Lesson video

Hello, my name is Ms. Whittens Howeth, and today we're going to be learning about hallucinogens.

Some parts of the lesson might be worrying or upsetting, and you are required to have an adult with you.

If at any stage you feel worried or uncomfortable or upset, stop the lesson and talk to the adult who's with you.

Thanks for joining me, let's get started.

The outcome of today's lesson is, I can describe what hallucinogens are and can explain their risks and their effects on the body.

Let's look at some ground rules to keep ourselves safe.

Firstly, we've got Laura, "Listen to others.

It's okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement and not the person." And next we've got Andeep, "Respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but we don't use names or descriptions that could identify anybody, including ourselves." A good top tip is to say "my friend", and then we don't know who it is, whether it's someone you've seen on telly, in a film, that you've read about, that you've heard about, that is a friend of yours or even a family member, no one is going to know.

Next we've got Izzy, and she says, "You can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in the discussion.

No one is going to be put on the spot, and that includes the teacher." Lastly, we have Jacob, and he says that, "There is no judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged." And that also means there are no stupid questions.

If you've got a question, I can almost guarantee that there will be plenty of others who have exactly the same one.

Let's have a look at our key words for the lesson.

The first key word is "hallucinogen", and that is a type of drug that can change the way people see, hear, taste, smell, think, or feel.

Then we have the word "distort", which means to twist or to change reality.

Then "hallucination", a false experience involving sight, sound, touch, taste, and/or smell, and it really seems as though it's real.

And then we have "flashback", and when we're talking about drugs and hallucinogens, in this context, it means when someone re-experiences the effect of the drug they've taken even after the effect has worn off.

So, in this lesson you will see the key words highlighted in bold so you can keep a watch out for them.

And here's our lesson outline.

So first of all, we're going to talk about what hallucinogens are, then we're going to talk about the risks of taking hallucinogens, and then lastly, we're gonna think about how we can make the right choices.

Let's start, what are hallucinogens? Hallucinogens are drugs that can potentially change the way people see, hear, taste, smell, or feel, and it can also affect moods and thought patterns.

Hallucinogens affect how the brain works by changing how it sends and receives messages.

Hallucinogens alter perception, that means the way that you see things, and they distort, remember, that means to twist reality, they distort thinking processes and sensory information, and they do this by disrupting the chemical communication networks in the brain.

A hallucinogen might distort the senses, cause hallucinations, and although we often think of hallucinations as just seeing things that aren't there, it could also mean hearing things that aren't there, or feeling things, or smelling things, or tasting things that aren't there, any of those senses.

Hallucinogens can cause a dream-like state, and they can increase feelings of euphoria, or wellbeing and happiness.

Let's check, how well were you listening, true or false? Hallucinogens just change the way people see things.

Have a little think, and then we'll take some feedback in a moment.

So, if you said "false", you'd be correct, let's find out why.

Hallucinogens also distort thinking processes and sensory information, so it's not just the way that people see things.

Well done if you got that right, great listening.

There are several different kinds of hallucinogens and they can take different forms and be taken in different ways.

So firstly, we have psilocybin, which is also known as magic mushrooms, and they can be ingested, that means eaten.

Then we have lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD for short, and that can come in a powder or liquid form, often it's found on tabs of blotting paper.

And then lastly, we have mescalin, which is a kind of cactus seed, and that can be chewed.

Let's have another check.

Which of the following are examples of hallucinogens? A, mescaline, B, nicotine, or, C, LSD.

Have a think.

So, if you said mescaline and LSD, you'd be right, brilliant listening.

So, now we're going to move on to a task.

With your partner, discuss Alex and Sam's questions.

Alex says, "I've heard of hallucinogens, but what do they do?" And Sam says, "What are some examples of hallucinogens?" Have a think, have a discussion with your partner, you might want to pause the recording so you've got time to have your conversation, and then we'll take some feedback in answer to Alex and Sam's questions.

Off you go.

So, let's take some feedback.

With your partner, discuss Alex and Sam's questions, this was the task I asked you do.

So your discussion may have included, in answer to Alex's question about what hallucinogens do, you might have said something like, "Hallucinogens are drugs that can potentially change the way people see, hear, taste, smell, or feel, and they can also affect mood and thought." Well done if you've got something like that, or something similar.

That's great, well done, good listening.

Let's have a look at the second part, so have a look at what you've said in answer to Sam's question, and Sam's question was, "What are some examples of hallucinogens?" I wonder how many of these you've got.

So we've got LSD, magic mushrooms or psilocybin, and mescaline, and they're types of hallucinogens that you might have said.

Well done if you've got all of those, and well done if you've managed to get one or two, that's brilliant, well done.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson now, which is what are the risks of taking hallucinogens? Hallucinogens affect how the brain works by changing how it sends and receives messages.

Although some hallucinogens come from plants, like magic mushrooms for example, and mescaline, this does not mean that they're without risks.

Some of the risks of changing how the brain works include the following, paranoia, that means being really anxious and being really sure that something is going to go wrong.

For example, you know, maybe you feel like someone's following you, and you feel very, very anxious and upset.

A loss of control about maybe how your body's working, how your mind is working.

You can get upsetting flashbacks, and remember we said that were experiencing the effects of the drug even after it's out of your system, they might seem like sensory flashbacks or maybe kind of dreams or imaginings, those sorts of things can come back to you.

And then lastly, feeling panic, so feeling really, really anxious and very, very worried.

So, let's have a look at some specific risks of taking hallucinogens.

So, different hallucinogens can have different risks, let's have a look at some examples now.

So firstly, psilocybin or magic mushrooms, the risks associated with taking that are diarrhoea, paranoia, and vomiting.

Paranoia is when you feel very anxious about something that you're convinced something is going to go wrong.

LSD, that can cause flashbacks, and remember we said that that's experiencing maybe some of the same effects of the drug even after it's worn off, so they might be sensory in nature, you might feel like you're seeing things or feeling things or smelling things that you did when you'd just taken the drug.

And if you have existing mental health conditions, they can worsen when you take LSD.

And lastly, one that we've not come across yet is dimethyltryptamine, or DMT for short, and the risks of that are raised heart rate and raised blood pressure.

How well were you listening? Let's do a check.

What are the risks of taking psilocybin? Can it lower blood pressure? Can it cause paranoia, or diarrhoea? Have a little think.

And if you said paranoia and diarrhoea, you'd be right, well done if you got one or both of those, that's really great listening.

Now, Lucas has a question, "What about the legal risks if you get caught in possession of, or you are supplying hallucinogens to other people?" Good question, Lucas.

So, most hallucinogens are Class A drugs, which means it is illegal to take them yourself and it's illegal to give away or sell to others.

Possession of hallucinogens may lead up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.

Supplying hallucinogens to someone else, even your friends, even for free, may result in life imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or even both.

How well were you listening? Let's do a check.

Most hallucinogens are which class of drug? Class C, Class B, or Class A? Have a think.

So, if you said Class A, you'd be right, very well done, great listening.

I have another task for you now.

Each of the following are risks associated with taking hallucinogens, sort the statements into categories.

So here are the statements, you need to decide whether it is a risk to physical health, a risk to mental health, or it's a legal risk.

So we have high blood pressure, a prison sentence, a loss of control, a criminal record, paranoia, increased anxiety, a fine, upsetting flashbacks, vomiting, or a raised heart rate.

We can do one together, so for example, you might decide that a raised heart rate was a risk to physical health, so you'd put it in that column.

Have a go, you might want to stop the recording so that you can do this task, and we'll take some feedback in a few minutes.

Well done for having a go at that, let's have a look.

Your completed table might look something like this, and remember what I asked you to do was have a look at the following risks associated with taking hallucinogens, and I asked you to sort the statements into the categories.

It could be argued that some of the statements go in more than one category, so here is just an example of what your answers could look like.

So, high blood pressure, vomiting, and a raised heart rate all go in risks to physical health.

In risks to mental health, we've got a loss of control, increased anxiety, upsetting flashbacks, and paranoia.

Then lastly, we've got legal risks, a prison sentence, a criminal record, and a fine.

Now obviously, everything's kind of connected, if you ended up with a prison sentence, that might well affect your mental health.

So it's easy to see how one thing can affect everything else.

Well done, though, if you've got something like that, and for having a think about it all, that's great.

We're onto the last bit of the lesson now, how can I make the right choices? We're all influenced by others to some extent, these are some of the reasons why people make decisions.

Laura says, "How do I know what influences me? Where do those influences come from?" So here are some suggestions, these are all things that might influence you make the decisions that you do.

Your influences might come from friendships, or family, if you follow a religion or set of beliefs, perhaps school and your teachers might influence you, even if you don't want to admit it, maybe social media influences you too, or politics, maybe your influences come from a desire to belong or to fit in with a particular group, perhaps celebrities or influencers online, maybe your personal goals and ambitions influence the decisions you make, and then lastly, your self-worth, how good you feel about yourself, that also can affect the decisions that you make.

Here are some characters, and they're talking about the things that influence them, I wonder if any of those resonate with you.

Layla says, "My religion influences me." David says, "My goals are a big influence, I want to be a great athlete." And lastly, Emily says, "The values my family hold influence me." What else can influence our decisions? You might want to have a little think about that.

Let's apply that then to thinking about why someone might decide to use hallucinogens.

So some of the reasons are listed below, peer pressure, a desire to belong, the influence of others, perhaps from social media, perhaps from their friendship groups.

It's really easy to say "yes" to things, it's a lot harder to say "no".

Which people or situations might make it harder to say "no", even if you want to? For example, I find it easier to say "no" to people I trust and I know care about me.

It is sort of about knowing that someone is going to respect you and not stop being friends with you because you've said "no", or you've said that you don't want to do something.

It's a lot easier in those situations to say "no" than it is if you're worried about what people think or worried that they're going to abandon you because you're disagreeing with them or saying you don't want to do something.

So, how well were you listening? Let's do a check.

When is it easier to say "no" to somebody? When they feel respected and cared for by other people, if they feel under pressure to follow the group, or if they know their own mind and what they want? When is it easier to say "no"? Have a think.

Let's have a look at the answers then.

So, if they feel respected and cared for by other people and if they know their own mind and what they want, then it's easier to say "no".

Well done if you got that right, and let's move on, great listening.

So, here are some of our characters and they're talking about things and how confident they feel about saying "no".

Lucas says, "This is something I struggle with." Which is really very honest.

Andeep says, "I can do this sometimes." And Sam is pretty confident about saying, "No." I wonder where you fit, I wonder if you're more like Lucas and it's a real struggle, or whether you are more like Andeep and maybe you can say "no" sometimes, or maybe you're more like Sam and you're really confident.

But it's really worth reflecting on and think about what might might make it easier.

And here are some ways hopefully of making it easier to say "no", let's have a look at some ways in which you can do it politely, respectfully, so a way that you're trying to still be friends with somebody, but there are ways of saying "no" and being confident and positive about it.

So firstly, you can stay positive, you can express appreciation for the invitation or being considered.

So for example, "Thanks for including me, I'm not into that." You can keep it simple, sometimes a simple statement is enough, "No, I don't do drugs." You can use "I" statements and focus on your feelings, "I feel uncomfortable with drugs and I don't want to use them." Now with all of these, you're seeing that you're not criticising the other person for doing something that you're not into, you're just talking about yourself.

You can be honest and clear and politely explain your reason, "I don't want to try drugs, because they're bad for my health." And you can offer an alternative, suggest another activity, so you're saying you still want to hang out with them, you still want to be friends, but you just don't want to do the drugs thing.

So you could say, "Let's do something else instead, like go to the cinema." So they're all suggestions that you can use and you don't have to use it for just about drugs, you can use it for anything where you feel like you have to say "no" and you need to feel confident about it, they're all suggestions that you can use anytime.

Lucas has a really great question, it's a really important one, and he says, "How would I get support if I, or someone I knew, needed support regarding drugs?" Great question, Lucas, thank you very much.

So, you could talk to a teacher, a doctor, or another trusted adult, and there are services and charities around to help and they offer support, for example, Childline, and there are others.

Here is Jacob recapping how to make the right choices.

So Jacob says, "Thanks, but I don't want to do that, it's just not my thing, let's do something else like go out for dinner." Let's see, is Jacob using "I" statements? Is he keeping it positive? Is he offering an alternative? And is he being honest and clear? See if you can identify the parts in that speech bubble that are doing any of those things.

Have a little look, I'm going to give you some thinking time and then we will take some feedback.

And yes, he's doing all of those things.

He's using "I" statements, he says, "I don't want to do that." He's keeping it positive, he says "thanks" at the start, it's a really positive way of starting it.

He offers an alternative, he says, "Let's do something else, like go out for dinner." And he's being really honest and clear, he's saying that he's not into doing drugs, he's being really, really clear, he's not waffling on for ages, he makes his point.

So, well done, Jacob, that's a really good example.

Now, we've got one final task to do this lesson and it's kind of a case study, or a scenario, let's read it together and we'll have a think about it.

One Friday evening, Danny is at a friend's house with a group from school, the adults are all out.

One of Danny's friends offers the others some magic mushrooms, which contain psilocybin, some of the group accept and they try the hallucinogens, Danny wants to decline, he's sure he does not want any.

I'd like you to have a go at writing a script to explore what Danny could do and say in this situation to stay true to what he believes in.

Remember he's really sure he doesn't want to try any magic mushrooms. Have a go, we'll take some feedback in a few minutes, you might want to pause the video so that you can work on this task.

So your script might have looked something a little bit like this.

Danny, seeing the dried mushrooms being passed around, "Hey, what are those?" Friend, "These are magic mushrooms, you should try some, they're safe, they're completely natural." Danny, "Thanks for offering, but I'm not interested, I'm just not into that stuff.

I know they're natural, but it doesn't mean there's no risks taking them." Friend, "Oh, come on, everyone else is doing it, it'll be fun." Danny, "I get that, but I'm going to pass, I'd rather stay clearheaded and enjoy the night.

How about we play some video games or watch a movie instead?" Friend, "All right, man, your choice." Your script might have looked something like that or it might have looked a little bit different, but if you have Danny being really clear and staying positive, offering alternatives, they're exactly the right sorts of things to include, so well done for doing that.

Let's look at the lesson summary, this is what we've covered today.

Hallucinogens change the way someone's senses perceive the world.

Hallucinogens can cause hallucinations and they can distort reality.

There are many risks involved with taking hallucinogens, including physical and mental risks as well as legal ones.

Most illegal hallucinogens are Class A drugs and carry the severest penalties.

There are a range of factors that influence people's decisions regarding taking hallucinogens.

If you or someone you know need support regarding hallucinogens, talk to a trusted adult.

And here are some places where you can get support, you have NHS Live Well, SafeCall, and Childline.

Thanks for learning with me today, and I look forward to seeing you again soon for another lesson.

Take care of yourselves.