What are they?

• Hallucinogens are substances that cause people to experience hallucinations.
• Some hallucinogens are found naturally in plants (mostly mushroom or cactus plants), but most are man-made substances created in drug labs.

LSD:  (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide), the most common hallucinogen Street Names: Acid,  trips, hits,  sugar cubes, boomers, yellow sunshines How is it taken? Taken by pill, capsule, blotter paper, or liquid (almost always taken orally) Mushrooms: (Psilocybin and Psilocin) Street Names: Shrooms,  caps, divine flesh,  magic mushrooms How is it taken? Mushrooms can be eaten or brewed into tea  PCP: (phencyclidine) Street Names: Angel dust,  peep, DOA,   PeaCe Pill, rocket fuel,  wack How is it taken? It can be injected, snorted, smoked, or ingested (pills, powder, mixed with water) Short Term Effects:  (can last 2 - 24 hours)

• Mild euphoria
• Stimulation
• Convulsions
• Dangerous increase in blood pressure
• Loss of sense of touch and pain
• Loss of muscular coordination
• Hallucinations
• Dilated pupils
• Higher Body temperature
• Increased heart rate
• Sweating
• Loss of appetite
• Weakens
• trembling
• Sleeplessness
• Dry mouth

Long Term Effects:

• Depression
• Violent behavior
• Hallucinations
• "Trips" (flashbacks that involve panic, confusion, and loss of control)

Tolerance: While no evidence exists to suggest that hallucinogens are addictive, tolerance and psychological dependence to these drugs develops very early on. Increasing amounts of hallucinogens subjects a person to the risk of having a bad trip. Withdrawal:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Nervousness

How do I avoid a bad trip? Hallucinogen use can produce a feeling of euphoria and sedation, but it is important to remember that bad trips are unpredictable. A bad trip can last for 12 hours, and one may experience insanity, delusions, hallucinations, and severe mood swings. A person in the middle of a trip may become physically violent to themselves or others. Flashbacks to these trips can happen days, weeks, months, or even years after taking the drug. Mushrooms, "A Growing Problem" The use of mushrooms is really on the rise, but there are many hidden dangers associated with mushroom use. Most of the known hallucinogenic mushrooms are only found in Mexico, making availability in the United States somewhat limited. Many mushroom sellers will instead by grocery store mushrooms, and lace them with another hallucinogenic (such as PCP), and sell them as "magic mushrooms". We were all taught as children that mushrooms growing in the wild were very dangerous, because you cant tell whether or not they poisonous. However, many mushroom users will experiment with wild mushrooms, which can lead to severe or even fatal poisoning. Though the chemicals psilobycin and psilocin are the most common chemicals found in mushrooms, many species of mushrooms have true medicinal value. Some of the chemicals found in mushrooms are being used in treatment research of cancer and other diseases. Super Joints Though marijuana is used a whole lot more than the hallucinogen PCP, adding PCP to marijuana, and creating a "Super Joint" is becoming very popular. Aside from marijuana, PCP is also mixed with other leafy plants (like tobacco, mint, parsley, etc) and smoked.

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Sources: 1.  Drug Free Resource Net. "Hallucinogens", "LSD", "Mushrooms", and "PCP" 2.  http://www.drugfreeamerica.org 3.  Kuhn, Cynthia, Scott Swartzwelder, and Wilkie Wilson. Buzzed. "Hallucinogens", Norton Co: 1998. 4.  National Institutes on Drug Abuse/National Institute of Health. "Mind Over Matter-Hallucinogens". http://www.nida.nih.gov/mom/hall/momhall1.html 6.  Students Against Drugs and Alcohol. "PCP". http://www.sada.org/pcp.html 7.  Wisconsin Clearinghouse