Harm Reduction and Recreational Drug Advice

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Q:Is it really abnormal to be taking a stimulant to HELP me sleep better? Right now I take wellbutrin (300mg) and caffeine (200mg) at bed time but want to ask for a proper stimulant again since while I'm sleeping better, I'm still not getting energy carried over into the day time hours.

Anonymous

There was a period in my life when I had to eat a hefty dose of dexedrine to offset the dopamine crash in order to get to sleep properly, but I was a filthy junkie at the time so I wouldn’t call it ‘normal’. Wellbutrin and caffeine is a different kettle of fish though, wellbutrin is a DNRI and caffeine is adenosinergic, so any sort of serious stimulant (i.e amphet or methylphenidate) is going to have a very different effect, and in that sort of stack would put you at risk of hypertension.

You say ‘again’ though - What have you been prescribed/self medicating with in the past?

  • 2 days ago
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Q:i don't know if this has been asked yet but abilify and acid? any harmful interactions or anything?

Anonymous

Not harmful, but disappointing. Ablify will blockade almost all psychedelic drugs :C

  • 2 days ago
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Q:why shouldnt i do lsd for my first time at a festival

Anonymous

It can be overwhelming, confusing and potentially unpleasant.

  • 5 days ago
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Q:i have depression but i want to do shrooms so bad:(

Anonymous

So do ‘em. Start with a very mild dose if you’re concerned about anxiety or ‘bad trips’, because in the wrong circumstances psychedelic drugs can obviously exacerbate negative emotions or feelings, simply due to the sudden and overwhelming influx of sensory data and perceptive input.

Many psychedelics have been either used clinically with great success, or in smaller lab studies to treat a variety of psychological and emotional disorders, depression being one of the most responsive in a positive manner :)

  • 2 weeks ago
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Q:what about shrooms at a fest

Anonymous

I find shrooms to be a lot milder in terms of introspection and derealization, but it’s not the same for everyone. I would avoid any psychedelic at a festival if you’re not an experienced user, and even then, only a small to moderate dose.

  • 4 weeks ago
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Q:advice for a first time acid user

Anonymous

Do it with friends, start with a low dose, have good music on hand and comfortable place to lie down - Controlled environment like a house where you don’t have to worry about parents or cops or people you don’t know is best. Cigarettes help, a lot - So does fresh fruit and tea.

  • 4 weeks ago
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Q:i used to have depression but i dont really feel it anymore and i want to do acid at a festival should i? tips? help :/

Anonymous

If you haven’t tried it before, I would strongly suggest not trying it at a festival, as the sensory overload can be very intense, bordering on overwhelming.

  • 1 month ago
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neurosciencestuff:

Researchers identify pathway that may protect against cocaine addiction
A study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health gives insight into changes in the reward circuitry of the brain that may provide resistance against cocaine addiction. Scientists found that strengthening signaling along a neural pathway that runs through the nucleus accumbens — a region of the brain involved in motivation, pleasure, and addiction — can reduce cocaine-seeking behavior in mice.
Research suggests that about 1 in 5 people who use cocaine will become addicted, but it remains unclear why certain people are more vulnerable to drug addiction than others.
“A key step in understanding addiction and advancing treatment is to identify the differences in brain connectivity between subjects that compulsively take cocaine and those who do not,” said Ken Warren, Ph.D., acting director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Researchers at NIAAA, part of NIH, conducted the study.
“Until now, most efforts have focused on finding traits associated with vulnerability to develop compulsive cocaine use. However, identifying mechanisms that promote resilience may prove to have more therapeutic value,” said the paper’s senior author, Veronica Alvarez, Ph.D., acting chief of the Section on Neuronal Structure in the NIAAA Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience. The  study is available on the Nature Neuroscience website ahead of print.
In the study, mice were conditioned to receive an intravenous dose of cocaine each time they poked their nose into a hole in their enclosure. Cocaine was then made unavailable for periods of time during the day. Some of the mice would stop seeking the drug once it was removed while others would obsessively continue to poke the hole in an effort to obtain the drug.
Mice that quickly stopped seeking the drug were found to have stronger connections along the indirect pathway — a neural tract that forms indirect projections into the midbrain and contains cells called medium spiny neurons expressing dopamine D2 receptors (D2-MSNs). A parallel pathway — known as the direct pathway — forms direct projections into the midbrain neurons and contains medium spiny neurons expressing D1 receptors (D1-MSNs). These two pathways are thought to work together in complementary but sometimes opposing ways to affect behavior.
“We were very surprised by the results of the study because we were originally looking for vulnerability factors for developing compulsive drug use,” said Dr. Alvarez. “Instead, we found changes that only happened in subjects that show a resilience to becoming compulsive drug users. Resilient mice had a strong inhibitory circuit that allowed them to exert better control over their drug intake.”
To test this observation, researchers used lasers to activate individual neurons, and found that stimulating D2-MSNs in the nucleus accumbens decreased cocaine seeking in the mice. Blocking D2-MSN signaling with a chemical process increased motivation to obtain cocaine.
“This research advances our understanding of how the recruitment, activation and the interaction among brain circuits can either restrain or increase motivation to take drugs,” said David Shurtleff, Ph.D. acting deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Previous studies have shown that people with lower levels of dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum, a brain region associated with reward and working memory, are more likely to develop compulsive behaviors toward stimulant drugs.
Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter involved in reward-based learning and addiction. Cocaine disrupts communication between neurons at the synapse, the small junction between nerve cells, by blocking the reabsorption of dopamine into the transmitting neuron. As a result, dopamine continues to stimulate the receiving neuron, causing feelings of alertness and euphoria.
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neurosciencestuff:

Researchers identify pathway that may protect against cocaine addiction

A study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health gives insight into changes in the reward circuitry of the brain that may provide resistance against cocaine addiction. Scientists found that strengthening signaling along a neural pathway that runs through the nucleus accumbens — a region of the brain involved in motivation, pleasure, and addiction — can reduce cocaine-seeking behavior in mice.

Research suggests that about 1 in 5 people who use cocaine will become addicted, but it remains unclear why certain people are more vulnerable to drug addiction than others.

“A key step in understanding addiction and advancing treatment is to identify the differences in brain connectivity between subjects that compulsively take cocaine and those who do not,” said Ken Warren, Ph.D., acting director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Researchers at NIAAA, part of NIH, conducted the study.

“Until now, most efforts have focused on finding traits associated with vulnerability to develop compulsive cocaine use. However, identifying mechanisms that promote resilience may prove to have more therapeutic value,” said the paper’s senior author, Veronica Alvarez, Ph.D., acting chief of the Section on Neuronal Structure in the NIAAA Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience. The study is available on the Nature Neuroscience website ahead of print.

In the study, mice were conditioned to receive an intravenous dose of cocaine each time they poked their nose into a hole in their enclosure. Cocaine was then made unavailable for periods of time during the day. Some of the mice would stop seeking the drug once it was removed while others would obsessively continue to poke the hole in an effort to obtain the drug.

Mice that quickly stopped seeking the drug were found to have stronger connections along the indirect pathway — a neural tract that forms indirect projections into the midbrain and contains cells called medium spiny neurons expressing dopamine D2 receptors (D2-MSNs). A parallel pathway — known as the direct pathway — forms direct projections into the midbrain neurons and contains medium spiny neurons expressing D1 receptors (D1-MSNs). These two pathways are thought to work together in complementary but sometimes opposing ways to affect behavior.

“We were very surprised by the results of the study because we were originally looking for vulnerability factors for developing compulsive drug use,” said Dr. Alvarez. “Instead, we found changes that only happened in subjects that show a resilience to becoming compulsive drug users. Resilient mice had a strong inhibitory circuit that allowed them to exert better control over their drug intake.”

To test this observation, researchers used lasers to activate individual neurons, and found that stimulating D2-MSNs in the nucleus accumbens decreased cocaine seeking in the mice. Blocking D2-MSN signaling with a chemical process increased motivation to obtain cocaine.

“This research advances our understanding of how the recruitment, activation and the interaction among brain circuits can either restrain or increase motivation to take drugs,” said David Shurtleff, Ph.D. acting deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Previous studies have shown that people with lower levels of dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum, a brain region associated with reward and working memory, are more likely to develop compulsive behaviors toward stimulant drugs.

Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter involved in reward-based learning and addiction. Cocaine disrupts communication between neurons at the synapse, the small junction between nerve cells, by blocking the reabsorption of dopamine into the transmitting neuron. As a result, dopamine continues to stimulate the receiving neuron, causing feelings of alertness and euphoria.

  • 1 month ago > neurosciencestuff
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Q:Part 3/3:But this was wayyy more intense, more than an 8th of shrooms as well. I also kept going from tripping to going back to sober after about 3 hrs. Of tripping. It finally ended around 7.

owencanmakeyourday

Sounds like you got some fucking excellent quality liquid LSD. Hold onto that phial and enjoy the experience!

  • 1 month ago
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Q:Part 2/3: then I couldn't stop shaking because of all the vibrations from all the music and I couldn't stop sweating. And then after about 2 hrs. I puked a few times which I have never done before off of any psychadelic. And the trip just kept getting more and more intense and it became way more intense than my previous trip a few months before of 2 pretty strong tabs as well.

owencanmakeyourday
  • 1 month ago
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About

I am a biochemist, neuropharmacologist and forensic toxicologist with many years experience of using drugs recreationally, and also dealing with the consequences of drug use. This blog is here as an educational resource for people to read, ask questions, and acquire the tools they need to make their own informed decisions on the safe use of pharmaceuticals, street drugs, research chemicals and everything in between.
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