In just the last century, so many thousands upon thousands of new drugs have been discovered and documented. Most people know about the main ones (LSD, MDMA, etc.), but there are so many more, analogs and otherwise, that most have never heard of. We’ve compiled a short list of some of the lesser known powerful drugs that have been discovered recently.
Check them out below!
One of the lesser known psychedelic tryptamines, Foxy (or Foxy Methoxy) is a chemical that produces effects that are a cross between MDMA and LSD, with some users reporting auditory, spiritual, and even tactile hallucinations; while more visually stimulating than MDMA or MDA, it still produces a similar euphoric body-high. It can be taken orally, snorted, or injected, and becomes active around 6-20mg.
Like most of the newly discovered tryptamines, it was first synthesized by the researcher Alexander Shulgun around 1980. Having a short legal life, it was eventually placed under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act in the United States in 2003; previously, it had been sold as a research chemical legally online along with other analogs like DiPT and AMT.
The 2C family of drugs has many members, but one that sticks out is the psychedelic phenethylamine 2C-I; it was also first synthesized by Alexander Shulgun and was featured in his book “PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story” which was released in 1991. It is primarily taken orally or snorted, however some users choose to dose rectally.
Its effects are similar to mescaline, with mild fractal-visuals but more mentally hallucinogenic in smaller doses. It also has also been described as having a physical stimulating effect. In the early 2000’s, it was sold legally in Dutch smart shops and online as a research chemical, but was banned in the Netherlands in 2008. The United States followed in their steps, and 2C-I was labeled Schedule I substance under the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012.
A plant native to the Horn of Africa and Arabian Peninsula, Khat is a stimulant that has been used for thousands of years by natives in the area. It actually predates the use of coffee and they use it in a similar way. The flowering plant contains two different substances, Cathinone which is then converted into Cathine as the fresh leaves dry. The leaf is usually chewed like tobacco, and produces mild euphoria and excitement, similar to extremely strong coffee or a mild amphetamine.
Because of its amphetamine similarities and the mild withdrawl symptoms that occur after quitting usage of the plant, adding the fact that a small percentage of users can have hypomanic / psychotic episodes after consuming a high dose of the plant, the United States placed Khat under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Actin 1993. Many other countries have followed suit and banned the plant as well. In 2008, Canadian authorities claimed it was the most common illegal drug being smuggled into their airports (however, in Canada the plant is only Schedule IV).
A natural psychoactive substance found in plants in the Apocynaceae family, Ibogaine is a powerful dissociative psychedelic. Many countries have banned this substance; however, many countries have recognized its healing powers as a primary component of psychedelic therapy to treat addiction to heroin, cocaine, nicotine, methamphetamine, anabolic steroids and more. It has a profound effect on treating depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Ibogaine has been used by indigenous people for thousands of years for its medicinal and ritual purposes.
Under guidance of experienced shamans, people can travel to other countries and gain treatment for various ailments. One of the most popular uses it to treat opiate addiction, as users report after going through the psychedelic trip that their need for opiates is gone completely and they feel as though they’ve returned to their natural mental state before becoming addicted. No other treatment for opiate addiction has such a high success rate.
The effects of the drug are some of the more powerful known in the psychedelic world. Users report being pulled into an intense waking dream state, where their life is played out to them like a movie, displaying the events and choices that led the person to their addiction or mental illness. Others report having a transformative shamanic vision that help them conquer their fears and negative emotions. The trip can last up to 24 hours straight, but coming through the other side, anyone who tries this substance will be a different person for the rest of their life.
A powerful psychedelic tryptamine, 5-MeO-DMT is found naturally in a wide variety of plants and in a specific kind of toad species. The substance was first synthesized in 1936, and is a close relative of DMT and bufotenin. Plants containing the chemical have also been used in shamanic rituals in South America for thousands of years. In 2011 the drug was placed under Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act.
The psychoactive effects of the substance are less visual than its close relatives, although the user’s perspective does shift heavily and many report the trip to be similar to a near-death experience with profound spiritual awakenings and life-changing immersive experiences. On the negative side, there can be a large of amount of fear and panic upon initially entering the intense trip, and sometimes things can get confusing and hard to comprehend and later recollect.