Psychedelic substances like LSD, Psilocybin and DMT cause internal and external visual alterations, which are a big part of the overall psychedelic experience. As we try to understand the nature of these experiences, we find ourselves asking, what about people with sensory impairments like blindness? Can they also experience these visual hallucinations? Are blind people able to hallucinate on psychedelics?
In this article, we will dive into this fascinating topic and explore what scientific research and subjective experiences say about how blind people feel and what they "see" when they consume different psychedelic substances.
The information on this page is only for educational and harm reduction purposes. We do not encourage our readers to buy or use illegal substances.
To begin, let's examine different types of blindness, then discuss what people with visual and auditory impairments experience while taking psychedelics.
Different Types Of Blindness
There are various types of blindness, including color blindness, night blindness, and disease-related blindness. As a basis for this discussion, we will focus on the three main types of blindness:
Congenital Blindness
Congenital blindness is a condition where vision loss occurs at birth. Individuals with this condition are often blind from when they are fetuses, and the medical authorities believe it is either inherited or caused by an infection. Vision loss may be caused by specific gene mutations either inherited from parents or can occur as a new variant in individuals that do not have any family history of inherited eye disorders.
Total Blindness
Total blindness is the definition for people with no perception of light, meaning they have no vision at all. Likewise, people who were not born blind but entirely lost their sight later in life are also included in this category. The diseases that can lead to total blindness include Diabetic retinopathy, Age-related macular degeneration, Cataract, Glaucoma, and Eye injury or trauma.
Partial Blindness
Partial blindness is when an individual can perceive light to a certain degree. People who are partially blind may have significantly reduced and limited vision. They may perceive light but often cannot recognize colors and shapes. The conditions leading to partial blindness include damage to the retina, vitreous hemorrhage, stroke, or a brain tumor.
What Happens if a Blind Person Takes Psychedelics?
The short answer is that people who are blind or visually impaired may have less or no imagery compared to non-blind people.
But what about auditory, tactile, and somatic experiences? Do blind people experience psychedelics differently in other senses, such as their sense of sound, smell, and taste?
Let's look closely at scientific research and learn if blind people can experience visual hallucinations on psychedelics.
What Causes Visual Hallucinations On Psychedelics?
Firstly, let's explore the mechanism behind the visual alterations of psychedelic drugs. Visionary experiences in the brain are often caused by the alterations of our prefrontal cortex and default mode network (DMN) - a brain network that is more active when we are not focused on the external world. DMN overactivity indicates excessive thinking on internal states, self-criticism, and rumination, thus can result in severe conditions such as depression.
Psychedelics can affect our prefrontal cortex and can decrease the activity of the DMN. They bind the serotonin receptors in the brain and mimic the activity of serotonin. Consequently, they reduce the activity of DMN and increase overall connectivity in the brain.
The alterations in DMN activity in the brain result in the release of dopaminergic, serotonergic, cholinergic, and GABAergic neurons, which work as brain operators and are involved in producing visionary hallucinations.
Do Blind People "See" Dreams?
For a sighted person, dreams are highly visual, colorful, and intense sensory experiences. This is the reason why psychedelic states are often referred to as "dream-like experiences."
Before diving into the effects of psychedelics on blind people, you might wonder if a blind person experiences dreams while sleeping.
The answer to this question depends on what type of blindness the person has. Research says people with congenital blindness do not experience any visual dreams during REM sleep. However, people who have become blind might be able to experience visual dreams.
Overall, a blind person is unlikely to experience dream states in the same way as a sighted person. In this case, the answer is complex, depending on when the person lost their sight. However, their dreaming experiences might include more sound, touch, taste, and smell sensations than visuals.
Scientific Research: The Effects of Psychedelics on People Who Are Congenitally and Partially Blind
Due to the challenging nature of the subject, there is not much research precisely investigating this topic. However, some researchers in the past were curious about the effects of psychedelics on blind people, which led to some interesting research.
Mr. Blue Pentagon
A case study was published in Consciousness and Cognition in 2018. In this study, researchers investigated the psychedelic experiences of a congenitally blind man named Mr. Blue Pentagon, a musician who was born blind. His experiences with psychedelics mostly happened during the 1970s and were not part of the research. However, he provided an extensive report on how he felt during these unique experiences. In his report, he indicated that he never had any visual hallucinations taking psychedelics; however, he had experienced a powerful and intense connection to sound, touch, and smell sensations, as well as significant distortion in time perception.
Research on the Effects of Hallucinogenic Substances in Totally Blind Individuals
Scientific research on the effects of hallucinogenic substances in totally blind people was conducted by Alex E. Krill, Hubert J. Alpert, and Adrian M.Ostfeld in 1963. The study investigated the experiences of 24 fully blind volunteers on different hallucinogenic agents. Four people were completely blind by a very early age, and they were included in the "congenitally blind" group. Twenty individuals were not born blind but lost their vision in late childhood due to various causes; therefore, they were included in the "non-congenital" group. Two groups were given either placebo or LSD, thus recorded during the experience, and interviewed after it.
None of the members of the congenital group indicated a visual hallucination. However, some of them reported auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory alterations. Out of the non-congenital group, 14 out of 20 subjects indicated visual hallucinations on LSD, such as spots, lights, dots, and flickers.
Overall, each subject who reported LSD-induced visual alterations had previously experienced visual activity in their lives. The research showed that psychedelic-induced visuals might occur without a functioning retina, however, only in non-congenital individuals. People who are congenitally blind can only experience auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory experiences.
The reason why non-congenital people experience visuals could be due to their ability to access visual memory and past experiences with the help of psychedelics, according to Dr. Ilsa Jerome from Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). She says psychedelics might also increase their sight so they would see things more clearly. However, they still would not be able to see things clearly like a person with an unimpaired vision.
Anecdotal Evidence: What Do Blind People Experience On Different Psychedelic Substances?
Below are some testimonials from blind people and those close to them who shared their subjective experiences in internet forums. Let's glimpse into classical psychedelic substances and learn more about what blind people experience with these hallucinogens.
What Do Blind People See on LSD?
In the case of Mr.Blue Pentagon, he claimed he had never experienced any visuals during his LSD trips. However, he described the music and the sounds he heard during the experience as three-dimensional, unique, and immersive auditory hallucinations.
Likewise, a blind person who has experimented with many drugs in his lifetime, the user name blindtripper, indicates sounds and music are substantial parts of his psychedelic experiences.
Another user, named Pete_Cool says he is blind in his right eye, and when he tried LSD, he had some hallucinogenic effects in both eyes.
A Reddit user that goes by the nickname SightlessTrips wrote in response to the question: "Has anyone who is blind from birth ever tried psychedelics like lsd/psilocybin?"
What Do Blind People See on Shrooms?
A Reddit user that goes by the name of dylanstrouble talked about his mushroom experiences with a friend who became blind as an adult. According to him, his friend had closed-eye hallucinations along with strong auditory hallucinations.
Similarly, a user that goes by the username of untamedanomaly claimed that he is legally blind, colorblind, photosensitive, and has nystagmus. He says he experimented with mushrooms and observed the colors differently and vividly.
Another person who is only blind in one eye describes his magic mushroom trip as having a three-dimensional experience and seeing things in much more depth compared to his normal perception.
What Do Blind People See on DMT?
DMT is a distinct psychedelic drug with intense and immersive hallucinogenic effects. When smoked, it produces vivid, short-acting visual hallucinations. When describing a DMT experience, people often use terms such as machine elves, hyperspace, and DMT entities. They describe their experiences as traveling into different locations, dimensions that are beyond our sensory information. Some even say DMT is an out-of-body experience, and they believe that DMT dimensions are real.
If DMT realms have nothing to do with our senses, the powerful visuals experienced on this substance raise the question: Do blind people have similar visual experiences on DMT?
A member of the Shroomery forum shared a story where he gave DMT to a congenitally blind friend. He describes his friend's experience as widely opening his eyes after smoking DMT, followed by intense sobbing and crying while he was saying how beautiful his experience is. Please note that the person claims that his friend's "Visual cortex is completely intact, but he just doesn't have eyes, so he should be able to have a DMT experience. He has never had any true psychedelics before today."
In addition, on Reddit, a user named Aventiidor shared his blind friend's DMT experience. Interestingly, his friend described the experience as colorful and crispy, which is why he said that he enjoyed the experience.
What Do Colorblind People Experience On Psychedelics?
What about people who are colorblind? An interesting research was conducted by Anthony, Winstock, Ferris, and Nutt in 2020, where they did an online survey on the effects of psychedelics on color blindness. Of 47 people, 23 indicated psychedelics improved their color blindness symptoms.
A user named Im_An_Alcofrolic is a colorblind person who experienced LSD. He defines his psychedelic trips as colors becoming brilliant and being able to see the shades of green.
What Do Deaf People Experience On Psychedelics?
The interesting discussions on blind people and psychedelics bring out questions about other people with sensory impairments. For instance, what do deaf people experience on psychedelics?
We could not find any scientific studies on what deaf people experience with psychedelics. However, some people mention their subjective experiences in internet forums.
A user named chemist_nerd claims that he is profoundly deaf and uses hearing aids. He wrote that he had experienced LSD more than once. He, therefore, describes his experience with his ability to feel the beats of music he listens to along with the psychedelic trip.
A Reddit user called terribleone250s, who claimed to be legally deaf (though not totally deaf, but the government considered his disability significant enough to qualify as legally deaf), said that "It sounded so good that I actually started crying and my life was forever changed."
The Future of Psychedelics to The Blind
It is difficult to predict the future of psychedelics for the blind with certainty, as the use of these substances is highly regulated and limited to clinical settings. However, there are some potential avenues for future research and exploration that could lead to new and exciting possibilities for individuals with visual impairments.
One potential area of focus for future research could be the use of psychedelics to enhance sensory experiences for the blind. For example, some studies have suggested that psychedelics can increase sensory sensitivity and improve the ability to sense emotions in others. This could potentially be beneficial for those who are blind, as it may allow them to better experience and understand their surroundings. Additionally, the use of psychedelics in combination with other therapies, such as music or art therapy, may provide a unique and powerful way for individuals with visual impairments to engage with the world around them in new and profound ways.
Another potential area of focus for future research could be the use of psychedelics to treat specific conditions that are common among individuals who are blind. For example, some studies have suggested that psychedelics may be effective in treating depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. This could potentially be beneficial for individuals with visual impairments, as they may be at an increased risk of developing these conditions due to the challenges and limitations associated with their visual impairment.
Overall, while the future of psychedelics for the blind is uncertain, there are many exciting possibilities that could arise from continued research and exploration in this area. It is important for researchers to continue to carefully study the potential benefits and risks of using psychedelics for individuals with visual impairments in order to develop safe and effective treatments that can improve the lives of those who are blind.
Summary
As the literature on blind people and psychedelic drugs is quite limited, it is hard to answer all questions regarding this sensitive topic.
However, people who are blind seem to experience more auditory, tactile and body sensations compared to people who are not blind. Furthermore, it seems that there is a strong correlation between the type of blindness an individual has and whether they get visuals or not as part of their psychedelic trip.
What exactly people with sensory impairments experience on psychedelics is an engaging discussion. More scientific research is required to shed light on people's experiences, sensations, and feelings about these substances.
Psychedelics are slowly becoming mainstream and are considered helpful for a wide range of disorders. Theoretically, future research may indicate that psychedelics might be useful in aiding people with disabilities in general or as part of psychedelic therapy.
Even though psychedelics are not the miraculous cure many would like them to be, by utilizing these substances and learning more about their potential and their effects on the blind, we may be able to improve their quality of life.
