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Psychedelics are not “hallucinogens”: this derogatory term is used in State-sponsored anti-drug propaganda, just as all illegal drugs are often included under the blanket term “narcotics” — including cocaine, which is a powerful stimulant, the opposite of a narcotic. The alterations of perception caused by psychedelics are not hallucinations in the strict sense of the term. Rather, they are amplifications and magnifications of perceptions and mental functions, analogous to the altered perceptions caused by looking through the lenses of a telescope or a microscope. There are some drugs which are true “hallucinogens” — i.e., which induce a confusion of the senses in which false perceptions are mistaken for real — including the belladonna / jimson weed / henbane family of herbs, sources of the drugs atropine and scopolamine. These drugs are in a distinct class from the psychedelics, as unbiased scientific studies of the subject make clear.
The term “psychedelic” was coined by Dr. Humphrey Osmond in the 1950s. It is derived from the Greek words psyche, soul or mind, and delos, to manifest or make clear; thus, the meaning of the term is “mind manifesting” or “soul-clarifying.” Since the 1960s, the word has entered into popular usage to describe such varied subjects as clothing styles and techniques of musical or artistic expression, but in its original sense it remains the most accurate scientific term for the unique class of consciousness-expanding drugs.
Simply stated, psychedelics affect consciousness by triggering increased amounts of neurotransmitters to flood the synapses of the brain, thus allowing the brain to process a larger percentage of the information streaming in through the nervous system. The effect is like switching on a bright light in a dimly lit room, or like waking up from a lifelong semi-sleep, to a higher degree of wakefulness than you’ve ever known.