Hallucinogen

Innehåll

1 Generell information
2 Schultes om nomenklaturen
3 Se även
4 Externa länkar

Generell information

En hallucinogen är en drog som kan (men inte måste) orsaka hallucinationer.

Vad som är hallucinationer är omdiskuterbart. LSD brukar anges som hallucinogen fastän andra mer hävdar att drogen i sig framkallar illusioner och föreslår termerna 'phantasticants' (Shulgin 1978) eller Illusogen (Brown, Braden 1987) som alternativa benämningar. Läs även vad Schultes skriver längre ner.

Hallucinogener delas in i undergrupper baserade på hur deras farmakologiska verkan. Se rubriken "Se även" längre ner.

Schultes om nomenklaturen

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Differing from the other psychotropic drugs, which act normally only to calm or to stimulate, the hallucinogens act on the central nervous system to bring about a dream-like state marked, as Hofmann points out, by extreme alteration in the “sphere of experience, in the perception of reality, changes even of space and time and in consciousness of self. They invariably induce a series of visual hallucinations, often in kaleidoscopic movement, and usually in rather indescribably brilliant and rich colours, frequently accompanied by auditory and other hallucinations and a variety of synesthesias."

Although, for general purposes, probably no simpler nor more serviceable term than Lewin’s phantastica is available, it has not been widely accepted, especially amongst English-speaking specialists. I prefer, if we do not use Lewin’s terminology, the likewise simple hallucinogen or rather the specific psychotomimetic. Both may be rather exactly delimited by Hofmann’s definition of psychotomimetic as a “... substance which produces changes in thought, perception and mood, occurring alone or in conjunction with each other, without causing major disturbances of the autonomic nervous system; i.e., clouding of consciousness or other serious disability. High doses generally elicit hallucinations. Disorientation, memory disturbance, hyper-excitation or stupour and even narcosis occur only when excess dosages are administered and are, therefore, not characteristic.” Nearly all of these hallucinogenic substances are derived from the Plant Kingdom or else are chemically related to naturally occurring compounds.
— The plant kingdom and hallucinogens av Richard Schultes

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