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What it actually means to “respect the drug”
A common phrase among psychonauts is that people must ‘respect the drug’, but what does that really mean?
People usually speak about respect when they are discussing classical psychedelics, namely LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Some (myself included) also use this term in relation to other drugs with psychedelic properties such as weed, ketamine, DXM, and MDMA.
To understand what people like me mean when we say this we need to understand and analyse two forms of respect.
Respect in the simple sense
This is the easy part. All you need to do is accept that these drugs are powerful mind-altering substances. To do that, you need to sort out your immediate surroundings, clear your schedule, test your substances, and (most importantly) make sure you are mentally comfortable and ready.
I call this the easy part because realistically, this is what most people do anyway when planning for a trip. It’s more or less common sense for most.
Realistically, this is less about respect and more about treating the act of taking a psychedelic substance as a serious activity. It might not seem like much but it goes a long way towards avoiding bad and uncomfortable trips.
