Understanding the Difference Between Psychedelic and Psychoactive Substances

Key Takeaways

• What’s the difference between the terms ‘psychoactive’ and ‘psychedelic’? The former refers to all substances that may affect your brain; the latter defines only those substances that cause changes in your perception, thinking, and mood.
• All psychedelics are psychoactive substances, but not all psychoactive substances are psychedelics. For instance, psychotropic drugs are also considered psychoactive, although they don’t have psychedelic effects.
• In most cases, psychedelic and psychoactive substances are either used in therapies or taken as illegal drugs. There is one exception—psychedelic shrooms and the like may also be used spiritually as a part of religious ceremonies.

What’s the Difference Between Psychedelic and Psychoactive Substances?

Let’s begin by defining both types of substances. What’s the difference between psychedelic and psychoactive compounds?

Psychedelics

Psychedelics are a subgroup of psychoactive substances. They induce altered states of consciousness by impacting mood, perception, cognition, and thought patterns. In most countries, psychedelics are illegal for recreational use and might or might not be legal for therapeutic purposes. Some examples of psychedelics include:

• psilocybin,
• ayahuasca,
• ketamine.

Psychedelics are mostly associated with rituals and recreational use. However, you can also opt for psychedelic assisted therapies, because of the potential cognitive health benefits.

Psychoactive Substances

Psychoactive is a term used more broadly to determine all substances that may affect your brain, no matter what the effect. As such, the term incorporates psychedelics but also psychotropic drugs. Psychoactive substances can also be categorized by their effect on your brain. We can distinguish between four different types, namely:

• Stimulants—psychoactive substances that increase activity in your brain and body. Interestingly, caffeine and nicotine are also categorized as psychoactive stimulants;
• Depressants—psychoactive substances that slow down your central nervous system. Alcohol is an ideal example here;
• Opiates—psychoactive substances that bind the opioid receptors in your brain. They are usually used to alleviate pain or evoke euphoria but are highly addictive. You can find both prescribed opioids (used for therapies) and illegal opioids, such as fentanyl or heroin;
• Hallucinogens—substances that cause changes in perception, mood and thought. These can be both illegal drugs or legal substances used for therapeutic purposes. Psilocybin and its active form, psilocin, are excellent examples here.

Why Does This Distinction Matter?

The differentiation between psychoactive and psychedelics is mostly used to classify such substances into more narrowly defined groups. After all, there is a big difference between psychedelics and psychotropic drugs, so we need these terms to distinguish them. At the same time, this is just a classification—both terms are broad. There’s a difference between psilocybin and ayahuasca, and there’s a difference between different psychotropic drugs. That’s why it’s crucial to research the particular substance you will be using rather than the groups in general.

How Do Magic Shrooms Fall Into This Classification?

Magic shrooms contain psilocybin, which is both a psychedelic and a psychoactive substance. If we look from the latter’s perspective, psilocybin can be classified as a hallucinogen due to its impact on your mood, stream of thoughts, and perception. This means that psychedelic shrooms are closely related to psychotropic drugs but, at the same time, distinctively different. The differences don’t stop with the effects on your brain—they go much further. For instance, psychedelic shrooms are also taken in spiritual rituals, which cannot be said about other types of psychoactive substances.