I will wait...

I have tried 2c-t-7, 2c-c, LSD, DOC, AMT, and mushrooms before but I never have used them to strengthen myself as a person. I feel like I have a lot to learn before I take mescaline, I am getting the feeling the more you put into a trip the more you get out.

that sounds like a great idea imo. growing your own hallucinogens can be a very rewarding endeaver. give yourself some time off all drugs and when the peruvian torch cacti is ready i think you will have given yourself time to contemplate yourself and your life (and the whole using drugs thing), and would have a very rewarding trip. I cant agree with you more in that the more you put into a trip the more you get out of it. I used to take psychs as a "party type" of drug, now i only take them alone and with the utmost respect.

In the meantime, while your waiting, get yourself out there, start doing things, exercise, reading, eating well, all that junk :D. for me, as i got deeper and deeper into heroin all those things went out the window, i lost interest in almost everything but getting high. when i got clean i realized how many interesting and fun things id been missing out on.

best of luck to you.

 

[solistus]

If you're waiting a year, that lessens any concerns I have about taking a phenethylamine - you should be pretty much over any withdrawals/residual cravings for whatever stimulants you are quitting anyway, and if you've tried a couple 2Cs and mescaline before then you have some idea what to expect in terms of amphetamine-like properties. If you take anything in the next few months, just keep the dose low to moderate, especially if it's something you're not super familiar with.

Good luck!

 

[burn out]

id still suggest being drug free for a good amount of time, 12 months would be optimum as b9 suggested, but i think 6 would do just fine.

what if you get protracted benzo withdrawals? i'm 7 months since i last took a benzo and still have withdrawal symptoms pretty bad.

 

[bbx4]

what if you get protracted benzo withdrawals? i'm 7 months since i last took a benzo and still have withdrawal symptoms pretty bad.

In that case I think it would be best to wait until you feel normal again.

This discussion got me thinking about how psychedelics can be abused, maybe that deserves it's own thread? I can't possibly imagine myself becoming addicted to psychedelics but IMO I have abused 2c-t-7 and AMT. But at the same time, I couldn't imagine myself ever abusing mushrooms or DMT. It would be interesting to examine what qualities 2c-t-7 and AMT don't have that mushrooms or DMT do.

 

[solistus]

I could certainly imagine an addictive relationship to any 2C without strong nausea/bodyload - they're generally stimulating and euphoric and at least those two effects don't exhibit an extremely strong tolerance effect (for me, anyway). That said, psychedelics are probably the least habit forming of the popular categories of recreational drugs and entheogens.

 

[Cloudburst]

No question psychedelics are the least habit-forming recreational/ethnogenic class out there. Dissociatives are a different story. I've seen DXM addiction fuck up lives more than most people I met in rehab. Ketamine is well-known for mild psychological addiction potential as well. I don't know about PCP addiction, but my heart goes out to those pitiful souls who would be in that circumstance, that'd be terror.

burn out,
I had gotten to the point where I didn't even know if I was withdrawing anymore at all or not, it had just been so long. You'll probably have an idea when you reach that point so by then I would say tripping would be acceptable. When I was at that borderline, I was tripping just fine. But you are clearly not at that point yet so psychedelics/dissociatives (and I hope you aren't considering deliriants ) are a very bad idea. If you're still eager to try these substances, I recommend you reassess your priorities for using them in the first place.

OP:
Everyone's circumstances are different as I'm sure you're aware of. In my case, I was pretty much forced to go to lockdown then rehab after an alcohol + oxymorphone-induced rage. I had a serious problem with polysubstance dependence as well and my life was at dire risk, but it was still against my will. That implies, that even though the severity of my condition made me wish I was out of that hell, deep down inside I hungered for those substances and therefore had no genuine desire to quit in my heart of hearts. I was psychotic from mania prior to this whole episode and it carried through to rehab. During this psychosis I transformed from a militant atheist to a fundamentalist Christian so the 12 steps I was required to attend captivated me. In the end though, my psychosis lifted and I was discharged. I relapsed after 3 days but thankfully my use has been cut down drastically after detox. In my personal experience, and as reiterated by others here, I've learned hard drugs are indeed a waste of time (but yes I still indulge, unfortunately) and that psychedelics/dissociatives are more of a gift than any rehab could have ever granted me.

 

[jamaica0535]

Psychedelics have a pretty low/almost nonexistent addiction potential.

Done with the right mindset, ie your starting to come to terms with your sobriety and starting to see the positive things that have resulted from quitting your addictions and realizing that you have made positive decisions in your life that you are happy about, it could help reinforce your desire not to go back to that lifestyle.

but everything in moderation, even though its not addicting i know people who like psychedelics enough to do them a little more than is generally considered appropriate.

 

[DoorsofPerception]

I'm actually quite surprised to see this post as it is exactly what I came here looking for. I too just got help for my poly drug addiction, mainly cocaine and alcohol but also MDMA and meth pretty heavily. I just got out of an impatient program and am pretty determined to stay sober after losing so much...my friends, family, job, appartement, and almost my life with countless ODs and trips to the ER. However, psychedelics have always been my favorite class of drugs and I find that it would be pretty difficult to put down tripping forever.

As of now I've decided to hold off on all drugs for a while until I can piece my life back together just to be safe because I cannot afford to relapse and go back to the place I was at.

I think treating psychedelics more sacredly and spirtually will help me from trying to abuse them. Taking them at partys or shows could cause me to fall back into old abusive patterns which could prove fatal.

Right now I'm just taking it one day at a time and trying not to think about it. When the time presents itself to delve into the psychedelic realm then I think I'll be able to handle it.

Good luck, addiction is pure hell man I feel ya there.

 

[aname]

So I am currently in intensive outpatient treatment for poly-drug addiction, namely alcohol, GHB, benzo's and various stimulants and so I am trying to stay away from all drugs.

I realize the drugs I was using were a dead end path and I do not want to go back to using them. I will miss alcohol mainly because it is so widely used but the others caused me too much pain. But if I were to stay away from drugs completely that means I wouldn't be able to take psychedelics, which kind of upsets me.

I know it wouldn't be the end of the world for me to never take LSD again, but I would like to. I feel like acid has never hurt me nor has the potential to hurt me like other drugs have.

Really all I am looking for by posting this is feedback from other addicts but I am also open to feedback from everyone. Thanks.

Hi there. I can relate to this post! I've recently come out of a psych-ward which I went into on a drug-psychosis (excessive marijuana + psychadelics). I haven't posted in a forum for years, but I signed up because I feel like there's an alternative idea to be offered, something to balance your options. I've asked myself the same question before - I once went eighteen months sober, and the only substances I missed were psychadelic. It felt sad to close off the option to psychadelics entirely. I'm trying to never take a mind-altering substance again, so that's my bias - but I want you to know that those kinds of experiences are there for the taking when you've been sober for a little while and you're feeling strong, without compromising your sobriety. It sounds like you're leaning towards trying LSD again but you're somehow reluctant too. There is another option, meditation.

After a year completely straight once, I did a Vipassana course (you can look up the word if you're curious). I'm not recommending it as a way of life or a set of beliefs or anything, just as an alternative to tripping you could try. It'll offer you a capacity to "realise" that will probably scratch your itch IMO. Vipassana is by no means the only meditation method, just the one I'm familiar with. The reason I trust it is because it doesn't ask you to form an attachment to an illusion, a mantra or anything other than the reality of your experience for the moment you're in (that's quite a mouthful and you can skim over it if it sounds too heavy). Basically you sit there and pay attention to what's happening in your body, and after a while things really start to happen.

You can have that ability to understand yourself, go deep, experience inexpressible beauty and understanding, reprogram your responses to traumatic stimuli, etc - all the kinds of stuff I like about psychadelics (probably different for you) were available to me without risking my sobriety. It was 100 hours meditation over 10 days - it sure is an intense way just to get a "trip", but it feels very tangible at the end, because you'll know how you progressed to the states you attained. It'll have other positive effects that are difficult to predict too (just like trips usually do)

I left after three days the first time I tried, because it is very intense and I'd only just come off drugs at that point. I tried again after a year sober and finished the course, and found it was the most satisfying psychadelic experience I've had. More intense drug-induced psychadelic experiences before and since have felt more blissful or amazing in the moment, but have been undercut afterwards by the struggle to integrate the experience into everyday life, or me questioning whether it is a good thing that a substance triggered the experience. This option could fulfill the same function as LSD without threatening your sobriety.

 

[thikal]

You can have that ability to understand yourself, go deep, experience inexpressible beauty and understanding, reprogram your responses to traumatic stimuli, etc - all the kinds of stuff I like about psychadelics (probably different for you) were available to me without risking my sobriety. It was 100 hours meditation over 10 days - it sure is an intense way just to get a "trip", but it feels very tangible at the end, because you'll know how you progressed to the states you attained. It'll have other positive effects that are difficult to predict too (just like trips usually do)

I left after three days the first time I tried, because it is very intense and I'd only just come off drugs at that point. I tried again after a year sober and finished the course, and found it was the most satisfying psychadelic experience I've had. More intense drug-induced psychadelic experiences before and since have felt more blissful or amazing in the moment, but have been undercut afterwards by the struggle to integrate the experience into everyday life, or me questioning whether it is a good thing that a substance triggered the experience. This option could fulfill the same function as LSD without threatening your sobriety.

I just down my first vipassana retreat and like you I left at the day 4, the call for a stressless/hedonic mental state was stronger (I read that many drug users are more prone than other to leave before the end, but I don't want to find an excuse hehe). Your post confirm what I felt, I was just coming off drugs at this point too, and I didn't manage to deal with that. But I definitely felt that all the pain/inconfort during the course is necessary and fruitfull. I want to try again as fast as possible, how many times between your two courses? (I'm a little bit off topic, if you want to MP me I may be really happy because I'm on the same track!)