rant about drugs and stuff

For my final independent reading novel I chose DMT:The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences. This books focuses primarily on the psychedelic Dimethyltryptamine: an incredibly potent drug that immerses the user in a brief, but profound glimpse at another reality. I chose this novel because I had seen a documentary based on this novel on Netflix and was intrigued by this relatively unknown substance. What interested me even more was the claims that the author, Rick Strassman, made about this particular drug. Basically, he believes that DMT occurs naturally in the brain in the pineal gland. He makes this claim by asserting that tryptophan, an amino acid that is found in all living things, can synthesize with two other enzymes in the brain to form tryptamine, an essential component necessary to form DMT. I thought it was absolutely fascinating that an incredibly powerful psychedelic like DMT was produced naturally in the human brain. But then I actually read the book. In this book Strassman explains how DMT could potentially formed in the brain and what implications this would have on people's lives. From 1990-1995 he injected nearly 60 volunteers with DMT and studied its subsequent effects on the users. The effects of the drug could be felt in the volunteers only 30 seconds after the injection. The user would then see an array of geometric patterns and lights in the test room before being essentially transported to another realm. They would report encountering anthropomorphic beings who guided them throughout their trip. These beings would often communicate with the volunteers through non-verbal means and would grant them some new insight on life. This entire encounter lasted around 5-10 minutes to Strassman but appeared to be a lifetime to the patients. Strassman likened these events as being analogous to near-death experiences. He believes that endogenous DMT (DMT produced naturally in the brain) is released periodically through a persons life to assist them with stressful situations. This is where I started to think of everything in the book as completely ridiculous. Just because the necessary ingredients to synthesize DMT are produced in the brain doesn't mean it is actually created. And to speculate further on this erratic notion by claiming that this remarkably potent psychedelic is released throughout a persons life is naive and rash. soooo yeah. I was getting really tired of people saying that DMT is found in the brain when there is absolutely no discernible evidence to support that claim right now so I needed to get my rant in. but yeah, drugs are bad and what not so stay away from those pesky guys