Drug Tourism 101: A First-Timer’s Guide to Drugs on the Road (2024)

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A Disclaimer on Recreational Drug Use on the Road

The Broke Backpacker is a site by backpackers for backpackers. If this topic rustles your jimmies, it’s not for you. Go read something else, there are 4000 posts on the site.

Backpacking is a tool to live a life of exploration and expanding personal development. By being on the road, we learn about ourselves, our passions, strengths, and weaknesses; making mistakes is part of that journey.

In a rather succinct parallel, drugs can also be used as a tool and a journey. You experiment, you learn about how to wield the tool, and, when done right, you learn powerful lessons about yourself, others, and the world at large. The difference is that making a mistake with drugs on the road can fuck a whole lot more up than just your trip (pun legitimately not intended).

Backpackers have always experimented with drugs; it’s just part of the scene.  Drugs can be fun. Sometimes, they’re goddamn life changing and love expanding! And that’s why it’s easy to lose yourself in them and lose sight of what they DO offer.

This guide serves to educate people – from the perspective of an admitted veteran on the how to do it safely. But when it comes to crunch time, you do you.

You’re responsible for you, your safety on the road, and your choices.

I can stand here and say drugs can be fun and can be useful tools (because that has been my personal experience) however, neither I nor The Broke Backpacker would EVER condone the reckless and irresponsible consumption of them. Above all else, be safe and be smart.

Drugs are a communal thing; when we partake, we’re responsible for the safety of those around us as well as the safety of ourselves. And those two things are also inexorably linked.

DO NOT go past your limits. Be extremely wary even testing your limits with recreational drug usage. It stops being fun for everyone once someone in the group has gone down a bad road.

Take the wisdom in this guide and apply it on all your most hedonistic journeys but remember that your experience with drugs while travelling or whenever else will be your own. Drugs are complicated and everyone’s response to them is unique.

Remember that there is zero shame in taking a smaller dose than someone else. There is also zero shame in just saying no.

And if anyone ever peer pressures you into doing something you’re not comfortable with, kick them in the genitals and tell them The Broke Backpacker says hi. That’s something we do condone!

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The score is that drugs are everywhere. From the undisputed drug capitals of the world to the underground party scenes of Japan and Tehran, seek and ye shall always find. 

Should you always seek? Probably not! At least, not if you enjoy the feeling of sunlight on your face and keeping all ten of your fingers.

But for those travelling by way of drug tourism, or simply the peeps looking for a bit of spice sprinkled on their nights of bass-induced debauchery, some destinations are simply better (and safer) than others.

Top Drug Tourism Destinations From Around the World

Honestly, this list could be pretty exhaustive, so I’m just gonna stick to the heavy hitters:

• Amsterdam – Duh. Amsterdam is the undisputed drug capital of the world! Maybe it’s a touch overrated, but that’s just the price you pay for being top dog!
  Soft drugs (weed, hashish, and mushrooms) are legal/tolerated, and anything that‘s not is still extremely available. Honestly, given how accepting the drug culture is in Amsterdam, if you’re looking to experiment with drug tourism and recreational usage, it might be the perfect backpacking destination for a newbie.
• Canada and some US States – For aficionados of the doobie-life, look no further than Canada and some areas in the USA (looking at you, Colorado). The ever-increasing legality of the plant that should never have been illegal to begin with is becoming a very lucrative industry for the powers that tax it. (Who’da thunk?)
• Goa – Yes, the Goa of old may be dead and buried and in its place we have an overtouristed mess of cranky locals and Ruskis fleeing the Motherland, but some things never change… The drugs continue to flow like wine in Goa.
  Anything you want, you can find in India, and every drug you want, you’ll find in Goa. The best tab of acid I’ve ever eaten was bequeathed to me by a wizened psy-wizard boogieing with a trinket-adorned staff. Twelve hours later, I was still tripping and somehow cooking breakfast for all my mates.
• Peru – Many a prospective explorer of the cosmic realms have travelled to South America (and particularly Peru) seeking the ways of the shamanic psychedelics. Mixing spirituality and drugs can get a bit pseudo-bullshit at times, however, there is great wisdom in hallucinogenics. Most people don’t come back out of the rabbit hole the exact same that they went in.
• Colombia – Cocaine and unreasonably attractive women… Look, it’s not my vibe, but some of the best cocaine in the world is found in Colombia! The coke is cheap, abundant, and incredibly pure.

No two drugs are created equal. In this humble opinion’s author, there are good drugs and there are dirty drugs.

Some people disagree with that, and those people usually quite like their dirty drugs. That’s ok.

Drugs are fun, and as long as you’re doing it respectfully and not hurting anyone else, then it’s your body and your rules.

But as you venture into the world of recreational usage, remember that drugs and travel are very parallel concepts. Wherever you travel, the rules change, the culture changes, and the effects a place has on you changes. The same is true of drugs.

Drugs need to be respected above all else because they can and DO mess people’s lives up. They’re a tool to access amazing experiences, connections, and inward self-learning. But each has its use.

You wouldn’t use a hammer to try and screw in a screw, and you would use a lawnmower to cut your hair.

Know your drugs.

1. Marijuana

Merciful Mary Jane! If there’s one drug you’ll encounter anywhere and everywhere in the world, it’s weed. Bud, pot, herb, cannabis, reefers (if you’re a 50s greaser), ganja is the gift from Shiva that keeps on giving.

Even in places like Japan, Mauritius, South Korea and numerous countries around the Middle East where it’s ultra-illegal, I guarantee you it’s available.

Generally, it comes in plant-form (I’m gonna assume you know what weed looks like) Often, it can also come in the form of hash (a brown chocolatey substance). It can be edibles, it can be smoked, it can be vaped; bongs, spots, dabs, bottle tokes. Stoner Tips 101 really deserves its own post: stoner culture is BIG.

It’s also a blast! You’ll make many friends and travel buddies over a well-rolled doobie. And remember: sharing is caring!

For the uninitiated, it’s a pretty chill experience. It’s one of the safest illegal drugs you can experiment with. People can have bad experiences, but an actual pre-conditioning to marijuana-induced psychosis is incredibly rare.

Generally, the people who do freak out either overdid it (overdosing on weed is akin to a long-ass sleep-in) or just overreacted to normal physiological responses. Even as a tried-and-true stoner, a good strain of marijuana can still give me elevated heart rate and racing thoughts. The best thing to do in that situation is to just take yourself aside and pump some exercise; push-ups, crunches, squats, and some yoga. You’ll feel grade-A.

And make sure you drink some water after you smoke too! Nobody wants the Dry Mouth Horrors.

2. MDMA (and Ecstasy/Party Drugs)

DRINK WATER. That’s a drug tourism tip no matter what substance you’re indulging in, but in the case of party drugs, ALWAYS DRINK WATER (and pass the bottle around to your mates too).

We get high, happy, start dancing like a mothertrucker, and before you know, you’ve sweated yourself to severe dehydration.

Ecstasy, MDMA, and other party drugs all tend to have roughly the same effect: a massive surge of energy, motormouth (both in the chewing/teeth-grinding and in the verbal diarrhoea sense), and an overwhelming desire to dance and hug everything with a pulse within a 70-kilometre radius. Speed is a bit different; it has more of the energetic component without so much of the oxytocin (love drug). But it’s all roughly the same game.

Start small if you’re green. Pills and capsules can be split (just take the capsule apart and eat half of what’s in there – prepare for a dreadful flavour though). You can also snort crushed up pills and crystals, but I’d advise against snorting anything unless you have to.

Expect a racing heart, and if it’s all becoming a bit too much, just dance. Or go find another beaming human and together you can D&M your life’s woes away!

Oh, and people love to bang on party drugs! But the eternal cosmic joke is that most guys can’t! The Gods have a wicked sense of humour.

3. Mushrooms and Shroom Shakes

Psychedelics are a hard drug to dissect because they affect everyone differently.

Shrooms 101 is just knowing what you’re taking and how much of it, and a lot of that comes from experience: 

• Anything less than 0.5 grams is more of a mini/micro-dose.
• Around the 1-1.5 gram range is a light trip.
• And 2-3 grams is a trip, though you can take it much further.

While you can eat shrooms, you can also brew them in a tea or even have them as a mushroom shake. Shroom shakes are particularly popular in Southeast Asia – particularly, with backpackers in Thailand and Laos – where a lot of the party hubs will serve them up alongside your regular ol’ boring beers.

I don’t have a lot of tips for doing shrooms purely due to how much the personal experience can change. Overall:

• Eat beforehand, but not directly beforehand. Let your stomach settle and steer clear of sugary foods.
• Stomach pain is not entirely uncommon. If your gut hurts, don’t fixate on it – it’s normal. Chill out, fart a bunch, and try some Buscopan. I gave it to a chick with mushie gut once and it fixed her right up!
• PERSONALLY, I find shroomies to be the most emotional trips of all psychedelics; a lot of stuff can simmer to the surface. Having a creative outlet like art, a journal, or musical instruments can really help in that scenario.

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4. LSD (Acid)

Acid is the substance that has changed my life the most. There are a lot of reasons I rarely drink alcohol, but discovering LSD is one of the big ones.

It’s hard to describe what to expect from Lucy to someone taking acid for the first time. Acid is a drug you need to have faith with, both in the drug and in yourself.

It will take you to where you need to go. It will show you what you need to be shown. Have faith in yourself to be strong enough to work through those things and, more than likely, you’ll have a grand fucking time.

If it does get too much, remember that it’s only a trip: trips are temporary. The drug will pass, and you’ll work through what happened when it’s over. Adopt the mentality that there are no bad trips – only trips that have something to teach.

One tip for LSD that is very pertinent is DO NOT EXPECT TO SLEEP. In most cases, six to eight hours is a fair average for the time you can expect to be tripping, and sleep won’t come until the end of that. While I usually advise against mixing drugs unless you’re experienced, having ONE Valium or Xanax to knock you out if the trip is becoming too much (or you just want to sleep) is worth considering.

That’s not to scare you though. Nine-times-outta-ten, all you’ll have is an amazing trip, some beautiful connections with those around you and some gorgeous fractal-ey visuals. LSD is really my favourite substance of all and I’ve tripped a lot – maybe 100 times – from Iran to Colombia, from The Philippines to Myanmar, I’ve taken LSD in many visually stunning places such as the temples of Bagan over New Years Eve whilst camping out with my brother and girlfriend at the time.

When you take LSD, play it smart – take it between 12-3pm, realise it takes at least an hour to come on, don’t think ‘it’s not working’ and double dose – for that would be a mistake.

Acid is why I believe there are good drugs and dirty drugs. And acid is a good drug.

5. Ketamine

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, is ketamine – not really one of my favourites but some people like it a lot.

Someone once described ketamine to me as “being drunk on the moon”. That’s it in a nutshell.

It’s a mentally dissociative drug (remembering that it did start as a horse tranquillizer), it’s nearly always snorted, and it acts fast and wears off relatively quickly compared to other drugs. The onset, peak, and comedown can often all be over in an hour.

Given that it’s now used as a pharmaceutical painkiller (and is available, with the gift of the gab, over-the-counter in a lot of Asia), it’s also one of the safer illegal drugs to experiment with. BUT be very careful with your dosage; a K-Hole is not something to take lightly.

If you overdose, you’re going straight in the K-Hole, and while I quite enjoy that experience on occasion, it’s not something I would want anyone unexperienced having. It’s incredibly dissociative. More or less an ego-death.

If you want to experiment with ketamine, just start with tiny little bumps – not even lines. And give your nose a good pick first. Clean out dem boogers, yo!

6. Shamanic Psychedelics (eg. Ayahuasca)

A lot of substances fall under this particular branch of drug tourism.

• Ayahuasca
• Mescalline
• San Pedro
• And, of course, DMT

DMT stands as the notable exception to the others as being both more accessible to recreational users and a FUCKING POWERFUL but short-lived trip. Notice the bold-caps-combo? Consider yourself warned.

Some travelers make pilgrimages to certain regions of the world – backpacking in Peru and Bolivia jumps to mind – to find a shaman and embark on that intergalactic journey into the outer realms.

In 2023, I embarked on a 12 day Ayahuascua retreat in Peru, with six ceremonies. It was a life changing experience.

7. Cocaine

From here on in, we’re getting into ‘dirty drug’ territory. And at the top of that list is none other than Snow White herself!

To get the ball rolling:

1. It’s highly addictive.
2. Expensive outside of South America – arguably the best place in the world to buy cocaine – and thus only super relevant to budget backpackers in South America or, to a lesser degree, travelling Central America.
3. One of the few recreational drugs that can lead to genuinely violent behaviour in people.
4. A lot of fun! (Apparently.)

Methods of ingestion include snorting and rubbing it on your gums. Both will ruin your health in the long term.

And again, I need to emphasise how addictive it is. Please, try to minimise the frequency of your usage if you’re going to partake. And be prepared for a helluva comedown when you kick the habit; I’m talking cold sweats, nightmares, nausea, paranoia/irrational thinking. The whole shebang.

As for staying safe on the drug? As usual, chug water, go slow, dose carefully, and don’t go starting any fights. I swear by having a nasal wash tube thing-a-ma-jig that helps me keep my nostrils feeling clean after 🙂

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8. Pharmaceutical Drugs

I’ve taken plenty of valium and ritalin in my time.

Obviously, ‘pharmaceutical drugs’ is a wide net that includes a lot of various drugs with varying effects and recommended safety guidelines. But they’re still worth the mention for just how damn accessible they are outside of the West. Generally, if you’re wondering how to find drugs in a new city, a trip to the nearest pharmacy (or hippy den) will sort you right out!

A lot of prescription medication in the West can be bought over-the-counter in South/Southeast Asia and elsewhere. What can’t be bought over-the-counter, generally can with a sizable ‘tip’.

These drugs include (amongst many others):

• Valium
• Xanax
• Other benzodiazepines
• Dexedrine
• Ritalin
• Heavy-duty painkillers (eg. high-potency Codeine)

Chances are you’ll get offered a pill or two by other backpackers; they’re so cheap and accessible that travellers tend to pass them around as much as joints. Being legal (sort of), travelling with pharmaceutical drugs is also a sinch – just pack them with your toiletries!

Pharmaceuticals aren’t something that you want to get too stuck into in the long term; taking too many valiums will wreck your natural sleep patterns.

The upside to pharmaceuticals is that they’re pharmaceuticals! That means top-quality, totally pure, and NOT mixed with the chef’s ‘secret sauce’ (i.e. cut with rat poison and some crackhead’s pubes).

9. Opium and Heroin

I’ve tried Opium a few times, but not heroin.

Since we’re getting into needles territory, here’s the golden safety tip that I would hope we don’t need to cover in 2024: DO NOT SHARE THEM.

Personally, I’ve never encountered heroin on the road. (I guess I hang out with the right people?)

I also feel the big H is well and truly leaving the scope of a drug tourism guide for backpackers. Just read Trainspotting and then see how keen you are.

Opium, on the other hand, kinda started the OG drug tourism trade! My experience with it is minimal, though you can smoke it or cook it and inhale the fumes. 

The times I did try it, I felt… sleepy?

Generally, it’s hard to acquire and rare. You probably won’t encounter it in any dangerous quantities nor have enough opportunity to take it to develop an addiction. With the right people, it’s a relatively safe experimentation.

Just, stay away from heroin.

10. Crystal Meth

And on that note, we’ve landed at Walter White’s wheelhouse itself: crystal meth (or ‘ice’ as we call it Down Under).

Crystal meth, as far as I’m concerned, isn’t a drug: it’s a noxious poison chemically engineered to be as addictive and destructive as humanly possible.

My advice is simply to keep the fuck away from it, but I still feel the need to mention it here because of its accessibility, particularly in numerous backpacker enclaves throughout Southeast Asia. There are parts of the world where it’s extremely common and cheap. Due to its incredibly addictive nature (unrivalled by any other substance except, maybe, the most extreme of opiates) and the behaviour, it can elicit (violent, erratic, self-destructive, and even psychotic), the advice is simple: don’t touch the shit.

Ice, however, CAN and IS sold as other drugs. It’s a classic scumbag trick with the bikie gangs in Oz: sell a curious kid a ‘joint’ that’s actually meth, and you’ve got a customer for life. Never ever buy a pre-rolled doobie from a dealer, and be warned that the true lowlifes of this planet do sell ice disguised as a drug.

If you do ultimately partake (or fall victim to the aforementioned scumbag scheme), then I can only give the advice passed to me from the interwebs:

• Don’t expect to sleep anytime soon.
• Remember the increased heart rate, palpitations, and sweating are all normal physiological reactions.
• Be with the right people.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Put some rad music on.
• Enjoy the ride.

There is a definite euphoria attached to the process – that’s why it’s so addictive. But truly consider the weight that comes with this drug.

We have a serious problem with it in Australia and New Zealand. Believe me when I say I’ve seen it destroy individuals and spread like a plague through communities and even entire towns. Meth isn’t a drug. It’s a disease.

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If this was a travel guide, then this’d be the section where I give you lots of nuanced tips on the destination. Travel costs, cultural idiosyncrasies, the on-the-ground experience, etcetera…

But instead, it’s a guide to recreational drug tourism! The Broke Backpacker: making mums proud one highly controversial post at a time.

On Buying: How to Find Drugs in a New Town

There’s no hard-and-fast rule for this. Generally, as a tourist in a new town (particularly in a country where tourists stick out like a sore thumb), a walk through town scoping out the surroundings nets me a few offers. However, I look like this:

If nobody is offering (although it’s rarely difficult to find something in the world’s notorious drug tourism destinations), then that means you have to ask. In these circumstances, there’s a hierarchy of who I go to first.

Drugs and Travel – All My Best Tips

These are the more generalised tips; safety comes next:

• I have a rule of thumb for anywhere in the world: unless you cooked it yourself, you don’t know what’s in it.
  That applies to both purity and potency. If the dealer is telling you they’re 300 microgram tabs or Manali hash, ignore them. It is what it is and you’ll find out when you eat it.
• Similarly, do remember that A LOT of drugs are tampered with. Ecstasy is cut with speed, crack, and cleaning chemicals. Hash can be mixed with shoe polish. Hell, even tobacco contains 40 billion other chemicals and poisons.
  There’s no real answer to this problem. It’s just something you have to keep in mind when taking drugs, and it’s why you dose carefully until you know the drug is at least mostly what it says on the tin.
• And even weed isn’t safe! The type of weed everyone buys in Sri Lanka – KG or Kerala Gold (but yeah right, mate, it’s Kerala Gold) – is toxic for you in the long term. Finding cool locals who aren’t selling with ulterior motives but just like their substances is the best way to have an honest conversation about the drug scene in a new country.
• When it comes to travelling with drugs, that situation changes depending on where you are, how you’re travelling, and what the drugs are. If you’re taking this route, you either bury it deep in your backpack or leave it somewhere so easily accessible that you can simply drop it at a moment’s notice. Security money/travel belts can also be a nifty way to hide drugs on your person.
  However, I generally err on the side of caution and just don’t travel with drugs; there will always be more drugs to buy. As for how to sneak drugs on a plane? Well, don’t be stupid, stupid!
• Lastly, accept that you’re probably getting ripped off when buying drugs on the road. Carry a set of scales if you’re that fussed.
  I’ve seen the dealer side of these transactions on numerous occasions. It’s not even questioned. Ripping off tourists by underweighing them or having them overpay is about as standard as overcharging them on their taxi fare; that’s why you know how to haggle!

Recreational Drug Safety – Crucial Advice

I feel like I’ve already mentioned this numerous times, however, the biggest two tips once more:

1. Stay hella hydrated.
2. Dose yourself carefully – half or even quarter doses are totally fine.

And for the best of the rest (but no less crucial):

• Don’t mix alcohol with drugs. Look, mostly everyone does, but I don’t, and I think it’s stupid to. Why masturbate when there’s some chiselled Adonis on standby that wants to ravage your body senseless?
• If sober you would tell you not to do it, then don’t do it. I’m referring to driving, swimming, going walkabout in the jungle. Most drug-related deaths aren’t caused by ODing or bad cooks; they’re caused by bad decisions.
• Choose the right place. Good tunes, good lighting, good chillout areas, and just the feeling of being somewhere safe and secure. I once K-Holed in a hostel in Sri Lanka; as mind-warping as that experience was, at no point did I feel unsafe because I knew the place and knew that it was a safe and accepting space.
• Choose the right people. This can be a tough one when doing drugs when travelling, however, most travellers doing drugs just want the same thing – connection and good vibes. If you’re a newbie, find a veteran psychonaut or two that helps you feel comfortable and like you’re in good hands. Taking care of each other is so vital, it’s part of The Broke Backpacker Manifesto.

And Cover Yo’ Ass With Travel Insurance

Travel insurance is something you really ought to consider when travelling in ALL scenarios. Yeah, sure, you might neck a mushroom shake and then quizzically wonder what it would feel like to stab yourself in the leg with a fork (yes, I do have a mate that did this). However, you may also just get mowed down by a tuk-tuk driver who’s hotboxing as he drives!

Things can and DO go wrong on the road: that’s why we invest in good travel insurance. Will they cover you for drug-related incidents? I dunno! But I won’t tell them you if you won’t. 😉

Either way, please do consider covering yourself with insurance before you go shuttling around the cosmic realms.

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And Now You Ready to Make Your Own Informed Decision

I mean, I hope so anyway. There’s not much more I can tell you on the topic… at least, not without further incriminating myself!

Drug tourism is 100% a thing, and there’s absolutely zero value in being puritanic on the topic. You don’t have to engage with drugs if you don’t want to. In fact, you shouldn’t; don’t be consuming ANY substances unless you’re 100% ready for the ride it’s going to take you on.

However, we shouldn’t be puritanic, but we should be realistic. Drugs and travel are part and parcel of the backpack-osphere. And in the honoured nation of Backpackistan, there is no War on Drugs – only acceptance and open dialogue.

The War on Drugs has done more damage to peoples’ mindsets and personal safety than the drugs themselves ever could.

So go out there and have a spectacular bloody time! Meet other travellers and experienced psychonauts, experiment SAFELY, and do it with the right humans. We do not outright condone drug usage at the Broke Backpacker (for legal reasons), but we do condone travellers living their best life, following their heart’s wildest desires, and expressing their personal autonomy in a safe and respectful way.

So don’t be a dick; just be a chiller. Get high with the right peeps and I guarantee you’ll make some amazing friends.

Because that’s the very last point I want to hit on about taking drugs and taking drugs on the road: you will share some fucking class-A experiences with some other rad humans. And those shared experiences, while they may not be the stories you tell your parents…

Well… they may just be the stories you tell your grandkids. With a cheeky grin and the soft light of times-well-lived reflected in your eyes.

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