I had read the marketing: "the psychedelic cannabinoid," "three times stronger than THC," "spiritual experiences." I am experienced with actual psychedelics — LSD, psilocybin, DMT — and the idea of a cannabinoid that could approach that territory was intriguing enough to investigate.
I set up my living room as I would for a low-dose psychedelic session: comfortable blankets, a curated playlist, a journal, dim lighting. I ate a 12mg THC-O gummy on an empty stomach and settled in.
The onset was slow. About 45 minutes before I felt anything, then a gradual escalation over the next 30 minutes. By T+1:15, I was thoroughly, solidly high. This was undeniably stronger than a comparable dose of a regular THC edible. The body high was heavy and warm. Music was deeply enhanced. My thoughts were flowing in interesting patterns.
But psychedelic? No. Not in any way that I would use that word.
There were no visuals — open or closed eye. There was no sense of ego dissolution, no dissolution of subject-object boundaries, no mystical quality, no entity contact, no geometric patterns, no synaesthesia. The experience was recognizably, unmistakably a strong cannabis high. A very good one, to be fair — the depth of the body relaxation and the music enhancement were genuinely excellent. But claiming this is psychedelic is like claiming a dark beer is whiskey because it has more flavor than a light beer. They are in the same building but on different floors.
What I did experience was strong introspection, some mild time distortion, enhanced pattern recognition when looking at textured surfaces, and a dreamlike quality to my thoughts during the peak. All of these are well-documented effects of high-dose THC. The "psychedelic cannabinoid" marketing is, in my assessment, designed to sell a product to people who have never taken an actual psychedelic and have no frame of reference for what that word means.
I enjoyed the experience. I would take it again at this dose. But I would not call it psychedelic, and I think the marketing that does is irresponsible — not because the product is bad, but because setting incorrect expectations is the fastest way to produce disappointed or frightened users.