Contact high
Encyclopedia
Contact high is a phenomenon that sometimes occurs in otherwise sober people
and animal
s who come into contact with someone who is under the influence of drugs. It involves a supposed transfer of the psychological state of height.
A glossary of drug users' language from the 1970s describes the term as "a psychogenic 'trip' without taking drugs by being close to somebody while he is on drugs. It is incorrect to use it for the high obtained by inhaling the smoke of other marijuana smokers."
In Alexander Shulgin's PiHKAL
book under the 2C-I
entry, a notable reaction is observed in a participant who takes a placebo, existing in an environment with other people who are under the drug's influence. The participant wrote that he had "absorbed the ambience of the folks who had actually imbibed the material," and this was transferred directly to Pihkal. .
Stanislav Grof
, together with his wife Christina, experienced a contact high assisting a person under LSD
therapy described in his book When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Reality (2006) in Part 4 about Pecherskaya Lavra (p. 213, in German edition).
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
and animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s who come into contact with someone who is under the influence of drugs. It involves a supposed transfer of the psychological state of height.
A glossary of drug users' language from the 1970s describes the term as "a psychogenic 'trip' without taking drugs by being close to somebody while he is on drugs. It is incorrect to use it for the high obtained by inhaling the smoke of other marijuana smokers."
In Alexander Shulgin's PiHKAL
PiHKAL
PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story is a book by Dr. Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin which was published in 1991. The subject of the work is psychoactive phenethylamine chemical derivatives, notably those that act as psychedelics and/or empathogen-entactogens...
book under the 2C-I
2C-I
2C-I or 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenethylamine is a psychedelic phenethylamine of the 2C family. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. It was described in Shulgin’s book PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story. The drug is used recreationally for its psychedelic and entactogenic effects...
entry, a notable reaction is observed in a participant who takes a placebo, existing in an environment with other people who are under the drug's influence. The participant wrote that he had "absorbed the ambience of the folks who had actually imbibed the material," and this was transferred directly to Pihkal. .
Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof
Stanislav Grof is a psychiatrist, one of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology and a pioneering researcher into the use of non-ordinary states of consciousness for purposes of analyzing, healing, and obtaining growth and insight into the human psyche...
, together with his wife Christina, experienced a contact high assisting a person under LSD
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
therapy described in his book When the Impossible Happens: Adventures in Non-Ordinary Reality (2006) in Part 4 about Pecherskaya Lavra (p. 213, in German edition).
Cultural references
- Rocket ScienceRocket Science (band)Rocket Science is an Australian alternative rock band that first came to public attention on national youth radio network Triple J around 2000....
released an album with the same name in 2001. - The Godz' first album is entitled Contact High With The Godz.
- The Soup Dragons song Contact High, is a track on their album HydrophonicHydrophonic (Soup Dragons album)Hydrophonic is the fourth and final studio album from The Soup Dragons. By this stage, lead singer Sean Dickson was the only original member of the band, working with a variety of session musicians including Bootsy Collins, Lynval Golding, Neville Staples, Tina Weymouth, The Kick Horns and the...
. - Scissor SistersScissor SistersScissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...
and Ike & Tina TurnerIke & Tina TurnerIke & Tina Turner were an American rock & roll and soul duo, made of the husband-and-wife team of Ike Turner and Tina Turner in the 1960s and 1970s. Spanning sixteen years together as a recording group, the duo's repertoire included rock & roll, soul, blues and funk...
had B-side songs by the same name. - Donovan LeitchDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
's song House of Jansch contains the line: "I gave my baby a contact high." - The Beach BoysThe Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
song KokomoKokomo (song)"Kokomo" is a song written by John Phillips, Scott McKenzie, Mike Love and Terry Melcher and recorded by The Beach Boys in spring 1988. Its lyrics describe two lovers taking a trip to a relaxing Caribbean island called Kokomo. It was released as a single in July 1988 by Elektra Records and became a...
features the line, "Give me a tropical contact high." - Nerdcore rapper mc chrisMc chrismc chris is an American rapper, voice actor, writer and improvisational comedian....
released "Older Crowd" which contains the line "can't believe it, I smell reefer, we might get a contact high" specifying the other party had been using marijuana. - The Austrian movie Contact High deals with this phenomenon.
- In an episode of Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, Meg GriffinMeg GriffinMeg Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. She is the eldest child of Lois and Peter and elder sister of Chris and Stewie. Meg is considered as the black sheep of the series due to the lack of attention she receives....
has smoked cannabis and has been lazing on a couch. StewieStewie GriffinStewie Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy. Once obsessed with world domination and matricide, Stewie is the youngest child of Peter and Lois Griffin, and the brother of Chris and Meg....
comments, "It's really sad. And a tiny bit funny! Oh my god, I think I'm getting a contact high!" before falling into a similar state as Meg. "Oh, now I'm messed up too." - In another episode of Family Guy, Stewie says to Brian, "ooh I think I'm getting a context high" after Brian had ingested mushrooms.
- Australian indie rock band Architecture in HelsinkiArchitecture in HelsinkiArchitecture in Helsinki is an Australian indie pop band which consists of Cameron Bird, Gus Franklin, Jamie Mildren, Sam Perry, and Kellie Sutherland...
released a single in February, 2011, named "Contact High", which according to frontman Cameron Bird is about "the notion of a contact high through the intoxication of love."