Psychedelic and Dissociative Drugs

Psychedelic and dissociative drugs can cause strong emotions affect mood, thoughts, and perceptions of reality. They can also have long-term health effects.

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Overview

Psychedelic and dissociative drugs temporarily alter a person’s mood, thoughts, and perceptions of reality. People who use these substances report feeling strong emotions — ranging from intense happiness and a feeling of connectedness to fear, anxiety, and confusion. People who use these drugs also report experiencing intense or distorted visions or sensations. There are also other health effects and safety concerns around use of these substances.

Many psychedelic drugs come from plants and fungi. Some have been used for thousands of years in traditional or religious rituals. Some psychedelic and dissociative drugs are made in a laboratory. People report using these drugs for a variety of reasons, including seeking interesting, healing, or spiritual experiences.

In recent years, there has been growing research interest in using psychedelic and dissociative drugs to treat medical conditions. An increasing number of people also report taking these drugs outside of medical settings for recreation, to improve well-being, or for spiritual or self-exploration.

Researchers generally group these drugs according to how they work in the brain:

  • Classic psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and LSD, mainly interact with specific receptors in the brain that are targets for the neurotransmitter serotonin. At certain doses, psychedelics may bring on vivid visions or sensations, alter a person’s sense of self, and promote feelings of insightfulness or connection.
  • Dissociative drugs, such as ketamine and PCP, block a type of brain receptor for the neurotransmitter glutamate. Could revise to "block a type of brain receptor for the neurotransmitter glutamate. While dissociative drugs can alter perception, they also typically make people feel disconnected from their body and environment.
  • Other drugs, such as MDMA, ibogaine, and salvia, affect other brain signaling systems to cause psychedelic or dissociative effects.

Common Psychedelic and Dissociative Drugs and Their Street Names

  • Molly or Ecstasy (street names for MDMA)
  • Acid (street name for LSD)
  • Shrooms or magic mushrooms (street names for psilocybin mushrooms)
  • Special K, K, Super K, or Vitamin K (street names for ketamine)
  • Ayahuasca (a tea made from plants containing DMT)
  • Peyote (a cactus plant containing mescaline)

Effects of Psychedelics and Dissociative Drugs

The effects of psychedelic and dissociative drugs can be difficult to predict. They depend on many factors, including:

  • The amount taken
  • The drug’s potency
  • A person’s unique biology, age, sex, personality, mood, expectations, mindset, and environment

Psychedelic or dissociative drugs may cause intense emotions from happiness or connectedness to fear, anxiety, confusion, or panic." This separates how the drugs make you feel vs. how they alter perception. For some people, a perception of unity and/or bodily detachment may bring happiness and connection. For others, it could cause fear, anxiety, confusion, panic.

Psychedelic drugs may cause you to:

  • Shift how you perceive reality, including seeing vibrant shapes, colors, and scenes, or hearing or seeing things that are not real (hallucinations)
  • Relive vivid memories or experience false memories
  • Shift how you perceive reality, including hearing or seeing things that are not real (hallucinations)
  • Alter your sense of time and space
  • Have a dreamlike or mystical experience that may include that may include visions or a sense of being one with the universe

Dissociative drugs may:

  • Distort vision and hearing
  • Make you feel “detached,” floating, or disconnected from your body
  • Make you feel sleepy, dizzy, or numb

Short-Term Physical Side Effects

  • Headache
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • High blood pressure
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Trembling
  • Diarrhea
  • Pupil dilation
  • Jaw clenching and teeth grinding (MDMA)

Dangerous Behavior and Injuries

Using psychedelic and dissociative drugs has been linked to dangerous behavior and injuries. People using these drugs may have impaired thought processes and perception that cause them to behave in unusual or dangerous ways. For example, people may drive dangerously or walk in traffic. They may believe they have superhuman abilities, such as invincibility or flight.

Flashbacks

Flashbacks cause you to experience the same images and mood changes as when you were under the influence of a psychedelic or dissociative drug. These flashbacks are typically mild and brief. However, some people report recurring flashbacks years after an experience with a substance. When persistent flashbacks cause significant distress or impairment, this is called hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD).

Long-Term Health Effects

Some psychedelic and dissociative drugs have been associated with specific long-term health problems:

  • Long-term ketamine use may cause ketamine-induced uropathy, a treatable but potentially serious condition that causes symptoms like those of a urinary tract infection. Long-term, heavy ketamine use is also associated with memory problems, depression, and anxiety.
  • Long-term MDMA use can lead to heart problems or liver damage.
  • Ibogaine use may be associated with heart rhythm abnormalities.

Mental Health

Psychedelic and dissociative drugs may promote positive changes in thinking and mood. However, psychedelics and dissociative drugs may:

Additionally, frequent recreational ketamine use can lead to delusions that can last up to one month after a person stops using it.

Drug Interactions and Serotonin Syndrome

Some researchers suspect psychedelic drugs may interact with other drugs that increase levels of serotonin in the brain. Symptoms are typically mild but can be life-threatening in rare cases.

Effects During Pregnancy

The effects of psychedelic and dissociative drugs during pregnancy are not well understood. Some evidence suggests that some of these drugs may increase the risk for congenital abnormalities. People should consult their health provider before taking any drug during pregnancy.

Treatment and Management

Treatment for Hallucinogen Use Disorders

To learn about treatment for hallucinogen use disorders, see the Substance Use Disorder page. Limited research suggests that use of psychedelic drugs, such as psilocybin and LSD, does not typically lead to addiction. Research suggests that regular use of ketamine or MDMA outside of clinical settings can lead to cravings and other symptoms of substance use disorder.

Medicinal Uses of Psychedelic and Dissociative Drugs

Psychedelic and dissociative drugs hold promise for treating substance use and mental health disorders, especially when combined with other treatments such as talk therapy. Scientists theorize that these substances promote brain changes that may make people more open to talk therapy and to insights that can help them change negative thought patterns. A form of ketamine called esketamine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for managing treatment-resistant depression.

Microdosing

Some people report "microdosing" psychedelic drugs, typically LSD or psilocybin. Microdosing means regularly taking these drugs in very small amounts. People report that they microdose to lessen mental health symptoms such as depression and stress, improve productivity, and ease pain.

Research has not established that microdosing is safe or effective. 

Find Clinical Trials

Clinical trials uncover better ways to prevent, diagnose, treat, and understand diseases and conditions. To ensure results apply to everyone, volunteers of all ages, sexes, and backgrounds, including both healthy individuals and those with specific medical conditions, are needed. Find clinical trials on psychedelic and dissociative drugs.

Find Treatment

Find treatment for substance use disorders at FindTreatment.gov.

Community Support

Research Information

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world. NIH invests most of its budget in medical research seeking to enhance life and to reduce illness and disability. NIH-funded research has led to breakthroughs and new treatments helping people live longer, healthier lives, and building the research foundation that drives discovery.

NIH supports and conducts research to better understand the brain effects of psychedelic and dissociative drugs and to learn whether some of these drugs may help treat substance use and mental health disorders in medical settings. This research is aimed at informing health decisions and policies related to their use.

Research is being conducted on how these drugs work in the brain. So far research suggests that the most prominent psychedelic drugs temporarily strengthen communication between different brain regions. This may help connect regions involved in thought with those involved in perception. 

Researchers are exploring the use of psychedelic and dissociative drugs in medical settings as treatments for:

Find NIH-funded research projects using NIH RePORTER, a searchable database of current and past research projects supported by NIH and other federal agencies.