Heaven and Hell—A Phenomenological Study of Recreational Use of 4-HO-MET in Sweden

This qualitative study (n=25) analysed online psychedelic experience reports to establish a basic understanding of what characterizes the recreational use of the psychedelic compound, 4-HO-MET. The authors found that the motivation for use seemed to be driven by a strong curiosity, and that the experiences described show great similarity with classic psychedelic substances

Abstract

“The psychoactive substance 4-HO-MET (4-hydroxy-N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine) with psychedelic qualities is one of many legal so-called Internet drugs. The aim of this qualitative study was to establish an understanding of what characterizes its recreational use. Very little is known about the effects of this substance. Twenty-five anonymous Swedish experience reports (from persons aged 18–30 years) from public Internet forums were analyzed using the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological Method. The analysis produced 37 categories that were compiled into nine general themes: (1) motivation, preparation and expectation; (2) initial effects; (3) change of perception; (4) unfiltered awareness and intensified flow of information; (5) lateral cognition; (6) border between subject and object is erased; (7) heaven; (8) hell; and (9) subsiding effects. An understanding of the chronological happenings, called The Process, appeared out of the general structure. Drastic changes in cognitive, emotional and bodily functions were described. The motivation for use seemed to be driven by a strong curiosity. The experiences shifted between “heaven” and “hell,” but participants appeared satisfied and ready to repeat the experience. The experiences described show great similarity with classic psychedelic substances as LSD or psilocybin. More research is needed about health hazards or possible therapeutic potentials.”

Authors: Anette Kjellgren & Christophe Soussan

Summary

In recent years, many new psychoactive drugs have appeared on the market, especially synthetic “party pills” and herb mixtures. These drugs are preferentially purchased on the Internet, and little is known about their long-term effects, dependency potential, toxicological risks, or possible contraindications. The current drug laws are circumvented by creating entirely new substances with effects similar to previously known illegal drugs. Often, descriptions to consumers about ingredients, safety information or warnings about side effects are lacking.

Several so-called Internet drugs, such as synthetic tryptamines and phenethylamines, are psychedelic substances. The increased prevalence of these drugs is explained by the reduced access to traditional LSD on the market and the low price of these drugs.

A synthetic tryptamine named 4-HO-MET (4-hydroxy-N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine) was first synthesized in the United States by Alexander Shulgin. Its effects are similar to those of psilocin, a natural occurring tryptamine found among psychoactive fungi in the genus Psilocybe, Panaeolus and others.

Traditional psychedelic substances such as ayahuasca, ibogaine, psilocybin mushrooms and peyote are well studied and without substantial risk of abuse or dependence. However, new synthetic substances such as 4-HO-MET are growing in popularity as a recreational drug among young people.

Method

The analysis was performed by using the Empirical Phenomenological Psychological Method (EPP) of Karlsson (1995), which is based in Husserl’s phenomenology.

Gathering of the Data

Eight descriptions of experiences with 4-HO-MET were found by searching for anonymous and publicly published texts on the Internet. Nine such sites were found by expanding the list of keywords to: entheogenic, psychedelic, hallucinogen, drug, psychoactive and substance.

Each site was searched manually with its local search engines to find adequate experience descriptions of 4-HO-MET. A total of 173 hits were reduced to 39 after the first sampling.

In the end, only five pages of experience descriptions were written in English with exclusive use of 4-HO-MET. The remaining 25 anonymous reports constituted 82 pages of text, including the persons’ age and sex.

Participants

25 anonymous individuals reported having ingested 4-HO-MET, with dosages ranging from 20 mg to 180 mg. The most common route of administration was oral (21 people), but nasal ingestion occurred (3 people).

Analysis

The participants’ descriptions were divided into smaller units, called meaning units (MU), without regard to grammatical rules or conventions. This yielded 501 MUs.

Step 3: Transform the participants’ MUs into the language of the researcher. This raises the implicit and underlying meaning of a phenomenon to its explicit level.

Step 4: The transformed MUs were brought together into coherent structures or categories by examining and sorting through their characteristics and similarities.

Reliability and Validity

To control for reliability, the Norlander Credibility Test was used. Five corresponding transformed MUs were selected at random, and two assessors independently assigned each of these transformed MUs to the categories.

Results and Discussion

During the phenomenological analysis, 37 categories emerged, which were related and subordinated into 9 general themes. These themes are discussed below.

Motivation, Preparation and Expectation

Participants described their drug intake as a recreational use with the intent to enrich everyday life. They read or talked with friends about the effects and experiences that could be expected.

Initial Effects

The participants’ initial drug effects included tingling, chills, lassitude, heat, and increased heart rate. They then expressed vague undefined feelings of something feeling different from before.

Change of Perception

The third theme includes perceptions of changes in visual, auditory and gustatory perception. These changes were progressive and affect participants in different scale and degree depending on the intensity of the experience.

Eventually, intensified perceptual changes occurred where objects moved in wavelike patterns and vibrated beyond their contours. Participants experienced concrete images and objects, both with eyes open and closed, and could now see three-dimensional objects.

Participants described auditory perceptual changes, flavor associations, and a decreased ability to perceive time and space. These experiences show a great similarity with classic psychedelics such as psilocybin or LSD.

Unfiltered Awareness and Intensified Flow of Information

The fourth theme describes participants’ experiences of unfiltered attention and intensified flow of information. Participants described themselves as continually distracted by different foci and free-floating attention, leading to concentration difficulties and failing memory, as well as a reduced capacity to meaningfully express their thoughts, feelings or desires.

Lateral Cognition

The fifth theme describes an increased ability to discover new perspectives, question previously self-evident concepts and assimilate insights and knowledge. Cognition switched from being controlled by the logical and linear processes to a more creative thinking.

Participants gained new insights into their own psychological patterns, questioned their habitual ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, and began to reflect on the nature of reality.

Under psychedelic influence, cognitive changes and amplification of hitherto unconscious psychological patterns commonly occur. This is considered a potential source for therapeutic success.

Blurred Subject-Object Border

The sixth theme summarizes how the normal and evident borders between inner and outer reality started to dissolve. Music and other people had a strong influence on the inner state.

Subjective diffusing boundaries was described as changing body image or feeling as if one were “leaving the body”.

Under the influence of the substance, boundaries completely dissolved and participants found themselves fully identified with and engulfed by the new internal worlds.

Heaven

This theme summarizes pleasant and harmonious states, including feelings of euphoria, elation and heightened energy, as well as effortless enjoyment and pleasure. Participants experienced intense feelings of deep affection and appreciation, as well as an all-encompassing love.

The eighth theme describes consistently discordant experiences of struggle, loss of control and discomfort, and stress at not finding a way back. Participants experienced somatic sensations of heat, sweating, cold, tension or increased heart rate.

A repertoire of strategies was described to manage the experience, some were effective, others were not. The most effective technique seemed to be accepting and resting in what was happening.

Psychedelics pose a risk of making fatal errors during acute intoxication, especially for unprepared or inexperienced users.

Subsiding Effects

The last theme summarizes what happens when the effects wear off and participants return to everyday states. Some reported discomfort in the aftermath of the effect’s impact, including headaches, mental and physical fatigue and insomnia.

A process of retrospective reflection was described, in which participants integrated the content of experiences into everyday life. Some participants described transformative or life-changing experiences.

The Process

The chronology of the intoxication can be explained by different motivations, bodily sensations and psychological effects, which are followed by pervasive experiences. These experiences are far from the everyday condition and appear to be barely possible to describe in words.

Young people with little reflection and knowledge plunge into transformative experiences with 4-HO-MET. Some used the drug in a relatively safe home environment, but others went out into the public sphere.

The motivation to use 4-HO-MET seems to be driven by curiosity and desire to experience it, and not by any uncertainty that is associated with the use of it. No documented injuries or accidents are as yet documented for the substance.

The curiosity and longing described seem to be an expression of a search for meaning and purpose in life. The use of psychoactive substances may be a natural drive analogous with hunger or sex.

The use of consciousness-altering substances has followed mankind for millennia, but mostly within a cultural context. The modern Western world is dominated by materialism, science and objectivity, so the market for Internet drugs is dramatically increasing.

Further Research and Limitations

This study cannot claim to be representative or generalized to a wider population, but it is probably the first study in the world specifically focused on the effects of the compound 4-HO-MET. The experiences described in the study appear to be largely identical with the experiences of psilocin or psilocybin.

Sweden seems to be over-represented on the Internet in terms of descriptions and experiences of 4-HO-MET. The reason for this might be that Sweden has harsh and repressive drug legislation and monitoring, also personal use is criminalized.

Research should be performed on the prevalence and effects of 4-HO-MET, as well as on the long-term effects, dependency potential, possible toxicological risks or contraindications, and possible therapeutic potential within a clinical context.