The next dissociative that I would care to explore in depth is DXM, or dextromethorphan HCL. This is the dextro isomer of a molecule; interestingly enough, the levo isomer of the same molecule is a VERY potent opiate. For whatever reason, the dextro isomer lacks the full narcotic set of properties, but is a powerful dissociative. DXM has the potential to cause a unique type of brain damage called Olney’s legions, if done in excess and too often. This said, it’s the sort of substance best used in moderation and with extreme caution.
DXM is unique in that it causes a finite set of stages of intoxication, called “plateaus.� The first level (plateau) produces relaxation and slightly altered vision. The final stage (fourth plateau) produces complete dissociation. The means of dosing is fairly well established on a mg/kg basis. There IS a lethal dose, thus caution should be exercised in dosing. Given my own tendency, I ALWAYS lean towards the highest level possible without dying, so I can’t comment very much on the lower levels of intoxication…
I can say that at the highest levels of dosing, very strange things happen. The whole body becomes numb and sedated. I have drifted off to music at this point. Usually at some point, I end up vomiting, as DXM is somewhat nauseating. (I don’t consider vomiting to be a “bad� thing per say, it is merely a consequence of energy transformation.) At any rate, I have had complete ego dissociation under this substance. To give you an idea of what I mean when I say “sensory shutdown,� let me relate this to you…
At one point I got up and meandered around the house. I bumped into walls, stumbled, tripped, etc. I was told that my eyes were closed some of the time. The thing was, I couldn’t tell the difference between when my eyes were closed versus when they were open. My eyes were useless a good bit of the time, regardless of whether they were open or closed. I was in my own world. My partner got paranoid at one point and put me in a cold bath…I was very hot, and the paranoia was that I might be overheating. During this incident, I would surface every now and then and be like, “WTF am I doing in the bath? Why am I wet???� I would get the answer, then phase out again, only to come to a few minutes later with the same set of questions, very freaked out to be in a bathtub. It was a very interesting state of consciousness.
During this state of consciousness, I experienced a variety of interesting perceptions. I had religious insights and had several “Jesus complex� types of hallucinations involving the crucifixion. I also experienced my “dream house� and had a general feeling of floating. The negative to this state of being is the lack of memory that accompanies the highest levels of being. At the highest levels, there tends to be an amnesiac effect, thus one’s ability to retain memory of the trip is necessarily limited to some degree.
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