DMT (DIMETH-YLTRYPTAMINE)

ALSO KNOWN AS DIMITRI

By: Susan Honeycutt

WHAT IS IT?
the commonest hallucinogen in all of nature
a powerful hallucinogenic chemical found naturally occurring in some
Amazonian plant species
also synthesized in the laboratory. Synthetic DMT normally takes the form
of a white crystalline powder
DMT can also be made synthetically in the UK and comes in yellow
crystals or powder

HOW CAN DMT BE TAKEN?

takes the form of a white crystalline powder and is typically vaporized or
smoked in a pipe
The drug comes from plants in the Amazon which can be boiled to make a
brew or ground to make a powder.
DMT is normally smoked, but it can also be snorted, or drank.
If DMT is smoked the trip lasts about 5-20 minutes. If snorted or drank the
effects can last longer

WHAT DMT LOOKS LIKE

ACUTE EFFECTS
Hallucinations frequently involving radically altered environments as well
as body and spatial distortions
youre often incapacitated and unable to move
the trip comes on very fast and can feel extremely overwhelming
flashback of your life

ACUTE EFFECTS CONTINUED

increased blood pressure and heart rate
dilated pupils
Increased heart rate
Agitation

LONG TERM EFFECTS

the most powerful hallucinogen known to man and science
long term effects of DMT which it states are currently unknown
DMT does not appear to induce any tolerance
The come down from DMT can be very difficult though

HOW DMT WORKS IN THE BRAIN

DMT works in the brain by producing its effects through action at serotonin
receptors in the brain
A naturallyoccurringsubstance which is structurallyanalogousto serotonin.It's
made by your pineal gland
There is some research that has suggested that DMT occurs natural in the
human brain but in small quantities.

HOW IT WORKS IN THE BRAIN

CONTINUED
DMT binds to serotonin receptors in a manner similar to howpsilocin

does.
This causes neurons that would normally be triggered by the release of

serotonin to fire when no actual serotonin is present.

This leads to visualhallucinationsand feelings of beingseparatedfrom

reality.

DIFFERENT STAGES OF A DMT TRIP

Terence McKenna first smoked DMT as an undergraduate at Berkeley in
early 1967
He took note of every step of the trip that he experienced

First toke. Colors brighten, edges sharpen, distant things gain clarity
Second toke. You close your eyes and colors begin racing together, and it
forms this mandalic, floral, slowly rotating thing
Third toke. its as though there were a series of tunnels or chambers that
you are tumbling down.

STAGES OF A DMT TRIP CONTINUED

0:40.You burst into this place.
The place, or space, youve burst intocalled the dome by some
seems to be underground, and is softly, indirectly lit.
0:50.Youre appalled. Youre thinking Jesus Christ, what is this?
Whatisit?
1:00.The elves, or jeweled self-dribbling basketballs, come
running forward.

STAGES OF A DMT TRIP CONTINUED

4:40.The whole thing begins to collapse in on itself, and they
literally begin to physically move away from you. And usually their
final shot is they actually wave goodbye.
7:00.You cant remember it. You say this is the most amazing
thing, this is the most amazing thing, this iswhat am I talking
about?
McKenna said it was not a drug, but something masquerading as a
drug.

NON-HUMAN ENTITIES
users of DMT have reported encounters with non-human
entities that usually appear compellingly real
images are a part of the DMT trip they are often believed
to be real by the user

 the tendency to perceive meaningful

patterns in random visual stimuli is
called apophenia
individual differences in this tendency
have been linked to personality
characteristics such as magical
thinking and a trait called absorption
which is the tendency to readily
become immersed in inner
experiences.

DO USERS EXPERIENCE SIMILAR TRIPS?

Yes, users reported seeing similar images while on DMT
many people that have taken DMT often report seeing similar things during
their trips, things described as "entities," "aliens," or "guides."
They described them as "clowns, reptiles, mantises, bees, spiders, cacti, and
stick figures."

THE COME DOWN FROM DMT

some users take days to recover from the drug because theyre so
preoccupied with what happened to them while on DMT
Some people still have unsettling thoughts for several days after
taking the drug
that DMT is not physically addictive, people normally only do it
once or twice in their life, because they find it to be so intense

THE COME DOWN CONTINUED

how DMT can even effect your mental health
some people that have used DMT have found it impossible to ever
return to normal after such an intense and powerful trip
people have reported having a lifelong impact on their mental
health after taking DMT only once

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