Quote:
"It is quite likely that primitive men in search of food accidentally discovered that, when ingesting certain plants or mushrooms, they felt "different" and started "seeing things." One can postulate that the intake of natural products endowed with such extraordinary powers was soon organized in ceremonies aiming to widen knowledge on important events or to strengthen self-assurance before taking decisions involving the whole community. Probably, it was then realized that some men were more apt than others to enter such states, and so the intake of active products became their privilege. In some instances, scarcity in nature of a certain plant containing active principles contributed to reinforce both the belief in its magic properties and the privilege of its use by certain members of the community. This is a schematic picture of a highly complex phenomenon involving several disciplines. Nevertheless, we want to emphasize that in the specialized literature several observations are reported which deserve attention from the modern researcher in psychopharmacology, in spite of their having been collected with the purely descriptive methods of classical anthropology."
"...any interference with such a highly complex homeostatic system should result in instantaneous alterations of the balance between chemical mediators. To postulate such a simplified general mechanism of action for psychotropic compounds is obviously a very rough approximation with several functionally interdependent physiologically active substances existing in the brain."
"The ideal substance, making possible a sort of "tuning" between humans, has not yet been found. We chose for our pilot work LSD 25 and psilocybin, as both affect personality functions by altering the balance between coordination and drives. In this first phase we could already detect remarkable differences between the psychic effects of LSD 25 and those of psilocybin, probably reflecting the known differences in their mechanisms of action. The arousal pattern of the central nervous system under psilocybin is much milder and less irresistible than that under LSD 25 in comparably effective doses and regression is more massive and primary in the latter than in the former. Moreover, exploratory experiments which we carried out with the collaboration of highly selected subjects, consistently pointed to striking qualitative differences between these effects. While LSD 25 uncovers the mechanics of the relationship ego-es, psilocybin seems to disclose another aspect of personal dynamics, namely the interaction between ego and superego. The imagery often evoked by psilocybin is more decor-like, richer in objectual references, as compared to the ego-concerned hallucinatory experiences induced by LSD 25. There are pros and cons in both cases as far as ESP experiments go: if it is difficult to grasp and describe an image out of an overwhelming flow of inner events, as under LSD 25, it is equally difficult to discern meaningful and self-contained images in a continuously swaying, deeply interwoven, decorative pattern, as under psilocybin. "
"Gottlieb also funded the experiments of Dr. Harris Isbell. Isbell ran the Center for Addiction Research in Lexington, Kentucky. Passing through Isbell's center was a captive group of human guinea pigs in the form of a steady stream of black heroin addicts. More than 800 different chemical compounds were shipped from Gottlieb to Lexington for testing on Isbell's patients.
erhaps the most infamous experiment came when Isbell gave LSD to seven black men for seventy-seven straight days. Isbell's research notes indicates that he gave the men "quadruple" the "normal" dosages. The doctor marveled at the men's apparent tolerance to these remarkable amounts of LSD. Isbell wrote in his notes that "this type of behavior is to be expected in patients of this type."
"In other Gottlieb-funded experiment at the Center, Isbell had nine black males strapped to tables, injected them with psylocybin, inserted rectal thermometers, had lights shown in their eyes to measure pupil dilation and had their joints whacked to test neural reactions."
"Only in completely oxygen-free ampules protected from light is LSD absolutely stable. Such ampules, containing 100 ,Lg (= 0.1 mg) LSD-tartrate (tartaric acid salt of LSD) in 1 cc of aqueous solution, were produced for biological research and medicinal use by the Sandoz firm. LSD in tablets prepared with additives that inhibit oxidation, while not absolutely stable, at least keeps for a longer time. But LSD preparations often found on the black market - LSD that has been applied in solution onto sugar cubes or blotting paper - decompose in the course of weeks or a few months. "
"With such a highly potent substance as LSD, the correct dosage is of paramount importance. Here the tenet of Paracelsus holds good: the dose determines whether a substance acts as a remedy or as a poison. A controlled dosage, however, is not possible with preparations from the black market, whose active strength is in no way guaranteed. One of the greatest dangers of non-medicinal LSD experiments lies, therefore, in the use of such preparations of unknown provenience.
5-MeO-DiPT can be surprisingly potent. It gave me a bit of a kick in the ass a while ago, so I'll take the opportunity here to talk about my experiments a bit. Please note that the dosages given below have been measured with an electronic scale with 2mg accuracy; however I can not entirely rule out the possibility of human error or a malfunction of the scale. "
"I had read the trip disaster stories from Erowid, but most were with very large doses so I wasn't afraid. I started my experiments with 15mg (quite high), as my tolerance for almost all drugs (tryptamines included) seems to be higher than the average. Fitting the picture, I got only what I in retrospect would say were threshold effects. Next try was 10mg insufflated, which also produced threshold effects.
I then decided to up the dose a lot to find out if 5-MeO-DiPT had anything to offer me (I was quite sceptical after the initial experiences). I ingested 26mg (a strong dose for most people, I think) of the substance, and as expected, got very nice effects. Not as psychedelic as LSD, but heightened senses and a nice body feeling coupled with some psychedelic ideation and a few visuals. Very nice
Later I took 22mg once at home and once at a party, and had good, mellow, subtle experiences. So I thought I knew what 5-MeO-DiPT was all about: a nice little tryptamine with euphoric body feelings, not at all intense on the mental side, perfect for a social setting for instance.
One weekend I was taken by surprise by an urge to trip. I hadn't prepared at all (I usually do prepare a little) and I had just had the most intense psychedelic experience of my life some time ago (with LSD), so I wasn't looking for a full-blown trip. I decided to take some 5-MeO-DiPT for a mellow evening of listening to music etc. I decided to take a tiny bit more than I had taken before, and settled for a 30mg dose (again, a hefty dose for someone with a normal tolerance). I was pretty certain that the trip would be very light on the psyche, as 26mg had not been intense at all.
What followed was an experience that was as intense, in part even more intense, than the LSD trip that I had taken some time ago. I would say it was level 4 on Graeme Carl's scale. I would roughly estimate that the intensity was comparable with 3-5 hits of european acid, which would AFAIK probably translate to at least 6-10 hits of US acid. All in all the trip was _very_ similar to the LSD trip; I might have some trouble telling LSD and 5-MeO-DiPT apart at those doses. Visuals were almost identical with LSD visuals, and the psychedelic ideation also very much resembled that of LSD. The experience also had something that reminded me of 5-MeO-DMT, although obviously it was not _that_ intense. "
Just some text excerpts thst help prove my point.
