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Six Psychedelics You Should Definitely NOT Try
Think twice before taking these dangerous hallucinogenic drugs
There are plenty of lists of must try psychedelic substances, and even more articles singing the praises of everything from ketamine to toad venom. We could argue all day about which drugs belong on a bucket list, or whether psychedelics are even appropriate for everybody to try at least once. But regardless of how you feel about that, there are definitely some psychedelics that we should all be staying far away from. Here are six of them.
Benadryl: Did you know that allergy medicine is psychedelic if you take enough of it? It’s not psychedelic in the same sense that LSD and psilocybin are, but more of a deliriant that tends to produce actual hallucinations. And usually very bad ones.
Diphenhydramine blocks acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter which plays a role in motor control, nervous system responses, and cognitive abilities. Acetylcholine impairment may be a major contributor to age-related dementia, so it shouldn’t surprise you that heavy doses of Benadryl can feel more like a realistic simulation of Alzheimer’s disease than anything you would ever consider recreational.
Some unfortunate people, desperate for any kind of psychedelic experience, may take over 20 times the normal dose of diphenhydramine in order to “trip”. Many of these users include teenagers who are unable to find safer drugs like mushrooms. Effects last for up to 10 hours, and include realistic hallucinations of insects and shadow people, as well as auditory and tactile sensations. Nausea and physical discomfort are effects that are “reported nearly universally”, and overdose is possible at around 1,000 mg. Multiple hospitalizations and a confirmed death have been linked to Tik Tok’s “Benadryl Challenge”.
Nutmeg: Like Benadryl, nutmeg is a deliriant and might be another thing you currently have in a cabinet, yet didn’t know was psychoactive until now. Or you may have previously seen a catastrophic nutmeg trip depicted in an episode of the short-lived Netflix show Everything Sucks.
Nutmeg contains an amphetamine-like chemical called myristicin, which loosely resembles MDMA and mescaline. But that’s where the similarities end: it…
