Doctors have raised a warning against so-called “trip killers” that are used to end challenging psychedelic experiences on compounds such as LSD or psilocybin.
The doctors have published the warning in a letter in the Emergency Medicine Journal. In the letter, an analysis of relevant Reddit threads is provided that show drugs such as benzodiazepines and antipsychotics recommended to help end these challenging psychedelic experiences. However, the doctors emphasise that these recommendations rarely include information about potential side effects.
A total of 128 Reddit threads created were discovered that were created between 2015 and 2023, yielding a total of 709 posts. With 440 recommendations, amounting to nearly half – 46% – of all the ‘trip-killers’ mentioned in posts, were various benzodiazepines, followed by several different antipsychotics at 171%.
The team found that one in 10 recommendations were for antidepressants, while one in 20 were for alcohol. Opioids, antihistamines, herbal remedies, such as camomile and valerian, and prescribed sleeping pills, attracted 3% each, with cannabis and cannabidiol at 2%.
Trip-killers were mostly discussed in reference to countering the effects of LSD (235 recommendations), magic mushrooms (143), and MDMA (21). Only 58 posts mentioned potentially harmful side effects.
The authors write: “The popularity of benzodiazepines raises concerns. Benzodiazepines are addictive and have been repeatedly implicated in overdose deaths.
“The doses described on Reddit risk over-sedation, hypotension [low blood pressure], and respiratory depression [stopping breathing or shallow breathing].”
Doses of one of the recommended antipsychotics, quetiapine, were also high the authors note, with only a few posts differentiating between fast and slower release formulations.
“Information on trip-killers isn’t available through drug advice services, despite the probable risks they pose,” highlight the authors.
