Drug research

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  • #16
    Re: Drug research

    Another drug combo that can lead to waking blackouts is mixing a benzo like Lorazepam or Valium with booze. It doesn't take a lot of alcohol to get there, like the character wouldn't be sloppy drunk. Lorazepam is a mild anti-anxiety medicine that a person may take during the day to treat anxiety. Mixed that with a couple glasses of wine and you could have a character in a waking black out -- especially if they're sensitive.

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    • #17
      Re: Drug research

      Originally posted by omjs View Post
      Alright, I'm rewriting my ghost pilot, and thinking of including one character who can only see and interact with the ghost character while he's under the influence.

      Short version: I want something with a downer and/or hallucinogenic effect, which can create an altered state that he may or may not remember clearly the next day.

      ....

      Do you think large quantities of weed would do it? Or should I be moving more toward something hallucinogenic like mushrooms? He's probably selling whatever he takes on the side to make ends meet.

      Anybody else have an idea? Being a psychic, he's also a fairly hippie-ish type, so I'm less inclined to have him do anything too processed or chemical.
      No, weed won't do it. You'll need something that acts on serotonin receptors (for the hallucinations) but also temporarily disrupts the NMDA receptors in the hippocampus (for the memory loss).

      I don't do drug research, but I'll throw my two cents in as a research psychologist. Given the types of effects you're wanting the drug to have as well as your desire to have the character use something more "natural," I'd suggest one or both of the following:

      1) The psychoactive poison/toxin from the skin of the Colorado River Toad. It contains two different psychadelic compounds, 5-MeO-DMT, which is related to DMT but much more potent and also bufotenin, which has a structure and effects similar to the psilocybin from "magic mushrooms."

      These substances will not only have the person tripping balls with all kinds of great hallucinations, they will also act as entheogens, which will produce feelings of a deep, spiritual experience during the high.

      People generally don't lick the toad, because those toads also excrete a poison. The toxin is usually mixed with tobacco, weed, or some other type of snuff and smoked (I don't know the details of how this is done, so you'd have to track that info down yourself).

      This fits right in with something a hippie might do, I would think.

      2) For the memory loss, the character would need a dissociative drug of some kind. The most popular and likely one would probably be ketamine. It'll give mild hallucinations (not as good as those listed in #1) but, most importantly, it would be more likely to induce a trance-like state within the person that would also be accompanied by memory loss.

      So, I'd recommend that your character come up with something that maybe mixes #1 and #2, in order to get the specific effects you're wanting. I'm not sure if there's already anything out there right now that people are taking that contains these two things (but it wouldn't surprise me), but perhaps this could be something that your character comes up with on their own. Perhaps they're trying to invent a weed alternative?

      I have no idea what ingesting all of these substances at once would do to a person in real life, but it'd probably look a lot like schizophrenia, to be honest. However, I think it works for your story and you can pretty much write its effects however you want and it would work.

      Hope that helps!
      "Tact's just 'not saying true stuff.' " - Cordelia Chase

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      • #18
        Re: Drug research

        Wow, thanks for the suggestions! I haven't revisited this thread in a bit and missed the new posts. Lots of great options to consider. Optimus, I really appreciate the specifics you came up with.

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        • #19
          Re: Drug research

          moonshine.

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          • #20
            Re: Drug research

            another way is no drug at all, just a sensory deprivation chamber...
            I heard the starting gun


            sigpic

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            • #21
              Re: Drug research

              How about... Phil has a couple of weed plants strictly for himself. Unbeknownst to him, they are infested with microscopic bugs of unknown species. When he fires up, they cook and that's what does the weird and wonderful to him.

              You can show him rolling up and the camera can zoom in on the bugs and the audience can put two and two together. No need for scientific or even accurate explanations.

              Just a thought.

              Mark
              sigpic

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              • #22
                Re: Drug research

                For your character, I would suggest Ayahuasca. It's called the Vine of the Soul for a reason, because people who do it usually astral project. It is a 2 part combination tea.

                It has been used in South American tribes since before pre-written history.

                Some of the foremost researchers on it are Terence McKenna (who is dead now), Jonathan Ott, and Rick Strassman.

                But McKenna is who I would read up on as he knew the most about it and did it many times. He went to S. America a lot to do it and saw ufo's and what he called the "machine elves" from a different dimension.

                Alex Gray, the painter, is also a big user. Also many Hollywood actors/actresses.

                It has it's own religion, the Santo Daime and here in the states there is a church dedicated to it called Uniao de Vegetal. It's also non-addictive, partly because it causes violent vomiting. It also leaves the bloodstream within 3-4 hrs.

                Supposedly it allows you to see into other spectrums like infrared, ultraviolet, etc. And it also allows you to see what's "really" around us at all times because what we perceive as "reality" is really the hallucination.

                Just my 2 cents.

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                • #23
                  Re: Drug research

                  Originally posted by Mark Twain Weck View Post
                  How about... Phil has a couple of weed plants strictly for himself. Unbeknownst to him, they are infested with microscopic bugs of unknown species. When he fires up, they cook and that's what does the weird and wonderful to him.

                  You can show him rolling up and the camera can zoom in on the bugs and the audience can put two and two together. No need for scientific or even accurate explanations.

                  Just a thought.

                  Mark
                  Dude, don't do drugs. Just the ones that are good for ya
                  Phil is a Chemist for a major Pharma Co., and he has to claim a Nautural Remedy for Cancer. His BOSS got something to say about his or her CLaim. bingo. story.
                  si

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                  • #24
                    Re: Drug research

                    My first question was not "which drug," but "what does this add to the series?" As I read the long description, I thought "If he doesn't remember the incidents when he's sober, this strongly suggests that it's a gimmick meant mainly for your convenience."

                    So are you including this not just for convenient plot complications, but for what this allows (or prevents) for hazard and conflict and character? Does it affect the characters in any way? How does it make your universe stronger for storytelling? What does it do for (or to) your story logic?

                    If that character can see the ghost while under the influence, can others? Why or why not?

                    If that character can see the ghost while high, can he see other ghosts? (Why/why not?)

                    What does this say about your protag, who would likely use this character (make him do drugs? become his supplier?) to talk to the ghost? Does that force you to change the tone of your series?

                    And does it affect the marketability of your pilot? (Short answer: yes.)

                    I personally don't need answers to any of the questions above, so no need to share them. Every choice like this has consequences to the series as a whole and I wanted to offer food for thought if you hadn't already considered it.

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