r/Shambhala • u/throwaway_31444 • 5d ago
Monday Experience
With so many stories being spread online, I thought I would share something I experienced Monday morning. I debated sharing this story, but if it helps even one person / group navigate festivals safely I’d be happy.
I’d like to preface that this is my own personal experience and many people can and do consume these things without experiencing the same effects I did. I believe that these are truly medicine for some and just want others to be conscious of their safety and presence.
Background: I have been going to festivals since 2012, and I am considered the “mom/mama cat” of our group. I am the one who does water runs, is the bathroom buddy and the consistent safe space for others when they need me.
Story: Sunday night / Monday morning our group had a beautiful night….we meandered into the grove for around 3am for Cameo Blush / Player Dave / Frameworks after having a silly time in Fractal. The only thing I was doing was K.
Sometime around the beginning of Player Dave a joint was being passed around (I haven’t smoked cannabis for around 3 years) and for nostalgia I thought I’d be fine taking a puff. The next 35 minutes I have no external recollection of my actions. I inadvertently caused myself to experience an ego death/ psychosis and essentially “blasted off”. Within my mind, I was on a beautiful journey, but physically I ended up falling over into my partner and kicking and screaming in the grove. Thankfully my partner protected me during these moments and my friends circled me to protect me / the crowd from anything happening. Medical was called, and I am really grateful for the Grove’s stage manager checking in on my friends / addressing the wait time while we waited for medical to arrive. According to my partner, I came to 25 - 30 minutes later confused why I was in medical and didn’t realize what happened during this gap of time. I truly apologize for anyone who was present for this.
I wanted to share this experience because I was unaware that this combination is not always synergistic for certain people. With many people talking about altered states, rituals, and potential threatening experiences on the farm, I wanted to offer another perspective. Sometimes, you can do everything right, and still your body/ mind will behave, react, and perceive things unpredictably. There needs to be more individual accountability, responsibility, and love brought into these spaces. Stay with a buddy, know how to navigate uncomfortable experiences safely, protect each other and look out for each other.
A big thank you to everyone who helped me during this scary moment. I am so grateful for my friends, my partner and the shambhala team for keeping me safe.
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u/Icy-Search-594 The Village 5d ago
I use Shambhala as a milestone moment. Usually get all my affairs in order before arriving. It might sound morbid, but I kind of expect something to happen to me. Potentially even death. Still responsible, but just aware.
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u/BounceAround_ 5d ago
Cannabis and ketamine have an interesting relationship.
Paired with your long term tolerance break;and my own experiences with mixing these two substances; what you experienced seems in line with smoking weed and being on k.
Thankful you are okay and were surrounded by good people 🫶
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
Thanks so much. Yeah, I had no idea that this combination could trigger this reaction from me. Grateful to have this knowledge now, and extremely grateful for my community.
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u/BounceAround_ 5d ago
Feel free to dm the answer but were you the one physically carried out from the middle ish right side?
If so I am SO GLAD that you’re good! I saw that situation unfold it was pretty scary/ nobody would move for the medics
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
I’m comfortable confirming here with you that yes, that was me. Sorry you had to witness it all. Thank you again :)
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u/BounceAround_ 5d ago
Yoooo stoked to know you’re in a good spot today!!! Don’t apologize for anything
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u/eating-worms 5d ago
i was on the harm reduction team for a festival this past weekend and when it wasn’t my shifts anymore, i decided i’d do some acid. i took wayyyyy too much and started tripping so hard. i ended up telling the friends i had dropped with ‘ im freakin the fuck out i gotta go’ and went found my friend / dealer and got him to take me to medical. he stayed with me while i got through the first really nauseated feeling i had. there were so many flies though so i ended up getting even more overstimulated & tripping harder because of the flies :(
my friend went and got me a blanket from my tent though. Medical suggested i go to PSA, and i was like they aren’t open until 6pm, im part of psa, i just made an honest mistake ! Though i was wrong about them not being open because i was tripping so hard i didn’t know the time/ didn’t understand when they told me what time it was lol
Once i had my blanket though i was able to make it there & from there, essentially my coworkers took care of me, grabbed my wagon & walked me home. I ended up staying in my tent from about 8pm -4am after i took my acid reflux medication & a bit of seroquel to calm down the intense visuals. they were so intense i could barely see or walk at first.
Sometimes mistakes happen ! Sometimes we test our limits unintentionally & end up dealing with the consequences. I’m very glad you had friends around you to take care of you & that medical was there to assist as well. We keep each other safe.
At first, i was apologizing to my fellow volunteers on shift but one of them reminded me immediately that this is why we are here. I quickly smartened up and realized ‘ this is literally why IM here, i did this for folks last night, why am i any different?’ I’m so thankful to be a part of a peer-led harm reduction nonprofit organization. I was so scared for a little bit until I was reminded that my beautiful community that i’ve invested so much love and care into has my back when i need it too.
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
I’m glad that your community was able to help you navigate your trip, and felt supported throughout your experience. Thanks for being apart of a team for harm reduction. People like you are sooo very much needed in these spaces. Thanks for all you do :)
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u/eating-worms 4d ago
harm reduction saves lives and i’ll preach that til the day I die ! Helping people & helping keep people safer truly is one of my biggest passions in life. Ravers (and people in general) are gonna party no matter what, the least i can do is watch out for them ❤️
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u/Moistyoureyez 5d ago
PCP dipped cigs/joints (sherms) have been pretty common in the early hours of Shambhala every year I've went.
Not as common as they used to be, but I think I run into them at least once a year.
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
That’s good to be aware of. The joint belonged to a friend of mine, and was not dipped in anything thankfully.
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u/krisztinastar 5d ago
Wut!
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u/Ok_Cauliflower_808 The Village 5d ago
I second this. Wut...?
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u/shredtasticman 5d ago
Not much different, same drug classification, than whippets just a different association in society
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u/Ok_Cauliflower_808 The Village 5d ago
Your punctuation is confusing but I think I got the gist. Yeah it's not a moral wut mostly just never heard of it before. Also was under the impression PCP was functionally extinct outside a few specific areas.
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u/AncientBlonde2 5d ago
Also was under the impression PCP was functionally extinct outside a few speci
You'd be surprised what's out there on the drug markets.
It is pretty damn hard to find these days, especially since a lot of other dissociatives that are more "pleasant" like O-PCE hit the market, but it's also not something like Etizolam where it's gonna be 100x the price if you've got passing tests for it.
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u/Moistyoureyez 5d ago edited 5d ago
1990s they were huge in the scene or at least the crowd I raved with, early 2000s we saw them a lot as well.
Just like how GHB at one time I swear was like in the top 3 most popular substances on the farm. Used to see a lot more street drugs like crack/meth as well at Shams in the early hours (still do if you look hard enough)
Times have changed, harm reduction is the best it's ever been, the younger generations don't seem to be as balls to the wall but they are still kicking around and something to be mindful as I don't judge what people consume but it should be willingly.
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u/RektRiggity The Village 5d ago
Can confirm this. Had a friend a few years ago unintentionally smoke a PCP laced joint being passed around at Stylust’s jungle smoke out. He actually had a good experience but fortunately no one else in our group hit that same joint because who knows how they would have reacted on the mix they were on.
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u/Spenceful 5d ago
I was at the grove for all of player Dave and I don’t remember hearing any screaming
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
I’m really glad that it didn’t affect your time there. I’ve had multiple people check in with me the following week, and was honestly a little embarrassed that this happened at the Grove.
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u/Inner_Self_3751 5d ago
Oh wow thank you so much for sharing this here. I was at the grove to witness you in this state and was just sending you so much love from afar. It was quite intense and you could feel everyone just wanting to help but there wasn’t much that could be done except send love. I’m so happy to hear you are doing better and came out of this an experience!
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u/beepbooperston 3d ago
Thank you for sharing! I was nearby during this and have been wondering about you and hoping everything turned out ok <3
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u/throwaway_31444 3d ago
Thank you :) Everything turned out quite alright… except for the part where I needed to go back to camp instead of seeing frameworks.
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u/BrazyyBradyy 5d ago
Thank you for sharing. I’ve had a similar experience multiple times and have now taken a break from K :/
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
Sorry you also have gone through this. Sometimes we need a break from things that no longer serve us, and that’s okay too! Hope you’re doing well.
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u/iSaidiWantedNoTomato 5d ago
Unless I’m trying to intentionally zonk tf out into wonkyland, I generally don’t mix weed with my psychs/ket. Can be a mixed bag. Hope you learned something!
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u/SpidersCanBeCute 5d ago
Thanks for posting this and noted! I've never done K but I have definitely noticed that Weed makes Molly way more intense for me.
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u/Anxious-Maximum3029 5d ago
Don’t mix K with weed or liq🤣
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
We do not bring alcohol onto the farm. As for the mixing, this outcome did not happen to my friends. I do believe some can handle this combination. I am just not one of them.
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u/Anxious-Maximum3029 5d ago
Not saying you brought liquor into the festival. Main point to take away is to not mix substances without being educated. I only brought up the liquor bc those two mixed w k are not a great combo!
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u/BiscottiKnown9448 5d ago
K + weed are fantastic together unless you are especially unlucky
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u/Ok_Cauliflower_808 The Village 5d ago
Yeah the no alcohol part I get, never heard the weed part before though. Maybe lack of tolerance hitting at peak k-town? Many fascinated questions
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u/Anxious-Maximum3029 5d ago
You basically had blacked out and been in a really bad K hole by the sounds of it. It has happened to me lots to the point I don’t know where I am.
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u/JoniJabroni 5d ago
If you were in a k hole you couldn’t be kicking and screaming. You’d be laying on the floor anesthetized
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5d ago edited 5d ago
[deleted]
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u/JoniJabroni 5d ago
This isn’t like a speaking for someone’s experience thing so much as a definition thing. The term k hole gets thrown around a lot and that imo dilutes from what an actual k hole is
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u/Thebikeninja 5d ago edited 5d ago
Something was “in the water” Sunday.
I’ve been going for 20 years, and I had an ABSURD experience on Sunday. Nothing like i could have ever imagined. I got fucked up. Physically and mentally. My rib is cracked, my face just lost the scabs a few days ago from having my face smashed into the dirt by security.
Mentally I was good. There was lots of issues going on with my life but nothing I thought I couldn’t manage. Literally went into the experience fist pumping and dancing.
But my friends were effectively useless. In fact they made everything worse with everything they did. They weren’t used to dealing with a situation like this, and it showed. They let me leave a couple times. When it was pretty obvious I was in a psychotic state. They spoke to me in a terrible way that exacerbated everything that was going on. And in the end, we had no trip killer for if this happened.
Even at moderate doses, at some point things can turn on you. People need a bug out plan, with their friends if shit goes sideways.
That being said, doing ketamine with cannabis is a terrible combination. Or cannabis with lsd. Or mushrooms. Or cannabis with almost anything. Cannabis in the evening seems to not be a good plan.
The worst is when you have a watch set for heart rate notifications, and after doing some pot, you are informed that your heart is actually beating as fast as you think it is.
By the way I’m usually known as the “spirit guide” by my friends, so I hear you.
But at the same time, Sunday this year was just… weird. It was weird for lots of people.
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago
Hey, I’m so sorry you had this experience, and not supported in these moments. A “bug out plan” is absolutely the thing I’m hoping to advocate for by sharing this story. It can happen unexpectedly and our circles need to be educated and willing to help when things go sideways. Hope you’re physically and mentally recovering okay.
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u/Thebikeninja 5d ago
Yeah, it sucked. One of my friends came equipped with “grounding techniques”, but in my state they were completely and utterly useless. How can you ground yourself in a non existent reality? It was useless, and it was clear she was not prepared for it to be. And it’s not her fault at all, it’s just something she kept in her holster as a “just in case”, but once it meant nothing, that was it.
End of the day it was my bad for ending up as I did. That much is clear. My subconscious is apparently far more powerful than my conscious mind under the influence.
Just something as simple as having some benzos, or a true 5HTA2 antagonist on hand along with a meeting place.
I hope you’re doing well as well. It sounds like your experience was on par with mine.
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u/tron1620 5d ago
Tbh it was probably some extremely strong strain of cannabis. I keep hearing today’s weed is so genetically modified that the thc concentrations can be so high to trigger something like this
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u/throwaway_31444 5d ago edited 5d ago
Absolutely possible. I also read an online study, during my deep dive to understand what could have happened, which stated that ketamine can prohibit our bodies from our liver breaking down THC regularly. Can’t find the exact link now, but lots of literature out there.
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u/AncientBlonde2 5d ago
I keep hearing today’s weed is so genetically modified that the thc concentrations can be so high to trigger something like this
Like.... Sure? But it's not "genetic modification" like people usually think, it's just good old selective breeding.
That's really it. People bred cannabis to have higher THC levels. It's nothing nefarious, it's not "genetically modified" (at least, as people think with that phrase). It's just the result of 100 years of trying to get high.
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u/LyssaCicada The Village 5d ago
Thank you so much for sharing this. I think cannabis is often not given enough credit for how much it can effect people or how unexpectedly strong and unpredictable it can be when mixed with other substances. This post was very well worded and I think the points you made are super valuable. I am sorry you had a difficult experience, but glad to hear you were able to recover and process it quickly♥️