DOSE: T+ 0:00	1.5 mg	oral	DOI	(blotter / tab)
T+ 0:45	3 hits	smoked	Cannabis
T+ 2:40	repeated	smoked	Cannabis
T+ 11:05		smoked	Salvia divinorum

BODY WEIGHT:

90 kg

If you are here just for some quick facts, skip to the 'summary of findings' section below.

Yesterday I had the privilege to experience DOI for the first time. I was at home and able to control the set and setting the way I wanted it. I started out with a small dose which turned out to be just the right amount for me. My experience was very positive throughout. It lasted a bit over 12 hours and I was able to keep a detailed record of my trip on my notebook, keeping notes on some fun pharmacological observations about the substance.

2:35 p.m., T+0:00 Dropped one 1,5 mg tab of DOI in blotter form. The blotter pictures one of the Super Mario mushrooms.

3:00, T+0:45 Hit a few bongs of cannabis. This took my mind off the anticipation.

3:40, T+1:05 Feeling very lightheaded and giggly. Things that aren't really funny make me laugh much like with acid or mushrooms.

4:00, T+1:25 Definite effects, my vision feels 'fluid' for lack of a better word. No visuals yet but the potential is there.

4:30, T+1:55 Some OEV, nausea.

About half an hour before I dropped the tab, I had some ice cream on an empty stomach. I now realised that this wasn't a good idea. Like other amphetamines, DOI makes me not want to eat, and in fact even the idea that I had something in my stomach made me nauseous and I wanted to puke. Of course, there was nothing in me to puke, that was just the DOI making me very anorexic at the moment. For those of us who could lose a few kilos, this isn't terrible, but for next time, I'd make sure not to have eaten anything so close to the experience.

4:45, T+2:10 Introspection

When I go into a psychedelic trip, I always make sure I have set a mental goal for the entire trip, like 'resolve X psychological issue' or 'explore this part of the countryside'. This keeps me grounded. This time, my goal was simply to chart the pharmacology of this new substance, so I didn't really intend to go into 'therapy mode', overcoming my ego, facing fears, etc. However the potential of this substance for healing is there and like any good psychedelic, it does push me to an inquisitive, philosophical state and towards knowledge of the self.

For me, looking inwards was a journey of acceptance this time. The universal truths are easily accessible, but contrasting with LSD, on DOI I didn't dwell on them for too long, instead keeping myself grounded inside my body. Yes, like all humans I have my issues, but I'm doing OK: I have a job in this economy, in fact I am now old enough to be able to pay for my own pharm-grade exotic psychedelic drugs, I have my own house which I don't pay any mortgage for, I don't have any loans, and I managed all that without being hurtful or hostile to other people. These are simple truths about me that never occurred to me, say on an LSD-fuelled introspection. In contrast, the latter tends to make me overly critical of my flaws by dwelling on the imperfections. Overall I felt an MDMA-like optimism but much more real and natural, nothing that feels 'false' or that is too intense.

5:00, T+2:25 Feeling hot. DOI is an amphetamine and the usual restrictions apply: To keep my mood happy, I must regulate your body heat. But this is much less so than with say MDA or MDMA. Still, too many clothes are not my friend if it's summer time. Overall the body load is minimal compared to other amphetamines, but it's there. I can consciously keep myself from pressing my teeth together too hard and I find that taking a series of deep breaths helps keep me cool and gives me mini-orgasms of the type 'I so dig this air, man!'. All these symptoms are very amphetamine-like but much less intense. The nausea I was feeling earlier has now subsided.

5:15, T+2:40 Smoking is very easy. I hit a series of bongs packed with good quality home-grown cannabis. It feels like fresh air in my lungs. The stone is only barely noticeable but pleasantly masks the amphetamine's stimulating effects.

5:43, T+3:08 Still coming up.

6:00 I decide to take a shower. This required some effort in controlling my motor functions, but was a very good idea. I should say here that it's summer time and where I live it can get hot in the afternoon. A shower will help me quickly shed some body heat.

6:40, T+4:05 Tripping.

7:00, T+4:25 I think I'm not coming up any more. Have reached a plateau in symptom intensity. Decided to listen to some good 90's psychedelic trance. I felt the need to jotter down some notes about the nature of the drug and the type of thought it stimulated in me:

'can be used for introspection,
close to the body,
access to universal truths,
but mundanely,
naturally,
humanistically,
happy throughout,
critical but comforting,
mind as a bystander (ego death?)

Ego is what dissolves us by being overly critical. With acceptance of self comes the bystander effect. I generally worry too much.'

At the time I felt that ego is ultimately the inner voice that criticizes and judges us. When it gets out of the way, I stop worrying about how to help myself, and I become a bystander to my life, calmly observing but without trying to exert control. I'm not sure this makes sense. Thought is a little fuzzy on this substance and has a silly feel to it.

8:15, T+5:40 Feeling very high. Still listening to music, I now want to dance. I have lots of energy and without feeling an unpleasant body load as one might expect from an amphetamine. I imagine if I was at an outdoors trance festival I would drop the tab about 6 hours before I wanted to dance. No point in trying to dance while you're still dealing with the confusion and mental noise of coming up to a psychedelic.

Even though the music I have chosen to listen to is psychedelic and with intricate melodies, right now it sounds clear, simple, and slow, a bit naive right now: As if my brain is 'overclocked' and can now deal with unraveling more complexity on the audio spectrum than normal. I guess I have felt this on acid too but now it's much more pronounced. I scavenge my music collection for the most chaotic, complex tunes that will keep me intellectually stimulated.

9:00, T+6:25 My stomach is now complaining that it's been empty after skipping lunch. I can't bring myself to eat yet; any taste would be too overwhelming. I prepare a warm teapot full of chamomile and start to drink it. This is a good idea, both for its soothing CNS effects and for my stomach's acids.

9:50, T+7:15 Ate some crackers. The taste of wheat seemed overwhelming but I really needed to put something in my stomach.

10:15, T+7:40 Still dancing to music. Having a great time. I remember the days when I was younger and more careless with psychedelics and I think positive thoughts. Even though I was a little careless back then and took some risks, things turned out OK in the end. Sometimes good things happen to good people, I say to myself :)

11:40, T+9:05 Experiencing immense beauty with all my senses. No point trying to describe it further.

01:40, T+11:05 Smoked some Salvia divinorum leaves in a water pipe. This confirms to me that 'Lady D' and DOI can be allies. I decide not to smoke any extract at the moment, although I could if I wanted a more intense experience. Under the effects of DOI, even a small amount of regular Salvia leaves is plenty psychedelic.

02:10 a.m., T+11:35 Decided to stop dancing and rest in bed with eyes closed.

04:00, T+13:25 I'm not high any more. Only feeling some after effects. Can't sleep yet. Feeling happy. Some time after that I must have gone to sleep.

09:15, T+18:40 Woke up feeling tired (all the bong hits from yesterday are finally catching up to me) but in a positive mental state. Not really an afterglow, but not a comedown either. Feeling well enough to even work on my projects (computer programming), but will take it slow and take the day off. If there was one lesson that DOI repeatedly taught me was that I tend to worry too much, am overly critical of my self, too conscious of my flaws, and I deserve to take it easy once in a while, considering the circumstances. Not the kind of ruthless introspection you'd expect from a psychedelic but that's what the lesson was for me this time. A pat in the back and an 'attaboy' to the ol' ego. I guess you can always depend on the psychedelics surprising you in new ways every time. I didn't face any of my demons, which I expected would have accumulated since my last psychedelic experience a couple of years ago. Instead it now seems the demons are long gone, a relic from a youth that's now in the past. (I'm 31 now.)

I should mention that I believe I have chronic symptoms of OCD and psychometric tests taken at various times confirm this. Being less critical of one's self might not be a good advice for everyone and it might not be the lesson this particular substance always teaches us. But when taken in moderation, it seems to put me in a positive mood without being too hard on my ego. Rather than fighting against it, it gave mine a thumbs up, actually!

Oddly enough, DOI did not seem to alleviate my symptoms (compulsive counting, intrusive thoughts) as efficiently as acid or mushrooms. If I had to guess, perhaps regulation of the 5-HT2a system is less pronounced than with the tryptamines. Maybe some future study will confirm this. Or maybe I don't really know what I'm talking about because I'm a silly druggie. :)

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS:

- For an amphetamine, it's very visual. Even at this moderate dose I had strong OEVs of the same complexity and type as with acid, but with more blurry 'fuzziness' instead of clarity and detail.

- It can be a party drug. If I plan to dance, I'll give it a good 6 hours to kick in first.

- For a psychedelic, I'd say it's a social drug. I imagine that if I had to talk to people I'd do it easier than if I was on acid or ecstasy because thought is more grounded and less convoluted. But still keep in mind that your pupils are likely dilated and you may look high to other people.

- I could have taken double the dose, but I'm glad I didn't. 1,5 mg was a good intense trip for me. I can imagine maybe going up to 3 mg some other time but not much more than that because then I'd never be able to sleep again. This stuff may keep you awake, like, forever.

- Even though body load is minimal, DOI is an amphetamine, so one must pay close attention to the body's needs, especially controlling body temperature: keep cool and hydrated. Avoiding alcohol is probably a good idea.

- At no point did I feel unpleasant or sad as I sometimes did in the past with speed or ecstasy. There was no comedown, or depression afterwards, at least not at this low dosage. The experience was positive throughout and I now know enough to be able to repeat the experience in the company of friends and in less controlled conditions.

- Plan ahead to have something with a bland taste to eat. DOI will keep you awake for a long time and even though at first it seems unlikely, you will eventually need to eat something at some point. For me, crackers were perfect. Cereals could work too I guess.

- It is a lot like acid in that it works together well with other, shorter-acting highs, like cannabis, Salvia, and I imagine N2O. I bet mild opiates could take the experience to the next level, masking some of the body effects, allowing focus on the CNS activity. I didn't test this though.

- It is a drug that keeps awareness focused close to the body, much more than acid or mushrooms, and I imagine I'd be able to have sex while on 1,5 mg. I was all by myself and unable to test it though.

- I am unsure as to the psychological healing potential of DOI. I am sure it's there. But I can't know just from one experience, if it is more or less effective, when compared to a 'relentless' psychedelic. For me, psychedelics are substances that make me die, face your deepest fears, and be born again into your new life, rich with new-found wisdom, and with the hope and optimism of a fresh start. Perhaps the dose was too low for that; it was an easy trip in terms of how much psychoanalysis it forced on me. Or perhaps as I'm getting older I'm becoming more of a cynical jerk. If that is the case, DOI wasn't able to fully break my psychological defenses at this low dosage.

- It can be used as a party drug, but as with all drugs, one must take great care and be safe. Use your own judgement.

Peace

Exp Year: 2012	ExpID: 96359
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 31
Published: Feb 1, 2013	Views: 10,287
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DOI (259) : First Times (2), Alone (16)