It's really surprising to me that psychoactive chemicals are so common in the natural world. Why do so many chemicals designed for pretty unrelated roles have effects on human brains? I would naively expect that to happen approximately never.
Hallucinogenic Fish
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Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#12This fish is quite common on the markets in Tunisia. We actually avoid it in the hallucination season because it mostly causes bad trips. It tastes good.
What is a good trip on it like?
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#13> The active agent(s) that cause hallucinations in humans, and the origin of these agents, are not clear. Some authors think they could come from toxins associated with macroalgae that accumulate in the flesh of the fish.
does anyone know why we can't tell what substances cause the hallucinogenic effects? to a complete layman (i.e. me) this seems like the kind of thing modern science should be able to determine
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#14It's really surprising to me that psychoactive chemicals are so common in the natural world. Why do so many chemicals designed for pretty unrelated roles have effects on human brains? I would naively expect that to happen approximately never.
It's a combination of factors but it's mostly evolution converging on very similar systems across the plant and animal kingdom. Most neurotransmitters are relatively simple molecules while the ion channels on neurons are relatively complex. They have a high surface are for all those neurotransmitter, inhibitor, regulator, etc. molecules to bind to and the entire system is extremely sensitive to small changes.
Take cannabis, for example: the endocannabinoid system in our central and peripheral nervous systems effects a variety of things (memory, sleep, appetite, etc.) but it's also useful to plants, which evolved the system roughly 500 million years ago, independently of animals.
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#15I found this sentence entertaining: > Hallucinogenic fish can be contrasted with psychedelic fish. Psychedelic fish do not produce hallucinations if eaten, but look as if they were the product of a psychedelic hallucination.
I'm always reminded how delightful it is that Wikipedia didn't degenerate into a Stack Overflow. The sentence you mention is pure poetry.
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#16I found this sentence entertaining: > Hallucinogenic fish can be contrasted with psychedelic fish. Psychedelic fish do not produce hallucinations if eaten, but look as if they were the product of a psychedelic hallucination.
I'm always reminded how delightful it is that Wikipedia didn't degenerate into a Stack Overflow. The sentence you mention is pure poetry.
Wikipedia has many similar problems to stack overflow and other different problems. The sites take different approaches to moderation yet “power users” on both feel like they are fighting back a torrent of low quality content. Wikipedia has the advantage of being run by a charity that is not trying to turn a profit.
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#17^ relevant username!
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#18No wonder people enjoy living in Hawaii. Half of the fish in that list is in Hawaii
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#19> Ingesting the dreamfish Sarpa salpa can result in hallucinations that last for several days. I wonder why this fish hasn't been 'mined' for its hallucinogenic properties yet. Surely some of the more adventurous drug users would jump at a chance to try something this powerful? The article on the fish itself seems to state that it was available in restaurants, so it's not exactly a rare find, I assume.
Almost all hallucinogenic drugs lasting for more than 18 hours are considered bad drugs. Eg the DOx series psychedelic amphetamines (excluding DOM, which people like for some reason), most of the benzofurans, the alkaloids of the Datura plant, etc. Even non-hallucinogenic drugs with long half-lives are considered not ideal (see the long lasting benzodiazepines especially). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOx [1] ht…
Datura is known for lasting mental impact. It can can also be really dangerous for potential users due to extreme delirium and confusion. Most trip reports are also negative.
Unviable as a street drug.
Re: Hallucinogenic Fish
#20> The active agent(s) that cause hallucinations in humans, and the origin of these agents, are not clear. Some authors think they could come from toxins associated with macroalgae that accumulate in the flesh of the fish. does anyone know why we can't tell what substances cause the hallucinogenic effects? to a complete layman (i.e. me) this seems like the kind of thing modern science should be able to determine
Haven’t spent the time and money on it yet :)