Spiral Erowid Zip Hoodie
This black mid-weight zip hoodie (80/20) has front pockets,
an Erowid logo on front chest, and a spiral design on back.
Donate and receive yours!
The Whole World Became One Big Strobe Light
Wormwood, Alcohol & Cannabis
Citation:   Anonymous. "The Whole World Became One Big Strobe Light: An Experience with Wormwood, Alcohol & Cannabis (exp16008)". Erowid.org. Nov 4, 2009. erowid.org/exp/16008

 
DOSE:
6 hits smoked Wormwood (plant material)
  2 glasses oral Alcohol - Beer/Wine (liquid)
    repeated oral Alcohol - Hard (liquid)
    repeated smoked Cannabis (plant material)
BODY WEIGHT: 180 lb
A couple days ago, I arrived at a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers concert extremely early. The reason being is that my friend and I were supposed to meet a group of people and throw a nice tailgait party. Since I arrived before them (and they weren't answering their cell phone), I decided to start the party a little early.

I had plans on trying wormwood without it being in Absinthe (in which I one day aspire to try), so I figured I'd give it a whirl before the others come and condemn me for trying the unknown. They have always scolded me for trying things they've never heard of. Anyway, I opened up my bag of wormwood and rolled a decent sized joint. I was surprised with the first hit because I knew it would be harsh on my throat...but not that harsh. I passed it on to my friend, and he wossed out after 2 hits. I continued smoking while he watched and complained that it was so dry.

When I was done, I took a little walk around my car and the other tailgait party that were going on. My friend and I were offered a beer (I'm 17 and he's 18), so we drank and stayed with the neighboring party until my group decided to show up. This all happened within a half-hour. I was beginning to feel the effects of the wormwood. It was extremely pleasant...it has the total body relaxation of weed except it doesn't have the slowness, the paranoia, the stupidity, etc. I was enjoying it.

The rest of the group set up their grill and began cooking food and drank beers, so I went to my car and pulled out a new bottle of Southern Comfort. I took 2 or 3 big sips, and my friend barely tried it...but acted like it was the best stuff on earth. A few moments later, I had a nice buzz going on. I had another beer with my food, and then hit the bottle, taking numerous monster-sized sips. I admit, I am a lightweight drinker because I don't drink too often (I try to keep it that way). I was confortably drunk and carefree. As more cars filled the parking lot in, we broke out the joints. Within those few hours, we passed around 2 or 3 of them. I was absolutely out of it, I loved it. It felt like I was numbed both inside and outside.

We walked to the venue and watched Tom Petty perform. We passed around 2 or 3 more joints, to keep our intoxication going. I kept my attention span until he played 'You Don't Know How It Feels' (my favorite Petty song), then I just drifted away. I don't remember the setlist, but I know I had a fun time.

I've prior warnings and knowledge about wormwood, and how it can make the mind hallucinate/trip. I was waiting for it before the show began, but it didn't happen. I guess the trip comes in the final stage of intoxication, just before the body sobers up, because at some point in the concert, I noticed that colors were becoming more vibrant, Petty's background was becoming more intense and seemed to pop out and move towards me. The moon was glowing like a blacklight over everybody. Everybody around me seemed to have a neon-bluish-purplish glow. I looked at the ground and the grass was now all shamrocks, bright green shamrocks. All I was able to hear was flange from the guitars and I was able to see the soundwave frequencies rise and fall.

I didn't expect any of this since I figured that it wasn't going to happen, so I panicked a little. I had to calm myself down because I realized that the trip was turning into a bad trip because I couldn't get myself out of that shock being suprised creates. A high-pitched ringing overpowered all sounds and inflicted my ears because everything seemed so loud, and then a low drone came just as loudly underneath the ringing. Everything that moved had trails behind them, and everybody in my group were as green as the shamrocks that we stood on. The sky was still purple, but the vibrant energy coming from the guitars, keyboards, background, etc. were cascading into the sky by vanishing as it came closer to the blacklight moon. The whole world became one big strobe light, the trip became a violent...it had peaked. For some reason, there was a big shamrock strobing above the stage. I've done acid numerous times before and I have robo-tripped once before, but none of those were hard as this before. I had to sit down and close my eyes for a moment. I must've blacked out because it all ended.

As soon as it began, it was over...and I was sober. I was still in a curled up sitting position, and I look up at my sister (who was part of the group I was with). She told me that I was sitting down for quite a while, and that I had to take out my lighter and hold it up because Tom Petty just finished and the encore is coming up, in which I did. The last song he played was 'American Girl'. It was a great concert.

All in all, the trip was pleasurable. I'd like to try wormwood and alcohol in the incorporated state of Absinthe. I can only assume that the trip became so violent because there was more alcohol and marijuana than my body was able to handle (I was smashed for most of the afternoon). I'd like to do it again. And for those who are afraid to trip, there is really nothing to worry about. Once it begins, don't try and stop it, just let it happen, go with the flow, and you'll be ok.

Exp Year: 2002ExpID: 16008
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Nov 4, 2009Views: 8,386
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Wormwood (50), Alcohol (61), Cannabis (1) : Combinations (3), Festival / Lg. Crowd (24)

COPYRIGHTS: All reports copyright Erowid.
No AI Training use allowed without written permission.
TERMS OF USE: By accessing this page, you agree not to download, analyze, distill, reuse, digest, or feed into any AI-type system the report data without first contacting Erowid Center and receiving written permission.

Experience Reports are the writings and opinions of the authors who submit them. Some of the activities described are dangerous and/or illegal and none are recommended by Erowid Center.


Experience Vaults Index Full List of Substances Search Submit Report User Settings About Main Psychoactive Vaults