5 things not to do on acid

5 things not to do on acid

Image for postIllustration by me

People without experience of psychedelics such as acid/LSD are in the unfortunate position of being prone to treat them just like any other drug. They are likely to be reckless with how and when they take it. While being reckless might not be so important with other substances, I find that LSD requires at least a little preparation or knowledge before taking it if you want to have a great time.

With that in mind, here are five things you should not do on acid. Most of these (other than #3) are essentially just my opinion and perhaps only apply to beginners and newcomers to the drug.

This list also only applies to those embarking on a full-blown trip (70ug+), not those taking microdoses (1?15ug).

Get angry

Out of the vast spectrum of emotions capable of being experienced, I believe anger to be the hardest to control when in a psychedelic headspace. LSD subjects you to thought loops, and if you get stuck in a loop when angry then you?ll find it unimaginably easy to indulge in self-destructive behaviour. Unlike mere sadness, anger energizes you; it?s a type of energy which you really don?t need when on a drug as stimulating as acid.

Angry trips are strange. Emotions change the way you react to the visuals, and anger can heavily warp your relationship with them.

One thing you?ll certainly not want to do is engage in an argument with someone (especially someone close to you) while on acid because you?ll end up spending the rest of the week thinking about it from every possible angle.

Go to a rave

Acid can be a fun drug, but it is not a party drug in the conventional sense. Taking it can make you surprisingly fragile mentally, and fragility is not what you want when you?re in such a crowded and energetic place as a rave.

Raves overflow the senses with both intense sound and light. While on some drugs this can actually enhance an experience, on acid it can make things a little too confusing. LSD is a magnifying glass, it will intensify anything that you focus on. So when you focus on something that is already loud or bright, it will make it feel all the much louder and brighter.

Additionally, raves have a tendency to be dirty, and one of the number one rules when preparing for an LSD trip is to make sure that your immediate surroundings are clean and tidy. Messy areas can throw people off, especially around the peak.

Drive

This one?s self-explanatory, but I?ll spell it out anyway. The psychedelic headspace is far too detached from sober living to be operating machinery of any sort. The reason I include it in this list is because being high on LSD is so different from being high on weed or being drunk. Sometimes LSD can make you feel deceptively clear-headed, and sometimes that perception of clear-headedness can make it seem like driving is an actual possibility.

I?ll go so far as to say that you shouldn?t drive until the next day after taking acid, because while a trip usually lasts only 8 hours, you will not be 100% sober until getting to sleep.

Take more acid

Classical psychedelics (LSD and magic mushrooms) build tolerance fast. Unimaginably fast, in fact. Tolerance builds from within the space of approximately 30 minutes to 2 hours. Redosing acid after this time often has little to no effect. Redosing will not bring about a second peak and for many it will not increase visuals or headspace by a great deal. Anecdotally, I have read that all it does is increase the (already long) duration of a trip.

Smoke weed

This is a controversial one. Many consider weed and psychedelics to be a match made in heaven. I have come across numerous people who say they never trip without some cannabis to smoke alongside. The thing is, I see where they are coming from because weed can seriously alter the way a trip feels.

But this is the exact reason why newcomers may want to abstain from smoking. LSD is a complicated drug and weed does nothing but make it more complex. A psychedelic experience can never truly be predictable but yet somehow weed makes a trip even less predictable. Weed brings its own properties and if you?re not experienced with both drugs then it can be hard to get a grip of what is happening when they combine.

This is why weed is often the culprit when it comes to bad and uncomfortable trips. It can make a small quantity of LSD feel like a lot, and a lot feel like too much. If you are to smoke on LSD then my advice is to keep it to a minimum, and take regular breaks because weed can take up to 15 minutes to take full effect sometimes.

For further critical discussions on the psychedelic experience, visit my website. I am currently crafting a magazine comprised of topics just like this one!

I?d also appreciate it if you would follow me on Twitter / Instagram

23