DOSE:	3 mg	insufflated	Pharms - Zolpidem	(ground / crushed)
	10 mg	oral	Pharms - Zolpidem	(pill / tablet)
		smoked	Cannabis

BODY WEIGHT:

140 lb

To summarize, I will first generally describe zolpidem's effect on me, then I will narrate one particular evening I spent under the influence of the drug.

The relationship between zolpidem and I is extensive. I would probably consider it to be my favorite drug, due to its imagination enhancing capabilities and the unique way it warps the human mind. Zolpidem creates powerful visual distortions and vivid hallucinations. Hallucinations caused by zolpidem fall into two categories: near and far. Nearby hallucinations are typically not as vivid, and include things such as crawling patterns and the apparent movement of stationary objects, but double vision is also common. Brick walls are particularly fun to watch while Z-tripping, as I like to call it. One time I did see a very vivid nearby hallucination: a tile with a paint-splatter like pattern directly below me appeared to have towers popping out of it. As I attempted to touch the towers, I saw a wolf pop out of the tower and land on my hand. I was overwhelmed with joy as this happens.

Far hallucinations are significantly more vivid. They happen when viewing far away objects. For example, one night I took some with a friend and we went walking around. I saw children hanging from a tree by their neck. This was not frightening; I knew I was hallucinating. Later that same night, I saw a gorilla pounding on the ground near a bush. Again, I knew it was not really there, so I did not find it scary. I believe the method of action for these hallucinations is that it enhances the imagination. Often I see things that look like something else. What the zolpidem does is actually make me see what we imagine something looks like.

A third unique reaction of zolpidem is something I'll call a brain movie. It occurs only if I take it to get to sleep as directed, not when taken recreationally. Right before I fall asleep after taking it, brain movies begin. Within my own head, I can actually see my own imagination. I have seen strange and wondrous landscapes this way. Sometimes my bed turns into a roller coaster, and I can glide along a railway. This is usually pleasant, but very rarely, I fall directly into a nightmare. One time a monster was holding me, and I was powerless to stop it from eating me.

As my tolerance increases, the desirable effects diminish, even when taken as directed. My advice for recreational users is to take it infrequently. This way, every time is a powerful experience. Also, take it on the emptiest stomach possible, and by this I mean, take it when your stomach is growling. Do not snort zolpidem, the experience is much too short this way, take only orally. Also, 10 mg is all you need. Any more will cause huge gaps in memory, and the experience is no fun if you can't remember it. Do not drive under the influence of it, it is extremely dangerous this way. The driver will not be able to see straight, especially if he has double vision.

It is easy to maintain normal behavior under the influence of the drug, but one thing it causes is temporary stupidity. It seems to block my thoughts and severely limit my vocabulary, I am normally quite eloquent, but when I'm Z-tripping, I cannot find the proper words to express my feelings.

Now for the story.

I was twenty years old working overnight at a grocery store. I visited a doctor for insomnia and he prescribed me 30 generic instant-release zolpidem pills, with 2 refills after the first fill. I was surprised he prescribed it to me in such large quantities, usually it is prescribed for short-term treatment of insomnia. The directions read: do not take more than 3 nights out of 7.

A bit of my drug history: at the time I had only taken alcohol, butalbital (a barbiturate) and cannabis. My friend, I'll call him Andy, decided to take some recreationally with cannabis one night.

Zolpidem is best taken on an empty stomach. Andy and I picked up some burritos to eat after the medicine had kicked in. I attempted to snort one. I grounded it up in a mortar, but soon realized the pills have a safety cover, and abandoned this idea. I licked up the remaining powder then took an entire ungrounded pill after that because I probably only got around 3mg from the grounded one. Andy decided to smoke right away. I waited to smoke after the zolpidem had kicked in.

When the medicine first kicked in, which was around 10 minutes, I remember exactly how I felt. The air had taken on a liquid quality. The texture of the ground felt wobbly under my feet, and my vision was beginning to get distorted. Andy has cerebral palsy and cannot always smoke by himself, so I assisted him with the pipe then we went inside to put in a movie.

I popped in a DVD and we started eating our burritos. Around this time, I remember glancing over at the pillows next to me on the couch, and I started laughing hysterically. They were alive! They had arms and legs and were married. One was the husband and the other was the wife. I did not actually believe this, but I could see them talking to one another. Then I looked down at the rug, and it appeared to have taken on a three dimensional quality. It was like a half-pipe, and somehow I was floating above it. After walking around the coffee table, I looked at Andy, and he had four noses, all drifting around his face, and gently waving in the air, much like a sea anemone waves in the current.

Then I decided to smoke, and this is where my memory gets very warped. I remember only bits and pieces of the night, and I am unable to string them together chronologically. I remember seeing someone on the couch who wasn't there, and I remember also us walking around catatonically, and I have one particular memory of when I looked at Andy and he looked like a woman. I remember almost nothing of the movie, but the one part I do remember was very psychedelic: the action of the movie was coming out into the room. At the same time, the aspects of my personality became cylinders, and they were coming out of me into the room. The movie was rearranging aspects of my personality. Of course it actually didn't, I was exactly the same person after the experience than before. I also remember one brief point in time when I saw a ribbon of red color flowing through the house, and glowing colored cubes floating in midair.

Eventually, we both went to bed. I slept alone on the couch, and I slept soundly the entire night. In the morning, I felt fine. I had absolutely no after-effects. I could have run a mile. It was much better than a night of drinking, I would have woken up with a nasty headache if that was the case.

In conclusion, zolpidem is a wonderful drug. It is my favorite pharmaceutical, and a hell of a good time when treated with respect and when taken infrequently. Everyone is different, however, so be careful, and happy Z-tripping.

Exp Year: 2009	ExpID: 82964
Gender: Male
Age at time of experience: 20
Published: Dec 15, 2013	Views: 26,811
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Pharms - Zolpidem (143), Cannabis (1) : General (1), Retrospective / Summary (11), Small Group (2-9) (17)