TRIP! Project

Hey party people!

This spooktacular party season is turning out to be a chilly one!

Don’t forget these tips to keep you safe!

1. Prepare for the party!

• Pick up your safer partying supplies and info before you go out. You can grab supplies at our youth drop in, located at 168 Bathurst Street, on Wednesday October 24th or our Naloxone Training Kandi Jam & Halloween crafts drop-in on Wednesday October 31st, 4-6pm
• Test your substances
• Set a limit of how much you are going to drink or take. It’s easy to get overwhelmed in large crowds, so start low and slow. We’ve had reports of very strong pills/caps, so start with ¼ to ½ and wait 2 hours before redosing.

2. Remember to have a good meal before you go to party, or a couple hours before going out if having too full of a stomach would make you more prone to feeling sick.

• It’s also a great idea to prep some soft, easy to eat foods at home for the come down. Ideas include smoothies, apple sauce, whole fruit (berries, banans, grapes, oranges are great!) or soup. Foods that are soft and wet tend to be more appealing if you have cotton mouth! Drink water too!

3. Dress for the weather!

• Yes, your costume is GORGEOUS! <3 But you won’t be able to enjoy it if you are shivering in front of the burn barrels all night.
• Be sure to check if your party is INDOORS or OUTDOORS, and bring a jacket and wear layers if you aren’t sure. You can always coat check them.
• Even if you are going to a club, bring pants,tights,or sweatpants for when you are in line. You can stuff them in your coat sleeve when you get inside 🙂
• If you’re drinking or taking other drugs, your body will be less able to regulate your body temperature. It may be tempting to take off your jacket (or clothing all together) if you are feeling warm, even if it is really cold. Check around you! If everyone else has a jacket on, you should too!

4. Stash some cash!

• Expect prices will be high and plan accordingly if possible. Keep $10 in a safe place for water, and remember to drink it! Try to avoid sharing water bottles and pacifiers with friends – that’s how the cold, flu, and other viruses spread, including cold sores. Reduce the risk of getting sick! Your body will thank you later!
• Plan your way home. Prices for ride share apps tend to SKYROCKET on big party nights so make sure you have money for transit, and a 24 hour route planned out to get you home at any time of night. Plan to have a sober driver. Keep bikes in a well lit area, and try to walk on major roads with a group.
• Check in with your friends to make sure they get home safe, and never leave a highly intoxicated friend alone!

5. SelfIf the party is underground, remember to bring your own safety supplies including water, a flashlight, and NALOXONE especially if you are farther from the city. You can get a free kit at any major pharmacy, the works, or contact info@tripproject.ca and we will help you find spot close to you!

GHB has been up and down in popularity in Toronto’s party scene for decades. Some of the things that make GHB appealing as a party drug are its effects that are often described as being a cleaner feeling and more fun version of alcohol. GHB’s subjective effects are similar to alcohol in terms of the sedation and loss of coordination, but compared to alcohol, GHB tends to feature some slightly MDMAish feeling effects as well, with more pronounced experiences of social disinhibition and increased empathy, as well as more pronounced body high that is usually not present with alcohol. However, this aspect of the GHB experience is nowhere comparable to MDMA. GHB does not usually produce as severe of a hangover or a comedown like alcohol or MDMA might, which contributes to its appeal as a party drug. Some people like mixing GHB with stimulants or MDMA because it mellows out the speed/MDMA buzz while also having a very synergistic effect with the MDMA/speed buzz. Some people use GHB as an alternative to benzos to assist with coming down and sleeping from more stimulating drugs at the end of the night. Continue reading →

Marijuana is becoming legalized in Ontario on October 17th.

What will change on October 17th?

• Marijuana will be legalized for recreational use!
• You will be able to purchase marijuana online through the The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), physical stores will likely pop up sometime in 2019.
• You will be able to use marijuana from the comfort of your home, including your balcony or yard. Marijuana can be used within condos or apartments, including your units balcony as long as there are no restrictions in your lease or building agreements.
• You will be able to buy or possess up to 30 grams of dried recreational marijuana at one time.
• Through the OCS you will be able to buy seeds and you can grow up to 4 plants per resident (not per person!).
• UPDATE (9/27):  The Ontario Government has made a change to the marijuana laws: starting October 17th Ontario residents will be able to smoke marijuana anywhere you can currently smoke tobacco.  This means individuals will have the added option to smoke in areas other than private residencies. Source: https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/ontario-government-to-allow-pot-smoking-wherever-tobacco-smoking-allowed-1.4110679

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There are many reasons why people use drugs. Drugs can provide spiritual experiences, pain relief, a perspective shift, the ability to acknowledge trauma, loads of dancey energy, act as a social lubricant and much more! However the reasons why people start using drugs may not be the reasons why they continue to use. For example, someone may smoke weed at first at a party to experiment or as an alternative to drinking but may continue smoking because they find it relaxing. Continue reading →

Summary:

• DMT is a psychedelic drug that is similar to mushrooms, both chemically and in terms of its subjective effects, but known to be far more intense due to its availability in smokeable form.
• DMT used to be quite obscure, but has been increasing in popularity lately.
• Usually available in smokeable form as a powder or crystal that is white to yellow and has a distinct aethereal smell. The Ehrlich reagent can be used to detect the presence of tryptamine psychedelics.
• Have somebody else light your tokes for you! It is very dangerous to be holding a hot pipe full of liquid DMT while you are tripping your face off!
• DMT is not physically harmful, but like other psychedelics, it has very intense mental and spiritual effects that are to be taken very seriously.
• *DMT is one of the few psychedelics that can be smoked, and the quick and extreme peak of smoking a psychedelic leads to a very sudden and intense subjective experience compared to the usual doses of orally ingested psychedelics like LSD and mushrooms. *
• DMT trips only last about 10 minutes, with a come-up that is less than a minute and a similarly fast comedown, but one should still take time to process the experience despite the short duration.

Continue reading →

History

It first began appearing in the early to mid 2000s, and started seeing common usage a few years ago. Colloquial names include “Gentleman’s Speed” and “Flux”. It has shown up in certain circles in North America, but with more widespread adoption in Europe, especially the Netherlands. It is also sometimes sold as MDMA. 4-FA is a new psychoactive substance, and there is still much unknown about its long term effects, and lot of the knowledge of its effects so far is anecdotal. Therefore, one must be aware that they are a guinea pig when taking this substance. Despite the unknowns, there are some things that are known about the effects of this substance and with this knowledge, harm reduction measures can be practiced! Continue reading →

See our upcoming guide to how to still be social when you’re trying to cut back on drinking!

GOTTEN FROM FAITH AT PIECES TO PATHWAYS: Might be helpful for folks who are feeling alienated from the party scene because of recovery <3

Sober-friendly bars in Toronto

(Last updated June 2017)

This is a dynamic, crowd-sourced* list of bars and pubs in Toronto that overtly cater, in one way or another, to people that do not drink. Its purpose is to serve as a reference for sober people (be they in recovery, temporarily abstaining from booze, or are teetotal) who wish to go on a date or celebrate an occasion with something more adult than a ginger-ale or a shirley temple. Continue reading →

The below is some great info about what you can do instead of calling the police if calling the police doesn’t feel safe. We still recommend calling 911 for an overdose or emergency situation if you feel safe to do so, and the Canadian Good Samaratin Law that was passed earlier in the year should help with a lot of fears, but not all. See an upcoming post about if the Good Samaritan Law protects you or not. Continue reading →

You may have been hearing about fentanyl or carfentanil in the news lately, or hearing concern about ‘super strong opioids’. Fentanyl and carfentanil are very potent drugs from the opioid family. They’re sedatives and painkillers, and have been in fairly commonly used medically (usually for long-term pain management) since the early ’90s. They have been used surgically for much longer but not particularly as well known.

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“From now, know that every border you cross, every purchase you make, every call you dial, every cell phone tower you pass, friend you keep, article you write, site you visit, subject line you type, and packet you route, is in the hands of a system whose reach is unlimited but whose safeguards are not.” – Edward Snowden

Continue reading →