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There are two main chemical families of psychedelic drugs: the phenethylamines and the tryptamines.'! 32 * THE BUILDING BLOCKS think "counterculture," "rebellious," "liberal," or "left-wing" when we see the term "psychedelic." I will take my chances, however, and use it throughout this book. I think it is the best term we have. I hope not to offend anyone who finds the word objectionable. No matter what we call them, most of us agree that the psychedelic drugs are physical, chemical things. It is at this most basic level that we can begin to understand what they are and what they do. The diagrams accompanying the following descriptions show the chemical structure of various psychedelic compounds. The balls repre- sent atoms, the most common of which is carbon, which is not labeled. "N" signifies nitrogen; "P," phosphorous; and "0," oxygen. Numerous hydrogen atoms are attached to other atoms in the molecules; however, there are so many that they would unnecessarily clutter up the diagram, so I have not included them here. The phenethylamines build upon the "parent compound" phenethylamine. phenethylamine