Hallucinogen
While many drugs speed up or depress the central nervous system, there is a
class of drugs that distorts how we feel, hear, see, smell, taste, and think.
Called hallucinogens because users often hallucinate, or experience nonexistent
sensations, these drugs are also known as psychedelic, or mind-bending, drugs.
Some hallucinogens come from natural sources; others are made in laboratories.
Examples of natural hallucinogens are mescaline, psilocybin, DMT, and marijuana.
Mescaline, which has been used by American Indians in religious ceremonies,
comes from the peyote cactus. Psilocybin, also used by the Indians and believed
to have supernatural powers, is found in about 20 varieties of mushrooms. Once
ingested, psilocybin is converted to psilocin, which is responsible for the
drug's hallucinogenic sensations. DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is a short-acting
hallucinogen found in the seeds of certain West Indian and South American plants.
In the form of snuff, called......
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