“What happens when blind people take psychedelics?”

Great question. Visual experiences are a significant part of any trip. If you’ve never been able to see then what happens?

Although there has been very little research into psychedelics and blindness, one study in 1963 produced some interesting answers. Those blind from birth report many of the same symptoms as those who aren’t: intense positive or negative feelings, changes in perception of self and consciousness, altered auditory, tactile, and somatic (body-related) sensations. The main difference is the obvious one, those who can see report complex visual hallucinations, those who can’t don’t. However, those who are blind do report a higher significance of other sensory experiences, perhaps due to their already heightened other senses.

Interestingly, some who are partially blind do say that psychedelics improve their ability to see. Based on the limited data, there are two theories. First, psychedelics are known to have a strong interplay with memory, so perhaps some semi-blind people are able to draw more fully on their visual memory from past experiences. Second, psychedelics are known to increase the perceived importance of experiences. Perhaps those who report seeing more clearly are doing so just because of the increased intensity of whatever sight they currently have. Unfortunately, there isn’t much data to make a firm case either way.

At the end there’s a link to a video where someone who’s been blind from birth talks about what it’s like. It’s worth a watch.

 

Articles

Effects of a hallucinogenic agent in totally blind Subjects (Krill et al., 1963)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/article-abstract/627109

The acute effects of classic psychedelics on memory in humans (C.J. Healy, 2021)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33420592/

Other

Tommy Edison, who was born blind, discusses his experiences (4:12)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uXDUIC2FWM

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shark
shark
9 months ago

what happens when psychopaths take psychadelics? do they get more emphathetic?

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