> Is there a point someone reaches in his/her life where drugs
> aren't cool anymore? Isn't real life enough of a mindfuck
> without including braincell-killing hallucinogenics? (or
> however the hell that's spelled)
Why does everyone assume hallucinogens kill brain cells? Most of them do not. Simply because a chemical gets into the synapses in your brain does not mean that it destroys brain cells. There are two types of psychoactive drugs: those that mimic existing chemicals in your brain and thus alter consciousness by redirecting signals in your brain to different pathways, and those that release existing chemicals in the brain.
Those that mimic existing chemicals are less likely to be neuro-toxic. For instance, the active ingredient in mushrooms (psilocybin) has the scientific name of 4-Hydroxy-Dimethyltryptamine (4-HO-DMT), which is quite similar to 5-HTP (5-Hydroxy-tryptamine), otherwise known as seritonin, and is used in the same role as seritonin in the brain, its differences in chemical structure being responsible for its effects. Being quite chemically similar to seritonin, which does not destroy brain cells and plays an important role in consciousness, it stands to reason that it be likely to not cause damage either, especially in light of the fact that no commonly used drugs of the tryptamine class (Psilocybin, DMT, 5-MeO-DMT, LSD) have ever been shown to do so. In fact, DMT and 5-MeO-DMT are present in small amounts in human beings to begin with. It is also extremely hard to overdose and die from these substances, to the point where it is for all intents and purposes impossible.
Those drugs that stimulate the brain to release existing chemicals to cause their psychoactive effects are far more likely to cause brain damage. Cocaine, Amphetamines, Ecstacy can and do cause brain damage, there is no denying that. Ecstacy causes seritogenic cells to release seritonin, and if it overworks them, they die. Amphetamines do the same thing for dopamine, and Cocaine overworks both dopamine and seritogenic cells.
However, marijuana, tryptamines, and most other hallucinogens tend to do their work and then exit your body after they are metabolized. The drug Blade brought up, Salvia, is a rather recently discovered drug which is completely dissimilar to any psychedelic found yet , and thus its method of action is unknown, although overdose does appear impossible, and it should be noted that people in Mexico have been using it for thousands of years with no ill effects reported. Still, it is a risk that there might be long-term effects that are subtle or unknown.
As for why someone might enjoy psychedelics, it is difficult to explain to someone who has never taken them. On hallucinogens, it is possible to have emotions which do not exist normally and for which there is no word, it is possible to have a thought which would be impossible to have otherwise, it is possible to be two or more personalities at a time, and it is possible to see a color you have never seen before. Thus, to truly explain what psychedelics do and why one might like them would be impossible. This could be why people on psychedelics speak in tongues: there literally is no word for what they are experiencing, and they are trying to make ones up.
It is not for everyone, no doubt.
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