Demystifying Drugs: Let's Face It - They Are Everywhere
TW: Drugs; please see our list of Support/Helplines. This article is not an endorsement of recreational drug usage nor is it meant to be a ‘how to’ manual.
FRANK: https://www.talktofrank.com/ tel:03001236600
NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/drug-addiction-getting-help/
Turning Point: https://www.turning-point.co.uk/services/drug-and-alcohol-support.html
The point of this article is to be candid about recreational drug use because, if we’re honest, drugs are everywhere. They’re at raves, parties, clubs, in the workplace and even in schools. When we don’t speak about drugs openly people can die and I don’t simply mean people can over-dose. I mean people can also lose their lives, or have their lives seriously altered because authorities inflate the dangers of certain drugs and use them to justify imprisonment and harassment.
Before I proceed with my attempt at demystifying drugs, I want to make the following disclaimer: This article is not an endorsement of recreational drug usage nor is it meant to be a ‘how to’ manual. That being said, I will provide links that include recommended dosages and describe how to take certain drugs. The reality is lots of people try drugs, even if they don’t become recreational users, and the biggest danger of taking drugs is not knowing what you’re doing.
Weed/Pot/Dope/Spliff (Class B)
Recreational Cannabis usually refers to the psychoactive plants - Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica. When the buds of these plants are dried and either smoked, brewed in tea or ingested they get you stoned or high. Sativa is typically known as more of an energetic head high, whereas indica is more of a relaxing body high.
The short term effects of having Cannabis include feeling relaxed, getting the giggles, heightened sensitivity to lights and sound, and increased hunger or getting the munchies. Smoking weed can indeed make people feel more focused and creative, however it can also make people feel anxious and nauseous. It will all depends on who you are, who you’re with, your environment and how much you’ve had.
Although lots of people claim that weed isn’t addictive because of its chemical make-up, there is plenty of evidence which suggests that weed is psychologically addictive. So, even though people say ‘it’s only weed’, it’s still a drug and that means you have to be careful. The ‘wake and bake’ culture that sometimes accompanies weed use can be an experience which produces fantastic (large) breakfasts, groovy tunes and creative, if slightly long-winded, conversations. But, it can also be a cover-up for waking up in the morning and not wanting to deal with the day. Make sure you know which one it is, and when in doubt talk to FRANK: 0300 123 6600
If you’ve never smoked weed before, start SMALL. Do not do a bong hit, do not eat a whole edible and don’t try it for the first time after consuming alcohol or other drugs. There is a big chance you’ll get the shakes, throw up or ‘whitey’ (pass out). Most importantly, make sure you’re in a safe environment with people you know and trust. If something goes wrong, drink lots of water, lie-down and put some relaxing music on. The worst of it should be over in an hour max.
When it come to the legalisation of Cannabis in the UK, the government is rife with hypocrisy. The UK is the world’s biggest supplier of legal Cannabis and weed has been legalised as well as decriminalised in countries all around the world including the US, Canada, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Despite this, it’s illegal to possess weed for recreational use in the UK which means that authorities are still able to use the suspected possession of Cannabis as justification to harass and imprison BIPOC and working class people. Even though, Weed has less of a negative impact than alcohol.
Magic Mushrooms/Shrooms/Truffles (Class A)
Magic Mushrooms and Truffles are potent, naturally occurring psychedelics containing the psychoactive substance psilocybin. Whilst they are famed for their visual hallucinogenic effects, it is important to remember that for the most part, you trip in your head, not through your eyes. In other words, when you take Shrooms you trip emotionally more than you trip visually and this can be extremely intense even if you take a small dose.
Taking Shrooms does release serotonin, so it can make you feel euphoric and giggly. However, you can also experience strong negative emotions or looping, where your brain repeatedly thinks of the same thing. All things considered, people often believe that even ‘bad trips’ on Shrooms can have significant value. It is for this reason that Magic Mushrooms and other naturally occurring psychedelics have been taken as part of indigenous, religious and spiritual ceremonies for centuries.
Recent studies have also shown that psilocybin can be useful in the treatment of depression, OCD and addiction; as well as end-of-life related psychological distress. Yet, some people with PTSD and trauma related mental health problems have suggested that the emotional intensity of tripping on Shrooms might add to trauma.
If you plan to take Shrooms, then you need to make sure your environment is physically and emotionally safe. This means you should be with people you feel comfortable crying in front of (because it just might happen) and you should make sure there are places you can lie down if things get too much. It’s also good to have a tidy up as you’ll probably make a mess when you’re tripping. Finally, people often report getting the most from Shrooms when they take them in nature.
Shrooms can take between 15 minutes and 2 hrs to kick in. After that, you’ll actively trip for between 2-4 hours before experiencing 4-6 hours of ‘coming down’. That being said, the trip isn’t really over until you’ve finished the comedown and dealt with any emotions that came up on the trip which could take weeks. Coming up can be a very physical experience and people often experience stomach cramps and nausea. But, once you are tripping this usually dies down and you can expect to experience heightened creativity and sound sensitivity alongside the emotional and visual hallucinogenic effects.
Try to relax, be open and be honest about how your experience is going. If you try to mask the impact a trip is having on you it will make it worse. Aftercare is also vital with Shrooms, because of the way you create connections whilst tripping, and because they can bring up complex emotions. Make sure you at least check in with people you tripped with and if you can, spend the day together nourishing your body and talking about your experience.
Advice: https://doubleblindmag.com/how-to-take-shrooms-shroom-dosage-shroom-effects/
LSD/Acid (Class A)
Acid is similar to Shrooms in the sense that it is a psychedelic that causes you to trip physically and emotionally. People often see patterns, bright colours and even experience dream sequence like trips on Acid. People also report hearing music and sometimes even voices. As with Shrooms, setting and the people you are with is really important if you decided to take Acid. It is a stronger, synthetic, psychedelic which can produces trips 12 hours long. Hence, people often experience losing touch with reality and breaking through more on Acid than they do with Shrooms.
You can have a bad trip on Acid, and since it’s a more intense and longer trip, this is something to consider seriously before you decide to take it. There is also increased risk of developing drug induced psychosis with strong psychedelics like Acid. Despite this risk there is evidence that Acid could also have therapeutic uses for mental health problems like depression, PTSD and addiction.
Acid usually comes in tabs and they don’t have a standard measurement. This means it’s vital for people to confirm the UG dosage with their supplier. If you are a first time user, less is more. You’ll still trip for the same amount of time, it just won’t be as intense and coming up on Acid can feel like your blasting through space, so if it’s you’re first time, you don’t want to overdo it. Also, make sure you don’t accidentally press tabs against your skin when you’re handling them because it can cause you to trip when you don’t mean to.
Some regular users will take Acid at parties or raves, they might also candy-flip which involves mixing both LSD and MDMA/Ecstasy. Both these activities incur significantly more risk than simply taking a dose of Acid with friends at home. Parties and raves have lots of uncontrollable factors and this can be scary and dangerous when tripping. In addition, taking MDMA with Acid increases its effects so you trip harder. They are both simulants which means combining them increases your risk of heart failure and death.
MDMA/Mandy/(E)cstasy/Pills (Class A)
MDMA is probably the most famous party drug. In its purest form it is crystals with either pink or brown hues. MDMA is a psychoactive stimulant that can also come as powder and pills. You can take Mandy by ‘bombing’ (ingesting), snorting, or dabbing it (rubbing it on the gums/tongue). However, snorting Mandy can be painful and ingesting powdered MDMA or pills produces a more intense high.
When in doubt do less. Doing too much Mandy, especially if it’s the first time, can result in nasty side effects like severe gurning (which can cause damage to the inside of your mouth) and ‘popping’ your brain where the energised experience is so intense that it ceases to be enjoyable. Lots of people suggest that taking powdered MDMA is safer than taking pills, because it’s purer. That being said, unless you’re a specialist or you’re testing your drugs, then you don’t really know what’s in them, so it’s a bit of a moot point.
Ecstasy is often described as the love drug because it typically causes a big increase in the amount of serotonin your brain release, which can make you feel like you’re in love. As well as increasing serotonin levels, MDMA also increases your heart rate and temperature. This means it’s important to stay hydrated, but not too hydrated when you’re on the roll. Half a bottle or big glass of water once an hour is about right.
When people take MANDY they usually like to move or dance a lot, as well as talk about their feelings, so take that into account when you’re getting ready. When you come down, which will be about 3-6 hours after you’ve taken the drug, you’ll probably feel cold and shaky. So, again take this into account and make sure you’ve got warm clothes and a safe place to go afterwards.
Since MDMA induces feelings of euphoria and general positivity it can be helpful in terms of healing psychological and emotional damage caused by trauma, specifically PTSD. Although, obviously this is in a therapeutic, not party setting.
Advice: https://pivotpoint.org.au/avoid-an-overdose-and-stay-safe/
Cocaine/Coke/Wizz (Class A)
Cocaine is a stimulant and its general effects include increased alertness, focus and energy. It can increases your self-confidence to the point of arrogance and it will probably make you chat a lot of sh*t. The comedown is particularly gruesome with more physical side effects than psychedelics and Mandy, especially if the Coke is cut with speed which it usually is.
Cocaine is also very addictive which is something to be aware of as we enter the 2nd edition of the roaring twenties.
High quality powdered Cocaine (which often looks white and fluffy and smells like petrol) will cost you between £80 and £120 a gram, depending where in the UK you are. I only say this because ‘Pub Grub’, which is usually mixed with (more) speed and other amphetamines, is about £40- £60 a gram. Bear in mind that if you pick up ‘Pub Grub’ you are probably not really picking up Coke, and it might result in a more intense comedown for the following few days.
If you’re doing Coke for the first time do a little bit first, and don’t share straws because they can transmit diseases.
Crack Cocaine which exists in crystal form is typically smoked rather than sniffed, however, it has the same chemical make-up as powdered Cocaine. Even though Crack is chemically the same as powdered Cocaine, it is additionally demonised by UK and US authorities. Socially, Crack is viewed as a more dangerous, addictive and generally more dirty than powdered Cocaine. It is also more strongly associated with BIPOC and working class people, whereas Mayfair businessmen doing lines in office toilets is somewhat glamorised. But, the only difference between the two is that Crack is cheaper.
Advice: https://drugpolicy.org/drug-facts/cocaine/reduce-harms
Ketamine/Ket/K (Class B)
Ketamine is an anaesthetic that comes in a powder form that looks similar to Cocaine. However Ket produces polar opposite effects to Coke. People who enjoy taking Ket describe it as weird, wonky and playful. But, people can also experience nausea and an unpleasant feelings of disassociation and anxiety when they take Ketamine.
The infamous K hole is an intense feeling of disassociation where you become completely detached from reality. It is dangerous because you become totally unaware of your surrounding and can be unable to move. However, some people find it enjoyable, despite the dangers. If you are worried about K-holing, whether it’s deliberate or not, be sure to lie down on your side in the recovery position and drink water.
Less is always more when it comes to Ket, especially if you’re not a regular uses. DO NOT TRY IT AFTER A NIGHT OF HEAVY DRINKING. You will throw up or feel like the world has warped into a horrific swirl that can only be cured by passing out. Similarly to Coke, start small and don’t share straws.
More experienced users will sometimes take K as a party drug, but it can become tricky to move and a side effect of taking Ketamine is memory loss, so stay close to your group and don’t leave people behind. Although Ket isn’t as addictive as Cocaine, it is still additive. Its effects become less and less intense the more you use it, which means you need to take more and pay more to keep getting ketty if you’re a regular users. This increases its psychological addictiveness, which is important to know if you’re going to use Ket recreationally.
Advice: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/drug-information/ketamine/
General Drug Advice
Certain kinds of drug culture are inherently dangerous, for example ones where people are always encouraged to take more substances, or environments where people take drugs competitively. They are breeding grounds for addiction and financial difficulty.
Remember that dosages exist in relation to weight, so if you’re a small person you won’t need as much to get high and increasing your doses will get dangerous quicker.
Certain drugs interact with different hormones and medications differently, so research the way the drugs you plan to take might impact you in relation to oestrogen/testosterone levels and mental health medication especially.
You should never take drugs simply because the people around you are taking them. If the people around you are pressuring you to take drugs, then the environment you’re in is toxic and I suggest you leave. If you are going to take drugs, do if because you want to and slowly at first. Remember, you can always take more but you can never take less. It’s also a good idea to have a voluntary ‘trip sitter’. In other words, someone who is happy to not participate in party favours so that there’s someone sober around to manage a tricky situations if they arise.
Finally, TEST YOUR DRUGS. Like I said at the beginning of this article, the most dangerous part of taking drugs is not knowing what you’re doing. If you don’t know what drugs you are taking, you cannot prepare mentally or physically for their effects. Drug testing kits are regularly available for free at festivals and if you can’t access a free one, you can buy them discreetly online.
Support/Helplines
FRANK: https://www.talktofrank.com/ tel:03001236600
NHS: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/drug-addiction-getting-help/
Turning Point: https://www.turning-point.co.uk/services/drug-and-alcohol-support.html
Written by Jasmine Khan
Jasmine Khan is a journalist, public speaker and mental health advocate. Having achieved a Masters in Global Ethics and Justice, she now hopes to use this knowledge to promote practical changes for social justice across the UK and beyond. Jasmine also runs bespoke mental health masterclasses, for inquiries please see @jazwritesjazspeaks
