Some Effects of Group Drug Taking

Abstract

SOME EFFECTS OF GROUP DRUG TAKING ERWIN DI CYAN* The purpose of this paper is to discuss briefly some aspects of the differences between drug effects when drugs are used in groups as distinguished from their solitary use. The human organism responds to a variety of stimuli. Its response to signals may be physiological or psychological. The latter response includes recollections by (a) retrieval of symbolic associations, or (b) by the vivid mental recreation of past scenes. An example of the former response is the body's reaction to electrical stimuli by muscle twitching or by sentient responses to weak currents. When electrodes are implanted in brain sites, induction of motor or sensory responses are specific to the micro-area involved. The brain also responds to chemical stimuli; these can block certain biochemical transactions by stimulating or inhibiting an enzyme system, or by exciting or depressing the action of a neurohumoral transmitter at the synaptic clefts. Some responses to certain chemical stimuli heighten perceptiveness through an exaggerated alerting response. Hyperacute perceptiveness may be manifested, for example, by seeing things that do not exist—i.e., visions or hallucinations that have little or no external representation. The visions evoked may be gross distortions of form, colorful scenes, bizarre ideational tableaux, or other illusory items. The many scenes assail the sensory apparatus by more than one avenue: olfactory and gustatory hallucinations, visual imagery, tactile paresthesias, and auditory misperceptions. Because it is likely that these chemicals have an effect upon the proprioceptive or kinesodic apparatus, the effects may also be kinesthetic. Why People Take Drugs Among the reasons that people take mind-altering drugs is the desire to enter into an altered emotional state or consciousness—basically a *Address: 1486 East Thirty-third Street, Brooklyn, New York 11234.© 1994 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0031-5982/94/3703-0866$01.00 Perspectives in Biology andMedicine, 37, 3 ¦ Spring 1994 | 429 desire for a change from the accustomed manner of thinking, perceiving , or feeling. Many other reasons are often given. Some may be skillfully constructed rationalizations. But perhaps the fundamental reason for taking a psycholytic or psychotomimetic drug is the desire for euphoria or oblivion. There is a long history of drug use to enhance creativity, as exemplified by De Quincy, Coleridge, and Aldous Huxley, among others. The desire to stimulate the creative faculties may well be a correlate to the desire for euphoria, or to a trance-like state similar to oblivion during which users hope that their creativity will be accentuated. These reasons are operative whether the creative user takes alcohol, amphetamines, barbiturates, or ether; sniffs airplane glue; or takes drugs with more complex actions such as marijuana, opiates, agaric, mescaline, psilocybin , morning glory seeds, or, of course, LSD. There is an exception to the notion that drugs are basically taken to achieve euphoria or oblivion: that exception is the use of psychedelic drugs in religious or social customs or rites. The outstanding example in religious ceremonies is peyote which is an integral part of the ritual of the Native American Church. Drugs used in the East to promote social intercourse, such as kava-kava or khat, are considered communal lubricants. Group vs. Individual Use Few reliable data exist on the difference in effect when drugs are taken in a group as compared when they are taken in solitude. For this purpose we define solitude as one or two users taking the drug. We define a group as three or more persons indulging in a session of drug taking. Social interaction increases in groups—almost by definition. Drug taking in a group expands social proclivities beyond what would normally be expected in a comparable setting, due to the heightened emotive states of the individuals. In a group there can be comparison of effects and a greater comraderie. However, a competitive spirit also may exist, in which a user tends to read more into his or her experiences and enlarges upon them, or even extemporizes or confabulates. Frequently, a participant becomes a leader when by reporting extraordinary experiences . When other participants try to match or surpass them, confabulation arises. Some participants, however, at times remain silent probably because they are...