Disregard Everything I Say

Deliriants are the third and final subset of hallucinogens that I am going to categorize. They are unique in that they offer solid hallucinations which display themselves seamlessly into waking consciousness like fully formed dreams or delusions. In contrast, classical psychedelics and dissociatives have progressive levels of multiple all encompassing sensory effects, before reaching the level of concrete hallucination. 

The specific drugs that I am using for reference here are the three classical deliriants. Datura (scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine), DPH (diphenhydramine) and Nutmeg (myristicin). These compounds are all considered to be competitive antagonists of the acetylcholine receptors, therefore blocking acetylcholine receptor sites. Acetylcholine (ACh) is the primary messenger of the brain’s cholinergic system, essential to modulation of memory, sleep and dreaming.  The prolonged suppression of cholinergic activity and REM sleep due to deprivation or amphetamine abuse creates psychotic episodes which may be defined as bursts of dream activity erupting spontaneously into waking states. Deliriants could therefore be considered to trigger a similar state by blocking acetylcholine and suppressing cholinergic system activity. Causing trippers to begin dreaming whilst maintaining full conscious awareness.

There are multiple health concerns and physical dangers associated with each of these drugs under certain circumstances. So it’s definitely recommended that you do your research before even considering an experience like this.

The employment of deliriants for shamanic purposes through the famed Datura plant has been in use since before recorded history. Chinese, Aztec, Indian, Native American, Caribbean Island, Chumash, Gypsy, Mexican, South American and Zuni records and legends all mention the use of datura leaves for sacred rituals and visionary purposes. 

Here I will break down and describe the effects between each of the classical deliriants into their simplest components.

Dysphoria:
One of the first things a person generally notices whilst gradually coming up on a deliriants is how absolutely terrible and miserable they feel.
There is not a single deliriant that does not have multiple negative side effects that will leave you feeling sometimes unbearably terrible. Dysphoric effects do however seem to die down at very high doses, but only because the hallucinations become so overpowering that you forget how ill you are feeling. These feelings are commonly experienced as:

• Sensitivity to sunlight.
• Loss of coordination.
• Dry mouth (sometimes to the point where it becomes impossible to swallow).
• Abnormal heart beat.
• Temporary Erectile Dysfunction.
• Dizziness.
• Drowsiness.
• Muscle cramps.
• Nausea, violent vomiting (at higher doses).
• Having to urinate every 15 minutes.
• Feeling like there is cement in your urethra when you do try to urinate.
• Loss of fine motor skills.

It’s these sensations that render deliriants completely useless as recreational substances. Making them an experience that very few wish to repeat. 

Delirium:
Delirium is the mental state that this class of hallucinogens puts you into. It is generally neutral at best and extremely negative at worst. The mental components found during delirious trip are most commonly experienced as:

• Mild to Extreme panic.
• Depression.
• Partial to complete loss of ability to speak.
• Extreme confusion and disorientation.
• Agitation and Nervousness.
• Complete or partial loss of ability to reason.
• Memory loss.
• Feelings of impending doom.
• Feelings of regular doom.

Although all of these effects are quite pronounced and have a large influence on the trip itself. The loss of ability to reason is one of the most defining aspects of delirium as it forces you to accept without question any hallucination that the trip can throw at you. This feels identical to the very same way that we accept the bizarre and nonsensical plot lines to our dreams, despite how irrational they may seem to be upon further inspection once they are over.

Hallucinatory states:
The hallucinations experienced during a delirious trip are by far its most fascinating and overpowering quality. These hallucinations are completely different from any visionary experience you can experience on a psychedelic or dissociative.
Delirious hallucinatory states can be broken down into 3 basic levels,

1. Erratic hallucinations.
   The lowest level of hallucination generally consists of movement in the peripheral vision and ill defined, fleeting hallucinations which disappear once a person double takes.
2. Concrete hallucinations.
   As the vividness and intensity increases, the trip eventually becomes  comprised of completely realistic and static hallucinations. These are generally considered by those who have experienced to be 100% convincing.
3. Breakthrough hallucinations.
   Once the hallucinations become sufficiently elaborate they eventually become all encompassing. Short breakthroughs into delirium start to happen with increasing frequency and length as dosage is increased. Beginning with random flashes of everyday events such as getting dressed to go to work only to suddenly realize half way through that none of it ever happened and you’re actually sitting at your desk. Eventually increasing to permanent, ever shifting alternate realities and complete disconnection from the real world.

The hallucinations can be anything, but there are still many hallucinations that are commonly experienced across people that try these substances. These hallucinations are generally but not by any means not limited to:

• Spiders and insects.
• Shadow people.
• Voices and imagined sounds.
• Pet dogs and cats that you do not own.
• Your mother, often upset with you for taking drugs.
• Human beings, usually behaving completely normally.
• Smoking phantom cigarettes and spliffs.
• Drinking imaginary cups of water.
• Ripples and strange moving textures in certain objects.
• Smoke and distortion in the air.
• Floating inanimate objects such as mobile phones that appear out of nowhere, only to disappear after your hand goes directly through the object while trying to grab hold of it.
• Every day conversations with friends, family members and fictional people that aren’t really there.
• Literally anything your imagination can come up with.
  

Conclusion:
There isn’t any insight to be gained from this category of trip. It’s sad that there is no such thing as an enjoyable deliriant, since they are just as limitless as any psychedelic at high doses but in an inherently unpleasant way. 
The fact that every last one of the classical deliriants is completely legal and available to the masses, despite being far more dangerous than comparatively benign psychedelics shows that the government are not concerned with the dangers of drug induced hallucination in itself. They are concerned with the secondary effects, namely the drug induced changes of perspective which psychedelics offer but deliriants do not.
Nobody is going to stop you from trying this but if you’re completely set on it, at least wait until you have had a large amount of experience being out of your mind on psychedelic and dissociative substances first.