ThePhanastasio

It varies from person to person, but both are extremely "safe" drugs, ultimately.

I have friends who steer clear of acid because they say they're more likely to have a bad trip and they prefer shrooms because they feel more "in touch with nature" with them.

Personally, I've never had a bad acid trip, but I have had bad trips on shrooms. I've had "uncomfortable" trips with acid, all having to do with unexpected elements coming into play that would bother me when sober. Never went all out nuts and freaked out from acid, and I've taken upward of 15 hits before.

My observations have basically been that the trips themselves are fairly similar, but I have noticed some differences and recurring themes with each. Keep in mind that this is all just in my experience, and it does really vary from person to person.

Shrooms:
- Geometric shapes in many hallucinations.
- Strangely fuzzy peripheral vision.
- Occasional nausea, although very slight.
- A strange sense of foreboding when in the outdoors.
- Desire to be with very few people.
- Synesthesia (seeing sounds, tasting colors, seeing specific colors when specific people speak, etc.)
- Religious epiphanies and / or ego death.
- Melting visuals or otherwise still surfaces appearing to bubble and move.
- Occasionally moderate visuals causing me to go into a trance like state and begin viewing progressively more disturbing visuals until someone breaks me out of it and I can focus on other things.
- A need to listen to music / make music.
- A very increased appreciation for aesthetic beauty of things around me, occasionally resulting in my being completely overwhelmed with it all and crying.
- Disjointed thoughts which make perfect sense to me which I almost always feel are too profound to be spoken aloud, preferring instead to try to convey the messages to others with my actions and body language.

Acid:
- At higher doses, complete mental separation from my surroundings which result in memories of being somewhere else entirely.
- Familiar objects suddenly seeming foreign and making me uneasy. For example, there have been several occasions upon which I couldn't recognize my hand as being my own.
- Very slightly elevated pulse rate, warm face, inability to sleep (this is common to everyone I know who has ever taken acid as well)
- The feeling I can hear dozens of layers of subtext in anything spoken or any minute bit of body language I observe in others.
- Strong interest in dimensions.
- Occasionally I have experienced thoughts which have got me believing that there was no other reality in the world other than what I was experiencing at that moment - as in the people who weren't with me didn't exist. Nothing existed except for my immediate surroundings.
- VERY heightened senses. Not even really imagined - I was able to hear and see better than any of the sober people in my group on several occasions. It also helps that you have a heightened sensitivity to light (most always - every time I've done acid I have) which helps you see better in dim lighting.
- A deep love and understanding for everyone around me.

There are many other things I have experienced on both of these, but those are just things which have been recurring themes. It should also be noted that in my experience, a mushroom trip tends to last 6-10 hours or so, whereas an acid trip can last from 12-18 hours easily. Basically, if you have something to do the next day, you probably shouldn't take either one of the drugs; you'll probably feel a little different the day after even after the effects have worn off.

With mushrooms, I have been able to fall asleep, although I was plagued by very intense closed-eye visuals on several occasions. On acid, I've never been able to sleep, no matter how hard I try.

Negative side effects were the nausea I had a few times with mushrooms, which wasn't even bad enough to make me vomit and was pretty short-lived. With acid, I have had what was probably slightly dirty acid which has made me have slightly irritating muscle twitches, particularly in my legs. Fortunately, if you're taking acid on blotter paper, you will be pleased to know that acid is the only hallucinogen active at such low doses, so you're getting the real deal. The strength varies greatly depending on the batch, but it's going to be LSD.

Also - I think mushrooms taste pretty bad (kind of like dirt) but a lot of times, they're sold as chocolates which makes them somewhat more bearable. I've had them covered in chocolate with peanut butter before. You cannot, however get rid of the icky consistency of the mushrooms - I always end up having to pick pieces out of my teeth.

Acid is tasteless, and with blotter, all you have to do is keep a TEENY TINY piece of paper in your mouth per hit. Best on your tongue or between your cheek and teeth against your gums. And if you swallow it, it doesn't mean you're not going to get the hit; it just means basically that you're going to have to wait a little longer for it to kick in. Acid tends to take about an hour to an hour and a half to really start feeling it, although you may feel some effects (tingly, warm face, etc.) much sooner. Shrooms'll take you about 30 minutes to an hour.

Also, smoking pot will intensify both, and may even cause the effects to hit sooner. I'm not totally clear on this, but I have had acid hit me pretty hard in half an hour or so by smoking pot right after putting the hit(s) in my mouth.

Ultimately, it really does depend on the person, like I said. If you opt for shrooms, it'd be best to eat about one chocolate or so - maybe even half of one and saving the rest for later - to start out to see how you feel about it. With acid, it'd probably be best to start off with one hit because the strength varies. You can always take more if, after three hours or so you're not really feeling much of anything. On your first time, you probably should not exceed 3 hits of acid because it can be overwhelming for some people. I was at a party where some guy came and had eaten ten hits (for his first time on acid) and spent most of the night curled in the fetal position in the corner of a bedroom asking for "Zach" (we have no idea who Zach was) and crying. Poor guy.

Most important thing to keep in mind: Set and setting. You want to be around people you're comfortable with and have at least one sober person (ideally) who has taken hallucinogens before and can talk you down if need be. You also want to be in a good state of mind, not depressed, angry, or freaked out already. That's almost like asking for a negative trip. If you have a calm environment where you know that no one's going to walk in on you and call you out on being high, no police are going to be lurking, etc., you'll feel more comfortable. You want to be warm, wear comfy clothes, have water, maybe snacks, (I tend not to be able to eat on acid or shrooms, but some people like to bring snacks anyway) good music is a nice touch...things of that nature.

Anyway, if you try either one, enjoy!