After watching the latest JRE episode with Dennis Mckenna, it got me thinking of what it may be like to trip at an age over say 40 or 50?

Would the accumulation of years present changes in how one would respond to DMT, moreso in the aftermath/intergration part of the experience?

I have also noticed that as people age, their world view tends to become more restricted as they become "set in their ways" so to speak. So, what better a time to push the boundaries and show that what you thought you were sure of is not quite so? Or what worse of a time as such boundary pushing may impede a kind of closure about which ones life comes to the end? I find myself at a point now where the world is too complex as it is in sober life, that to dive deeper with DMT would make things worse in relation to my ability to maintain contentedness and sanity. I liken that opportunities may become more ripe with my own age.

Interesting question. I'm mid 50's and I find myself more cautious about dosage now as compared to when I first began using psychedelics as a teenager. I think it's due to several factors. I seem to have a more concrete sense of the possible consequences of my actions, a sense of just how badly things can go wrong. I have more to lose if I screw up than when I was a kid. Also, as I've gotten older I've accumulated enough emotional baggage that it kinda scares me what psychedelics might dredge up. So I end up tripping alone and trying to be careful, on moderate doses seeing as my backup plan is limited if I trainwreck.

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Lol, OP, how about you wait 20 or 30 years and find out?

I could handle psychedelics much better when i was young compared to now. I use to take ridiculously large doses and laugh all the way through it. Now it's all trials and tribulations . When your young you feel invincible. I have a feeling that a psychedelic would be more therapy than a good time for a 40,50 year old. But what do i know im only 29.

I think that when i was a teenager and taking lsd and mushrooms (didn't try DMT til my late 20s) i was quite able to handle them. But around 18 years old i started to be more thoughtful and less playful in my mind which led to over self analysing, self consciousness and anxiety in social situations. After having a break for 10 years or so from psychedelic drugs i came back to them at around about the age of 44 (i am 49 now). At the time of my return to the fold i was living alone tripped alone and loved it.

I don't do it (DMT) for therapy. I do it it because it is interesting and any kind of self analysis that arrises from my forays is a bonus. Nowadays i have a kid and responsibilities to her and her mum so i would not take the kinds of doses that need heavy duty integration. I guess i am a part time lightweight but that's ok cos i have a comparatively ok life.

I don't think that older people get any more set in their ways than young people. I think that once you pass 40 or so you realise that everything is a load of bollocks and just get on with what you actually like rather than getting caught in various culturally or self imposed rat races that are in vogue at any particular time.

I had some great and memorable times tripping when i was younger but i think that i prefer tripping nowadays. I just don't do it that often. I am packing the mrs and baby off to her dads in August, so i plan break out the VG and go for gold.

I would also like to add that i don't feel like i am old. I feel like i am about 27. I think that only young people think that someone over 40 is old.

Like a lot of people in this thread I'm older now (almost 40), but I find psychedelics are much better now than when I was younger. I used to get stuck in thought loops and do crazy stupid stuff whilst tripping. I wouldn't even take much and I would turn into a total fruit loop.

These days I'm more of an intrepid explorer. I handle higher doses better and love more in depth and introspective tripping whilst alone. I'm less easily scared and can journey deeper into the void. The things I do these days would have left me reeling for a long time when I first discovered psychedelics in the 90's. I've had "day after" musings recently where I've been left wondering how the hell I could have possibly consumed that many psychedelics and yet still remain a rational and sane human being.

DMT is relatively new to me though. The first time scared the willies out of me, but I jumped straight back in there about half an hour later. I think the fear element of it is part of why I find it so exciting. It's delightfully and euphorically terrifying for me initially, followed by complete bliss... then crushing reality. Even after I've said to myself that I've pushed it waaaay to far and don't want to do that to myself again it's usually only a week or two later and I start thinking about it doing it again.

These things are cyclical for me though and April has tends to be a crazy month, May slightly less so and winding down in June. From the Winter solstice it's not uncommon for me to spend 5 or 6 months completely sober.

It's worth noting that Dennis himself was introduced to DMT (and LSD) at a very young age. Terence took off to Berkley right after high school. Dennis was still in high school when he went to visit his brother and ended up with half a gram of that orange wax. Despite being smeared across the multiverse for a couple weeks back in the 70's, it seems lo these 50 years later, he turned out alright.

LSD came into my life at 14 and from then on I ate every psychedelic I could, every chance I got. Despite exceptional heroism in dosing and frequency, I never really got moar than good kicks out of my reckless youth. I knew there was something deeper there, but that wasn't really my prerogative, we was gettin fucked up ya know.

DMT found me at age 20, along with the whole festival/burn scene (and Terence Mckenna), and that's when I began to understand there was a moar going on with these little mushrooms I had been nomming with my friends at parties and on camping trips than I had realized. I changed my intentions a bit and started having the most beautiful and magical experiences in these powerfully conducive settings. I spent literally the whole of my 20's bouncing from Temporary Autonomous Zone to Temporary Autonomous Zone nomming the medicine and dancing the sun up in front of the Funktion One stacks.

Now I'm into my 30's and this old body just doesn't have the predilection for that hedonic all-nighter lifestyle anymoar. My intentions have changed yet again, and now my relationship with the medicine is much moar personal, bordering on that of a religious or spiritual practice. I'm not really interested in using these substances to party and play anymoar, I've begun using them to do "the work" delving deeply into my psyche and dredging up my personal traumas and tribulations, learning to walk humbly, and always growing.

Based on my own experience and the answers I see here, it looks like as a person ages they are able to gain moar value from their experiences, even if they are undertaken less often and with less fervor. Seems there is something to be said for leaning how to achieve the same revelation from one tab that once took 10 tabs.

I'm excited to see what the future holds and what comes of cultivating a lifetime relationship with these awesome allies.

I'm not so sure most people older than 50 would be interested in re-visiting hyperspace via smoked DMT.

Don't take my word for it, but I think of as DMT freebase as more of an young psychonauts treat. That being said, I also believe you're never too old for DMT either.

My opinion is highly dependent on what I would personally do, and I just don't see myself with 50+ years smoking bowl after bowl of spice/enhanced leaf. I could see myself drinking ayahuasca rarely (like 1-2 times a year) to kind of recap what I've accomplished in my entire life and face what might be there to come. Most importantly to also get a good cleanse and re-new a healthy attitude towards life and death.

I see other people mention psychedelics in general as opposed to DMT in general, so I'm going to tag along too on that. I can't speak from too much from experience whether or not psychedelics get better as you get older as I'm only 21, but I noticed a few things changed since I first started out.

It seems as though they have some sort of pattern.

The first stage is being the learning part, you just discovered them and you get all those awesome insights and feel like you found a pot of gold but still aren't too experienced so you can say that you know what it is all about.

The second stage being the psychedelic opening up a bit, you're experienced enough with them so you're familiar with what's going on and that allows you to go deeper in the experience.

The third and the last stage being when you learn all you were supposed to learn, and now you feel like taking a break although you think they are phenomenal tools. The biggest psychonaut gets to this stage where they start tripping rarely just to remind themselves of the good old times and not lose touch with what they learned.

I'm getting a bit off topic but I hope you get my point. As you age, life becomes different, trips become less adventurous, so I seriously doubt anyone over 50 would classify themselves as a psychedelic drug user unless they just discovered them. The majority of the nexus is relatively young and they're already at stage three.

I’m just a few years away from 60 (which I find very hard to believe), and have a history of use that’s different from many around here. I started using DMT later in life at age 48. One of my motivators was intense curiosity, but after a year or so of use and a couple of very significant experiences, my curiosity has been quite thoroughly satisfied.

Very early on, DMT became a tool for personal growth, discovery and for spiritual connection. I’ve never used it for entertainment or recreation, although that doesn’t mean it isn’t oftentimes entertaining!

It helps me put focus on questions like “Who am I? Why am I here? How can I be a better human being?” and these are valuable questions. It has helped me to become a calmer, more compassionate and caring person, and has filled me with gratitude. I don’t think I would have gotten that much from it if I used it at a young age, but I can’t really say.

I generally dose on the moderate side. A deep, ego-dissolving breakthrough requires a good amount of mental preparation, and I rarely have the time to prepare myself to that extent, so that type of experience has become more infrequent.

I don’t think people get “set in their ways” as they age. At least it’s something I don’t see much of among my peers. People at any age can become set in their ways – I’m guessing that many older people who seem that way were that way when they were younger people!

Age is a funny thing.

I was introduced to DMT by a 60-something gentleman about 20 years ago. I've lost touch with him and don't even know if he's still on this plane, but I can tell you he LOVED his DMT. As with most people my first few times scared the bejeebus out of me but this guy would just roll around on the floor moaning in pleasure as I sat for him. Took a while for me to realize he really wasn't nuts...

He claimed to be the one who introduced Terence to DMT, but I'm reading Dennis's book right now and there's no mention of him.

As for me I'm in my early 50's now and generally feel much better equipped to handle any psychedelic difficulties that come my way. Aside from ayahuasca I never really developed a taste for DMT until the advent of changa. I have no problem going deep, I just don't like having my head blown off from the inside.

Acid and mushies and cacti have never lost their charm and I find my relationship deepening with each of them over time.

I echo the rest of the older generation that have spoken thus far.

I take much more from psychedelics than I ever could have when I was younger. It's the approach. It's the intent. A certain focus. I like to explore my mind to it's fullest.

I used psychedelics quite a bit as a teenager. The first time I used LSD was when I was 12. I got mixed up in many things at a young age because of my older brother. I was exposed to a lot at a young age. I stopped using psychedelics when I was 17. I did not touch them again until I was 37. This is also the age that I first tried DMT. There is a definite difference between the experience of a 17 year old me and a 37 year old me. It is night and day.

I am glad that I decided to revisit psychedelics. The experiences have taught me, healed me, opened me and brought me a sense of peace I never knew was possible. Only with psychedelics could I have found all this in myself. It's a treasure to me now. As a teenager it was just an escape and a way to get blitzed out of my mind.

Im sometimes still surprised but pleased as well, about the numbers of "older" Members on this board. I always clinged to the unreflected notion that once you get older your world view becomes "harder" and it gets more difficult to let go into such experiences. Its good to hear, that such doesnt seem to be the case(at least in some people).

To bring a younger opinion to this thread...

I had my first LSD trip with 17 or 18. I was interested in this kind of thing since I was like 15 I believe. So when I first tried it I was already aware of possible uses for therapy etc, although my knowledge was pretty shallow compared to now.
I tripped at parties a few times, but more so I did with friends in nature or even alone at home at a relatively early age. Although its hard to tell, what effect it had exactly, I believe that some of these home trips have been deeply beneficial to me, as they managed to bring emotions to the surface I surpressed for quite a long time and gave me profound inspiration about the beauty of life. On the other hand I became so intrigued in these things that sometimes I wouldnt listen to my intuition and trip to frequently without knowing better. That lead to weeks of confusion and feelings of ungroundedness or feeling lost in life. Like where my personality just would dissolve kind of. I had times where I felt I messed my self up for good, but in the end I always came out okey, and probably stronger then before. But it def wasnt easy still being so young, not having foudn purpose whatever that is, when your older that might be easier I suppose. But I guess its just part of my character to go into these extremes..

Now Im at a point where my reckless curiousness about these states is slowing down, as I really feel I struck my old selve in thousand splinters, and it took some time to set back together in a new form. Im glad I that I already dealt with all this trauma stuff at my age, but it was exhausting as well, and now I just want to harvest the crop so to say.
Interestingly Im now more interested in using psyches for recreation then when I started using them, where it was mostly about therapy, although I dont see recreational use of psyches as something less profound to do then anything else.

Agree with much of Gibrans post and many others here; it pretty much mirrors my usage, aside from me being only 30. Been at it since 09.

Have used DMT consistently throughout the first couple years, though shortly after having several very deep, overwhelming experiences, I started approaching it from a much more respective angle, and from there on ever since I rarely smoke, maybe a handful of times a year, though when I do smoke I don't peddle around, I smoke a big dose, all in one go, quickly; no 1, 2, 3 hits, as it's a much much different experience when done that way. Even 2-3 experiences per year, done in that fashion, is more than enough for me. It's changed my life/views drastically.

At least how I feel right now - plans for future usage of dmt and other tryptamines will hold steady. They're invaluable tools and experiences imo, though as the later years go along I think it'll end up being more of a balancing act and to pick/choose the times , making sure everything's in order before jumping in.

So many great responses! I feel a such resonance with the general feel of the thread

As for me, finishing up my years as a 40something, the experiences have only grown more complex and rewarding. I'm far more agile now, with regards to what I would consider the foundations of reality. I find myself quite at home dismissing assumptions I made about time, matter, and what "I" am, that I felt more certain of when I was younger. Now, nimbly hopping the rocks of definitives, without a psychic shin bash.

While my life circumstances dramatically limit my time for imbibing the magic molecules (I started a family, rather late, and have three small children to look after), I find I can constantly integrate new lessons from past experiences. The nuances, the metaphors that can be sussed between my psychedelic experiences and my life experiences or even the nature of my own existence, have grown richer with each passing year.

While I don't currently have the time to make the experience a more social or recreational event, I eagerly look forward to that time, when time allows.

Anyway, OP, a lot of folks take a long break and come back, without having ever really left. You could spend a few years doing research instead, or grow one hell of a garden.

................. And while I find I have a far greater level of acceptance of my own mortality than I did in my 20's and 30's, I don't find myself lying about and lamenting the golden years of my youth. Life was beating the crap out of me until I hit my late twenties. I think I could, reasonably, have another thirty or forty years ahead, and contemplating the last thirty or forty, there are many adventures yet to be had.

I don't think age is really relevant regarding mind-openness. I'm just 21, but I can easily say that I've a far less restricted view of the world compared to just a few years ago.
As far as psychedelics I personally know people past their 30s who tried them when they were teenagers or 20-something and now believe in fascist ideology. Seriously.

I personally discovered psychedelics when I was 17. I was fascinated by drugs and read a lot about them, then I ended up wathcing McKenna videos. Bingo.
Despite being really interested I waited many years, and my approach have always been pretty unfrequent and moderate-dosage wise. Often I think "Is this just fear? Should I take the leap?". It could be, who knows, but honestly I think that the more mature I become the better I can handle such experiences, and reading your replies seems to support my intuition.

Some would do better learning this younger, some older.

I'm not sure age is really important.

-eg

Im older than Gibran 2... im trim.. and ride my bike everyday and eat right and most of the time feel fine...

Like many people...What will get me someday..will probibly be cancer ...


with dmt...I dont think age is as important as health...!

If you are in good health use common sense with dosage..you will be ok with spice..

But if you have a serious health problem ...one should be very carefull...but even many people with heart health risks.. still do spice and dont have a serious problem...

Gota ride the wave while you still can!

Even if you are not in good health what would the risk be?

I could see heart issues being a possibility, but other than that what could be dangerous for an older individual?

-eg

A Blood Pressure spike resulting in a stroke is what worries me. I've never been able to determine the actual risk.