Psychedelics Overview

Other Psychedelics

• Psychedelics Include:
  • Peyote
  • Mescaline
  • Ayahuasca
  • Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (+ harmala alkaloids)
  • 'Magic' mushrooms
  • Psilocybin
  • Ololiuqui
  • Morning glory seeds
  • Psychedelic toads
  • Bufotenine

Peyote

• Scientific Name: Lophophora williamsii
• Description: Spineless cactus
• Location: Mexico & SW Texas
• Active Ingredient: Mescaline
• Potency: 5000x less active than LSD
• Dose: 0.2 - 0.4 g
• Minor Component: Hardening substance (Dimethyltyramine)
• Effects: Similar to LSD; causes nausea when chewed raw or brewed into a tea (
• Historical Use: Medicinal and ceremonial use for over 5,000 years
  • Treats pain, fever, diabetes
• Cultural Significance:
  • Used by Tonkawa (Tickanwa-tic), Mescalero (Mashgale-nei), and Lipan (Hleh-pai Nde) Apache indigenous groups
  • Central to the Huichol (Wixaritari) religion

Ayahuasca

• Active Ingredient: Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)
• Properties: Naturally occurring, produced by various plants
• Effects: LSD-like effects; short-acting alone but intensified when combined
• Mechanism: Interacts with the opioid system
• Harmala Alkaloids:
  • Function as monoamine oxidase inhibitors
  • Prevent degradation of DMT
• Usage: Used by Amazon indigenous peoples
  • Plants Involved:
  • Banisteriopsis caapi (harmala alkaloids)
  • Psychotria viridis (DMT)
• Historical Use:
  • Documented history of over 1,000 years

(Magic) Mushrooms

• Key Compounds: Psilocybin and psilocin (DMT derivative)
• Active Ingredient: Psilocin
• Variations: Multiple mushroom species such as Psilocybe, Panaeolus, Copelandia, Conocybe
• Potency Comparison: About 1/200 that of LSD
• Usage History: Dates back thousands of years, illustrated in cave paintings
• Psychological Effects:
  • Potential for personality changes, increase in altruism, gratitude, forgiveness
  • Heightened suggestibility; notable effects on time perception
• Caution: Street ‘shrooms may contain grocery store varieties laced with LSD

R. Gordon Wasson Quote

• "It permits you to travel backward and forward in time, to enter other planes of existence, even to know God…Your body lies in the darkness, heavy as lead, but your spirit seems to soar and leave the hut, and with the speed of thought to travel where it listeth, in time and space, accompanied by the shaman’s singing…"

Ololiuqui

• Common Name: Morning glory (Ipomoea corymbosa) seeds
• Active Compound: Lysergic acid amide
• Potency: Approximately 10% LSD activity
• Cultural Use: Used by Central and South American indigenous groups, attributed to the Aztecs
• Preparation: Eaten or crushed and added to water

Bufotenine

• Source: Bufonidae toad skin secretions, especially from Incilius alvarius (Colorado river toad)
• Chemical Identity: 5-hydroxy DMT
• Administration: Smoked or ingested
• Additional Components: Secretions also contain cardiac glycosides; also found in Anadenanthera seeds
• Historical Use: Use can be traced back 4,000 years in psychedelic snuffs in the Caribbean and Central/South America