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The Hallucinations - Zaleplon (Sonata) by Dumb Luck EROWID

My experiments with zaleplon were over a year ago. Some background: at the time I was 18 y/o with extensive experience with Tryptamines, Phenethylamines, and Dissociatives... As well as the various uppers and downers so commonly abused my people my age (alcohol, opiates, benzos, etc.). I was not on any other medication at the time of any of these experiences (herbal or otherwise).

Anyway. Around December of '04 I was prescribed Zaleplon for 'insomnia.' I had tried Ambien (Zolpidem) before without much luck. Being the bored 18 year old that I was at the time, the first thing I did when I got home with my bottle of Sonata (around noon or so), was pop one of the 10 mg caps. That first experience was rather uneventful. After a half hour or so I began to see slight visual distortions, very similar to the 'waves' I experienced during various tryptamine experiences. In addition to the distortion, I felt a little dreamy and 'out of it' which I (at the time) attributed to the hypnotic properties of Sonata (after all its a sleeping med).

The next day around 3 pm I ingested 20 mg dissolved in de-caf tea (chamomile I believe it was). After about 15 minutes, I noticed the same kind of visual distortion I experienced the previous day. However they continued to increase in intensity until my entire scope of vision was an undulating wave. At about T+30 this abrubtly ceased, and the real fun started. It is important to understand that there is a large amount of amnesia associated with the effects of this drug, so bits and pieces are missing, but the important memories have stuck with me to this day. Within 45 minutes of ingestion, I began to experience a very calm, warm feeling of contentedness (much like the feeling I got with upper level DXM and LSD). This feeling quickly gave way to a host of hallucinations that I can only begin to describe.

Now first things first, I have experienced roughly 20 different hallucinogens in my short life and with the exception of 2 (Dextromethorphan HBR and Ketamine) I had never received 'true hallucinations,' only visual distortion and Closed eye images and the likes. And even those 'true' hallucinations I had experienced up until then, they were quick and fleeting. With Zaleplon however, I had a good 2 hours of 'true' hallucinations. (non stop as far as I can remember... excluding my amnesia... so a solid 90 minutes that I recall).

One after another... I SAW things that WERE NOT THERE. Open eyed with interaction. From tiny gnomes running all over my house to a neon green web on my floor that I could manipulate with my hands. And many things in between. I can safely and honestly say that Zaleplon blew away LSD, 2CE, DXM and every other 'hallucinogen' I have ever tried. The irony obviously being that Zaleplon was given to me by a pharmacist and a doctor.

I had been prescribed 30 10mg pills, and over the following 6 days I proceeded to ingest all the remaining 270mg. The majority of those 6 days is gone as far as memory. I experienced far more severe amnesia than I had up until then (Even ETOH blackouts I could 'sort of' piece together). My behavior was very bizarre and erratic according to everyone I interacted with during that time. Many of the people in my social group knew nothing of my chemical experimentation up until then. One thing I do remember is that my use of Zaleplon was completely compulsive with no regards to any consequences (thank god... or whoever... that I didnt hallucinate an empty highway during rush hour).

After I came to and realized the power of Zaleplon, I was compelled to discover the cause of my 'odd' reaction. I did very much research, including conversing with experienced pharmacologists.

A Final Note: The Irony surrounding this group of experiences is astounding. 

1.Zaleplon is touted as a 'safe' sleeping med,.

2.This is only sched. IV and it is far more powerful than any other illegal or legal drug for me.

3.To top it all off it didnt even make me tired, if anything it paradoxically made it impossible for me to sleep (I tried to sleep right after taking 20mgs once and woke up tripping heavily an hour later).

 So much for 'safe' Pharmies.