Trip killer
drugs that block hallucinogen effects
A trip killer, also known as a hallucinogen antidote or hallucinogen antagonist, is a drug that aborts or reduces the effects of a hallucinogenic drug experience (or 'trip'). As there are different types of hallucinogens that work in different ways, there are different types of trip killers. Antipsychotics can block and reduce the effects of hallucinogens directly. Benzodiazepines provide adjunct anxiety relief and sedation.
Examples of trip killers, in the case of serotonergic psychedelics, include serotonin receptor antagonists, such as antipsychotics like risperidone and quetiapine and certain antidepressants like trazodone and mirtazapine, and benzodiazepines, for instance diazepam and alprazolam.
Trip killers can be used clinically to manage effects of hallucinogens, like hallucinogenic effects, anxiety, and psychomotor agitation, for instance in the emergency department and in the setting of psychedelic therapy. They are also sometimes used by recreational psychedelic users as a form of harm reduction to manage "bad trips" or challenging experiences, for instance emotionally difficult experiences with prominent anxiety. While used for harm-reduction purposes, this use of trip killers has raised concerns about safety and possible adverse effects.
Serotonergic psychedelic antidotes
Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists
Serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin (found in psilocybin mushrooms), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline (found in peyote cacti), and dimethyltryptamine (DMT) (found in ayahuasca), mediate their hallucinogenic effects by acting as agonists of the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor. As a result, serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonists would theoretically be expected to block the hallucinogenic effects of serotonergic psychedelics.
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This entry incorporates text from “Trip killer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.