Can You Get Addicted to a DMT Vape Pen?
Even if a drug isn’t considered to be addictive, it can still be dangerous, leading to short-term side effects and long-term physical and mental health problems. If you’re wondering what is a DMT vape pen, one of the things to know about vape pens for DMT is that they can indeed be potentially habit-forming due to the intense experiences they cause in users who can get hooked on these feelings and want to experience them again. Many aspects of this drug can become dangerous, including how it affects the user’s heart rate and can lead to medical problems like heart palpitations and seizures.
Table of contents
» What Makes DMT Vape Pens Potentially Habit-Forming?
» How Does DMT Affect the Brain’s Reward System?
» Are There Withdrawal Symptoms From DMT Use?
» What Treatment Options Exist for DMT Abuse?
» Key Takeaways on What Is a DMT Vape Pen
» Resources
What Makes DMT Vape Pens Potentially Habit-Forming?
Before we explore how these drugs can potentially be habit-forming, it’s helpful to understand what is a DMT vape pen and what this drug is. DMT, short for N-dimethyltryptamine, is a psychedelic tryptamine that is found naturally in small amounts in some animals and plants. It was first synthesized in a lab in 1931.
It can be smoked, vaped, inhaled, or injected to cause a rapid onset of psychedelic and hallucinogenic effects, such as vivid visions and hallucinations, and altered perceptions and sense of time. While these experiences are indeed intense, the “trip” caused by DMT is very short-lived, lasting as little as 15 to 60 minutes, compared to longer psychedelics like LSD that can affect users for 12 hours or even longer.
There are many common effects of DMT on users, such as:
- Vivid hallucinations
- Altered reality, such as the sense of leaving the body or even going to another world and encountering entities or others
- Emotional experiences, including ecstasy, distress, anxiety, paranoia, fear, and confusion
- Altered sense of time
- Altered perception
- Spiritual or emotional experiences
- Changes to the user’s belief system
In addition to these psychological impacts, DMT can put a strain on the body, causing increased heart rate and blood pressure, dizziness, dilated pupils, heart palpitations, chest pain, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Seizures are also possible in rare but serious circumstances.
On top of that, DMT can be emotionally and mentally distressing, leading to bad trips, the feeling of having a near-death experience, and emotional instability, especially in people who are already suffering from mental health concerns like depression or anxiety.
While this drug has been around for nearly a century in its current synthesized form, the rise of DMT vape pens has come about more recently. These specialized vaporizers contain a cartridge with DMT powder that is dissolved in a liquid or substance, which is then heated to the vapor point, delivering a cloud of this drug-laden vapor into the user’s mouth. Once vaped, the drug is quickly absorbed, and the user feels the effects of the drug in just a matter of minutes.
The reason why DMT is not addictive but potentially habit-forming comes down to wanting to feel these intense feelings again. Users can feel compelled to repeat these experiences, such as taking the drug frequently or taking multiple doses in one night, to have these trips again and again.
Over a short period of time, this can quickly lead to an unhealthy pattern of compulsively using the drug, and someone who is constantly using DMT can find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with basic responsibilities at work, home, or school. That’s why, even though DMT isn’t addictive, it can become a serious problem for chronic users who are driven by the need to keep using it.
How Does DMT Affect the Brain’s Reward System?
To better understand what is a DMT vape pen, it’s helpful to know how it affects the brain and the brain’s reward system when used. Research has shown that this drug has profound effects on several areas of the brain and important aspects of brain activity, essentially breaking down rigid boundaries that separate how different brain areas work and communicate, thereby creating temporary new connections and activity. This is why users report changes to aspects such as imagination, perception, and their reward system.
Here’s what this can do:
- The layered brain connectivity means that different brain regions start to communicate in a new way, including by linking emotional and value brain circuits that are critical pieces of the overall reward system.
- This causes the psychedelic experience that, while short-lived, is extremely powerful and can seem profound to the user.
- Brain changes caused by DMT can boost the person’s sense of well-being, only pushing them further toward chronic use of this drug to keep feeling good.
These feelings can become potentially habit-forming because users may feel compelled to experience these temporary bursts of creativity, imagination, connection, and escape from the real world repeatedly. With repeated use, the brain’s reward system can start to push the person to use again to get this temporary rush, even if chronic use of this drug comes at the expense of emotional and physical stability and can severely affect the person’s relationships and personal life.
Are There Withdrawal Symptoms From DMT Use?
It’s important to understand the many dangers of taking DMT and antidepressants or other substances. Mixing any drug with another substance can become profoundly dangerous. While DMT does have physical and mental health risks, such as increased heart rate and blood pressure, stomach upset, and increased depression or anxiety, users have reported that there are no withdrawal symptoms from DMT use.
Still, they can suffer from a sense of wanting to experience the intense rush caused by the drug again, and repeated use can easily be habit-forming in people who are “chasing” the high that they experience while under the influence of this substance.
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What Treatment Options Exist for DMT Abuse?
Many people wonder why drug addicts relapse and how people start misusing and abusing drugs in the first place. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how drug addiction and misuse happen, it’s helpful to know that there are effective and safe treatment options that can help people break the chains of addiction and live a better life in long-term recovery.
Comprehensive addiction treatment facilities provide a full range of programs that can help, including medical detox, a brief period of round-the-clock medical supervision, and support to help people get through withdrawal more safely and comfortably.
Inpatient and outpatient drug rehab programs focus on providing skills training, individual and group therapy, and other forms of support that help people address the physical and mental aspects of addiction. Even after rehab is over, alumni programs and ongoing support keep people connected to therapy and help them stay on track as they transition back to their new lives.
Key Takeaways on What Is a DMT Vape Pen
- DMT is a psychedelic tryptamine that is synthesized in labs.
- The drug can be smoked, snorted, injected, and vaporized.
- DMT has a rapid onset and produces an intense “trip” that lasts just 15 to 60 minutes.
- What is a DMT vape pen? Concentrated DMT that is dissolved or suspended in a liquid and heated up to a vapor that the user inhales to deliver its effects.
- While DMT is generally not considered to be addictive, it can be potentially habit-forming.
If you or someone you love is hooked on DMT and realizes it’s time to make a change, WhiteSands Alcohol and Drug Rehab can help. Call us at 877-855-3470 and let’s get you back on track toward a better future.
Resources
- WebMD – DMT: Everything You Should Know
- Alcohol and Drug Foundation – DMT
- Technology Networks – What Happens in the Human Brain After Taking DMT?
If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.
About the Author
Jackie has been involved in the substance abuse and addiction treatment sector for over five years and this is something that she is truly eager about. She has a passion for writing and continuously works to create informative pieces that not only educate and inform the public about the disease of addiction but also provide solutions for those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.
