Visuals are usually where we first notice the change. Colors become brighter, or perhaps more pronounced. Maybe it’s not the colors, but something’s different. The world feels warmer, richer. The sun was never brighter; the night was never darker. When we’re sober, life looks like a digital photo. When we smoke, life looks like a Polaroid. Lines and borders become more defined; things stand out against their background, almost cartoonish in their definition. The world looks cel-shaded.
Time ceases to be a fluid event, and rather divides into instances unrelated to each other. We find it hard to link events or place them into context. As we walk up the stairs, we cease to remember how we got there, or why. Events are independent; we are what we’re doing. In a sense, we’re “in the moment.” At higher doses, time stutters and lags. When we look around, it seems like we’re skipping frames. Memories bubble up to the surface; we experience the sensation of being somewhere we’ve been, feeling a way we once felt. We’re reminded of places from our childhood, experiences from our past.
