I'm looking for a drug that can cause someone to become very relaxed, or feel really in tuned with the world and the Earth. My main character is a magician, but his powers are blocked by PTSD. Kind of like a 'blocked chakra', but magical. So, my MC's going to take some drugs that will clear his mind and calm him, but also make his aroused because he needs to get over his... sexual frustration. It's a bit of an all-around healing process, which ultimately leads to him regretting everything and feeling like a dirty dish rag. It's set in the equivalent of the 1800's. So no modern drugs. I was thinking of opium at first, but my research lead me to discover that opium lowers libido and sexual desire. Cannabis is also a no-no because it lowers blood pressure and lowers blood flow to a certain male appendage, which is actually a double no-no because my character suffers from erectile dysfunction. I'm also getting mixed results on other drugs. Some sites are telling me certain ones lower blood pressure, and other sites say the same ones raise blood pressure. Yeah, I know this sounds really odd, but in context it makes sense! XD So any ideas?
With illegal drugs just like with he legal ones, the big list of side-effects means nothing because vast majority of people won't experience them. I am not advocating you should try drugs at all, but it is not easy to authentically write about something if you have no experience, even second hand (seeing someone take drugs, or hear from them what it was like). The thing with all the drugs (and alcohol) is that at lower doses or if taken recreationally, they'll have a stimulant effect, and only when the tolerance develops, or when a person takes too much, will have a depressant effect. Take alcohol for example. Get tipsy and you'll feel great, chatty, bubbly and wide awake. Drink too much and you'll start to feel pretty awful, and fall asleep. You need to read up on the usual effects of drugs, not just the dry medical texts talking about them, because most drugs will have their usual effect on people and they'll have little to do with blood pressure (ie. that's not something people consciously perceive). So whilst you might read all sorts of reports on blood pressure with, say cannabis, in most people (but keep in mind that these effects vary between individuals), recreational use causes heightened libido, increased sexual pleasure, feeling "one with the world", feeling chilled out etc. But if one takes too much, the first side effect that gets typically experienced is acute paranoia, rapid heart beat and psychomotor slowing down. It is only when someone consumes cannabis daily, for many months, that they develop so called "amotivational syndrome" and that brings with it depression, insomnia, total lack of motivation, low libido etc. The problem with PTSD is that it's symptoms, especially flashbacks and anxiety, can easily get triggered by drugs and alcohol, so depending on the type of usage, you always have to expect some negative effects. In the 1800 they had pretty much all the drugs we have today (and they were legal and freely available) except the chemical ones such as amphetamines. Also, anything opiate-related (opium, heroin, prescription pain killers) induces a trance-like sleep of sorts, so a person would tend to not want to do very much. So that doesn't sound suitable. If you are looking for a drug that will "unblock his chakra" so to say, I'd imagine that you ruled out meditation (which is the best way) so if you want to use a drug then cannabis would be your best bet. Unless you are going for that tripping experience where one meets their "animal guide" or figures out how everything in the Universe is connected, in which case you can use lsd, peyote, mescaline or even magic mushrooms. If he needs confidence and to feel powerful, cocaine is a good one. However, if you aren't happy with any of the drugs we know of, you can invent a new one. As long as you keep it consistent and believable, it might work just fine. But whatever you choose, if your character starts to rely on the drug, he will run into problems, and chronic consumption of each drug has it's downsides (amotivational syndrome for cannabis, severe depression with cocaine and amphetamines, most people don't end up using lsd chronically but if they are susceptible, they can develop psychosis, memory problems etc.)
Hmm, I'm not really sure what to suggest. A painkiller perhaps? Morphine? Ether? That'd be fitting for a magician. But that all overlooks the aphrodisiac element you are seeking... either way, your story sounds very interesting- I shall keep my eyes peeled! /
@jazzabel - Holy jambalaya shrimp! You seem very knowledgeable! That was very helpful. As you said, it's difficult to write about drug experiences, unless you've had them or know everything about them. Thanks for putting me on the right track. @eXpendable - :3 Thank you! Just on a side note, I was wondering if there were any sites that give detailed description of experiences on drugs. I'm getting a lot of facts, but not a lot of stuff from first time users.
NOTE: This site prohibits any first person discussion of intoxicants. In other words, limit the discussion to references and how to find authoritative information. ANY ANECDOTES OR DRUG ADVOCACY WILL BE REMOVED, AND PUNITIVE ACTIONS TAKEN. * no one has crossed the line yet in this thread, but I have had to remove other threads recently that violate site policy in this regard. Fair warning.
Hi Cogito, I have trained and worked as a doctor for 15 years now, and all the info I was giving comes from teaching as well as professional experience. Nowhere in my answer did I advocate drugs, nor did I use any anecdotal or personal experience. I have absolutely no clue where a person could find references, beyond medical textbooks and years of experience working with people. I am unsure whether this comment of yours was supposed to refer to me, but I was clear that I was not speaking from the personal experience, nor was I encouraging anything of the sort. While I understand your rule, it does not apply in this case, and I would appreciate the clarification as to why you referred to any sanctions so readily? If you allow members to discuss the issues of writing sex scenes with underage members, or to discuss ways of murdering a person, for the purposes of writing, I don't see why you would not allow the same on the topic of illegal drugs.
My pleasure Supervil225 I have worked as a doctor for quite a few years, and you get to learn a lot about this topic, both from the books as well as years of experience dealing with people. I am glad it helped!
Someone who isnt me, would possibly suggest psilocybin or a variant of the fungi within the story. The hallucinogen presents an extremely attached emotional experience and heightens the senses pertaining to earth and a universal oneness which imo correlates with the state of mind/awareness/personality of a magician. It also allows one to heavil experience past memories and traumatic/positive experiences But given the nature of those characters I am sure you can implement something created within the realm. David Eddings in his series 'the Mallorean' refers to a series of narcotic chemicals and narcotic personalities when he describes Nyissans who actually used chemicals extracted from nature as a regular way of life for a variety of purposes both physical/psychadellic/malevolent. Hope this helps -Ghost
I would also suggest not drugging your character. Being an addict myself chemicals inhibit emotional growth and impede progress. The previous suggestion allows for one to confront their fears head on and learn from it, which can add tons of tension and character development. I would hate to see a character drugged continuously even for the sake of medical reason and not addiction itself.
psilocybin produces a psychedelic experience that is separate from the likes of LSD and DMT where it throws the user into a sensory arena where they are quite literally in the middle of the experience themselves. LSD and DMT (dmt being a bit of an exception because its considered an 'organic' experience, acts as a catalyst to activate an experience that is theorized as being already within the person through the activation of the pineal gland and naturally occurring tryptophans that are otherwise dormant except when we are born, in death, and in deep REM sleep) but through fungi it creates a sensation where the person is completely connected with their surroundings beyond comprehension. Everything becomes alive. Is this a result of it being directly from the earth? Maybe. I am no scientist. But it produces a feeling where there is a sense of knowing that you and everything around you is breathing and living independently within the universe. If your character practices elemental magic then this correlates with the realistic perspective of your character and you can add things he would normally see in greater detail. Particles or energy flowing throughout plants and trees and his world himself etc. The reason why sometimes this is more of a risk and a chaotic leap of faith in comparison to the other chemicals is because of its ability to create a strong emotional attachment to the experience. The others create an objective experience so you can actually look at something negative without being subjected to trauma or what made that memory terrible (leading to a bad trip for lack of a better description) If something triggers a memory and you think about that memory during the experience, you can literally feel everything you did when that memory was first formed. As a result of the heightened senses and awareness your also able to re-create the visual within the mind and it is strong. So that being said, it allows someone to delve into their subconscious/conscious/awareness whatever you want to call it and they can re-live passed experiences good/bad/positive and confront them head on. On the other hand, they can also learn things about themselves they may have otherwise forgotten or never known as a result of it being triggered right then and there. So the reason I suggest Fungi is because it puts the character in the middle of realistic conflict with himself and his surroundings. He could potentially go back and face the traumatic experiences full on, bringing back the hurt, the emotion, the fear all in one 'vision' and you can write about that experience and create tension within. You can write about the tension leading up to taking the experience, insert a sense of doubt that the character thinks it will not help or he does not know what it will do or where it will take him. And then lastly after the experience, your left with endless possibilities, you can go into developing a sense of something being fixed or a healing process started, a sense of it didn't work or scared him even more if you want to have your character continue his journey of finding some solution. Whatever you do, it presents an opportunity for the character or mage to tap into a whole side of his awareness he may not have otherwise known about through realistic means giving weight to the story and the reader who has picked the book up. I have always thought of Mages as mystics and intelligent characters, always on a journey for knowledge and self expansion. They study, they meditate, they are in tune with the universe and their surroundings more so then the people within them. I hope this makes sense. As someone has already said erowid is a great database when researching this topic for not only the neuro-chemistry but also peoples first hand experiences and what the chemicals produce within the user. As for my addiction? No I am currently clean from everything save for nicotine and caffeine. I am coming up on 17 months of sobriety at the end of this month. -Ghost
