2. Tryptamines Benzine Ring Pyrrole Ring Nitrogen Indole Chemical Structure

3. Phenethylamines Benzine Ring Aminoethyl group Nitrogen

4. Psychedelics & Serotonin Agonists = chemical that binds to a receptor of a cell and triggers a response by that cell Agonists often mimic the action of a naturally occurring substance. Example: psilocybin, DMT, mescaline and LSD are agonists at 5HT 2A/2C receptors (serotonin) MDMA releases serotonin from synaptic vesicles of neurons

5. Psychedelic ≠ Iridescent

6. Psychedelic Means “mind manifesting” – Psyche = mind – Delos = manifesting Can elicit high states marked by philosophic insights, mystical feelings, visions, and so forth Coined by Humphry Osmond in his 1957 article "A Review of the Clinical Effects of Psychotomimetic Agents." Reflects a positive bias toward these drugs

7. Psychedelic Bias “I admire transpersonal psychotherapists. I think they are trying to remake the shamanistic institution in a modern form. What they have to realize is that they’re wasting their time unless they use the shamanistic tools. And the foremost tool of the shamans is the technique of ecstasy, and that means the hallucinogenic plants.” - Terence McKenna, The Archaic Revival

8. The “O’gens” Empathogens Causes or helps one to identify with the feelings of others or feel a sense of connectedness with others. empathy = identification with the feelings of others gen = creation

9. The “O’gens” Entactogen Generates a sense of "the touch within" Tactile = touch Gen = creation

10. The “O’gens” Entheogen Creates a sense of “becoming divine within” en = in / within theo = spirit, God gen = create, generate

11. Altered States of Consciousness “The spectrum of experiences other than ordinary waking consciousness, including daydreaming, trance, meditation, hypnosis, religious ecstasy and substance-induced states.”

12. Hallucination Slade & Bentall (1988): “Any percept-like experience which (a) occurs in the absence of an appropriate stimulus, (b) had the full force or impact of the corresponding actual (real) perception, and (c) is not amenable to direct and voluntary control by the experiencer.”

13. Are Hallucinogens Hallucinogenic? Hallucinations are perceptions that have no basis in reality. Hallucinations appear entirely realistic. Psychedelics = a modification of regular perception Psychedelics = awareness of the illusory and personal nature of the perceptions.

14. Delusions: Definition A false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality that is firmly sustained despite what almost everybody else believes and despite what constitutes incontrovertible and obvious proof or evidence to the contrary. The belief is not one ordinarily accepted by other members of the person's culture or subculture. -- DSM-IV-TR

15. Resource Tour www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/abuse/8-hallu.htm www.erowid.org www.maps.org www.heffter.org http://www.beckleyfoundation.org/ www.entheoguide.net http://www.matrixmasters.net/salon/ Drop box on Angel – Add links!