If you’re planning a drug-induced adventure in the near future, you might want to stock up on snacks conducive to your altered state of mind. Whether you’re smoking a blunt, munching on mushrooms, popping molly or dropping a tab, the recreational drug community holds as conventional wisdom that there are certain eats that can enhance the experience.

While complementary snacks and narcotics have not, for the most part, been formally studied by the straight-laced scientific community, the chemical interactions among the drugs’ effects and the foods’ nutrients could certainly work in conjunction to improve each high’s euphoria. Below, is a list of drugs and their ideal edible counterparts to bring highs to new heights.

(But also, because our parents/lawyers/parents who are lawyers are watching: don't do drug, ever. They're bad mmm'kay?)

MARIJUANA

Mangoes

This super-sweet fruit contains terpenes, which work with the THC cannabinoid to make your high come on faster, stronger, and last longer. The terpenes bind with your brain’s THC receptors, then usher cannabinoids through the blood brain barrier like every Miami nightclub ushers Pitbull straight to VIP.

Chocolate

Chocolate has a chemical composition that makes us feel blissful. When chocolate and cannabis double team, scientists believe the combo could inhibit the breakdown of the cannabinoids THC and CBD, enhancing their benefits and causing them to stay in your system longer. Best to stock up on Hershey’s before hitting the bong.

Tea

Black and green teas contain catechin, an antioxidant that also binds with our brain's cannabinoid receptors and promotes feelings of peace and relaxation. If you ever find you’re tweaking out after a few too many edibles, try some tea to recover your composure. Then try cutting back on the Cheeba Chews in the future.

Beer

Getting “the spins” is an authentic scientific circumstance — studies show that smoking bud while drinking booze results in significantly higher THC in your bloodstream than smoking alone. In other words, not only are you adding an alcoholic buzz to your experience, but you’re also enhancing the effects of the reefer. However, cross-fade with caution, unless you want the room to spin like a sickening carousel.
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MDMA

Strawberry, kiwi, pineapple

These three succulent fruits are all jam-packed with vitamin C – otherwise known as ascorbic acid – an essential antioxidant for any MDMA bender. When taking ecstasy, your body is plagued by free radicals, which are no good and can damage the brain. Antioxidants like vitamin C tear those free radicals right up, keeping your cells unharmed, and making your brain a happy camper.

Cashews and almonds

Swallowing a handful of nuts may seem like choking down sawdust when MDMA has drained your mouth of saliva, but pair these crunchy snacks with a juice chock-full of vitamin C and you’ve picked the perfect molly mix. The magnesium rich in almonds and cashews can keep your jaw from jerking and grinding, making you look a lot less like a crazed tweaker and more like a healthy young adult having a bit of innocent fun.

Bananas and cherries

Bananas and sour cherries are fruits that are naturally rich in serotonin, a feel-good neurotransmitter. While these foods provide some grade-A sustenance for a tummy full of stimulants, many prefer to skip the middleman and derive the same benefits from 5-HTP supplements. By increasing our brain’s production of serotonin, 5-HTP is an ideal remedy for before or after your roll. On your next post-festival recovery, try 5-HTP to take the edge off that depressing come-down.
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LSD

Coffee

To enhance the stimulating qualities of acid, the caffeine and taurine in coffee, tea, and energy drinks (like Yerba Mate) can work wonders. With the addition of these pick-me-ups, your trip may become more extensive, extroverted, and energetic. However, you’ll want to approach the drinks in moderation, as too much in your system can bring on anxiety or the jitters. Shaky hands and wavering vision may be a bit too much movement for most.

Avocado

Avocado has countless vitamins and nutrients, but the one we care about most when it comes to LSD is called tyramine. This amino acid acts as an MAOI, or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which essentially slows down the production of a particular enzyme and helps the drug get past parts of the metabolism so it can more efficiently reach its target, the brain. The bigger benefit of adding avocado to your hallucinogen menu: it’s fucking delicious.

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds

If you cringed at the thought of adding caffeine to your acid adventure, perhaps pacifying snacks are more up your alley. Foods full of magnesium, like pumpkin and sunflower seeds, can help suppress tension and overstimulation, easing any trembling or uneasiness you could experience during a trip (particularly during the come-up).
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MUSHROOMS

Orange juice

Magic mushrooms and orange juice are perhaps the most widely-acclaimed combination in the recreational drug community. The understood mechanism is that the citric acid in the juice breaks down the psilocybin quicker than only your stomach acids could, making the mushrooms’ effects hit harder and faster. More importantly, orange juice can wash away the repulsive flavor of a fungi grown on cow shit, and replace it with the taste of sweet nectar.

Grapefruit

Much like orange juice, grapefruit has that essential acidic component, with an added benefit of containing a weak MAOI, or monoamine oxidase inhibitor, as described above. This allows the superfruit to extract the shrooms’ psilocybin, then more efficiently deliver the hallucinogenic compound to your brain.

Lemonade and limeade

At this point, you’ve likely noticed that all ideal snacks with magic mushrooms are either citrus fruits or their acidic juices. This is partly because under the influence of psychedelic drugs, the only appetizing sources of sustenance are natural, unrefined snacks like fresh fruits. But the tart treats specific to shrooms are favored due to a popular practice called lemon-teking, wherein acidic fruit juices are used to improve the drug’s absorption rate, condensing your trip into a shorter and more intense experience.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t conclude with a simple caveat — that any enhancement these snacks bring to your drug-induced adventure may entirely be due to the placebo effect. After all, if you wholeheartedly believe that eating one of these sweet treats will improve your experience, it probably will. The mind is a powerful tool … And when it comes to drugs, it’s a powerful toy, too.

[originally published November 29, 2017]