Category:Psychedelics

They are one of three categories of hallucinogens, with the others being dissociatives and deliriants.[53] Psychedelics are generally considered physiologically safer than most other groups and as of recently are experiencing decriminalization or even legalization in some areas.[43] There has also been a “Psychedelic Renaissance” with an increase in scientific research that was stalled during the 1970s that is finding that psychedelics may have a strong potential to be useful in treating a variety of psychological disorders.

Generally, psychedelics are defined as serotonergic hallucinogens (specifically the 5-HT2A receptor) that alter perception and mood in a marked novel way along while affecting numerous cognitive processes.[43][50] More concretely the “classical psychedelics” all share agonist actions at the serotonin 2A receptor subtype (5-HT2A).[120] This class contains a wide variety of compounds and has some well known drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms and DMT, with LSD being the archetypal psychedelic in modern Western society.[4] This is due to LSD having the “highest and most specific effect” while also being the basis of the contemporary concept of psychedelics and the far-out social movement.[122] Many psychedelics can be found naturally in fungi, plants, and even some animals.[82] Although, some of the compounds have a long history of human usage and some of the most in-depth scientific research, others have been synthesized rather recently and have little to no human usage. This section will specifically focus on psychedelics and will consider cannabinoids, dissociatives, entactogens, and deliriants in separate sections.

The term ‘psychedelic' itself has an interesting history. It was coined by psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond in a letter he wrote to Aldous Huxley and presented to the New York Academy of Sciences in 1965 .[4][43][46][107[ This was in regards to the insightful effects that often occurred from psychedelics during treatment for addiction.[64] The word ‘psychedelic’ is a neologism derived from the ancient Greek words psych"e (jycή, translated as “soul” or “mind”) and d"elein (dhlεin, translated as “to reveal or “to manifest”) to denote ‘mind-revealing’.[2][4][46][50][121] Prior to Osmond there were a variety of terms used to describe these substances such as: psychotomimetics (implying psychosis), psychotogens, psychodysleptics, deliriants, hallucinogens and mind-expanding drugs, however many of these carry negative connotations.[27][43] For example, Psychotomimetics, a negative term suggesting that they fostered a mental state resembling psychosis, used to be the preferred term in scientific literature.[43] Later, when it was realized that these substances did not provide a model for psychosis, it became correct to refer to them as hallucinogens suggesting that they principally produce hallucinations.[43] However, this is not particularly descriptive or useful since hallucinations are not always produced, along with it describing a too broad category of psychoactive molecules.[43] In a recent paper David E. Nichols described the history: