# Contact high

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{{short description|Drug-like effect from proximity to drug users}}{{other uses|Contact high (disambiguation)}}{{Psychedelic sidebar|Arts|Culture}}'''Contact high''' is a phenomenon that occurs in otherwise [sober](/source/sobriety) people who experience a [drug-like effect](/source/Substance_intoxication) just by coming into contact with someone who is under the influence of a [psychoactive drug](/source/psychoactive_drug). In a similar way to the [''placebo effect''](/source/placebo), a contact high may be caused by [classical conditioning](/source/classical_conditioning) as well as by the physical and social setting.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.124.11.1600-b|doi = 10.1176/ajp.124.11.1600-b|title = Dr. Bozzetti Replies|year = 1968|last1 = Bozzetti|first1 = L.|journal = American Journal of Psychiatry|volume = 124|issue = 11|url-access = subscription}}</ref><ref name="Olson 2020">{{Cite journal|url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05464-5|doi=10.1007/s00213-020-05464-5|title=Tripping on nothing: Placebo psychedelics and contextual factors|year=2020|last1=Olson|first1=Jay A.|last2=Suissa-Rocheleau|first2=Léah|last3=Lifshitz|first3=Michael|last4=Raz|first4=Amir|last5=Veissière|first5=Samuel P. L.|journal=Psychopharmacology|volume=237|issue=5|pages=1371–1382|pmid=32144438|s2cid=212577549|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 

== Definition ==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Contact High}}The term contact high has its roots in the [drug culture](/source/drug_culture) of the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1969, a [drug abuse](/source/drug_abuse) book for high school students defined "contact high" as "becoming high merely by interacting with one who is high".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Assembly |first=California Legislature |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Drug_Abuse_for_Junior_and_Senior_High_Sc/vpQW0fKakSAC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22Contact%20high%22 |title=Drug Abuse for Junior and Senior High School: Science Portion of District Curriculum Guide, San Jose Unified School District |date=1969 |language=en}}</ref> In 1971, a glossary of drug users' language describes a contact high as "a psychogenic 'trip' without taking drugs, by being close to somebody while he is on drugs". The term is sometimes incorrectly used to describe the [high](/source/cannabis_smoking) experienced by a person who has inhaled [secondhand smoke](/source/passive_smoking).<ref>{{Cite journal|title=The Vocabulary of the Drug User and Alcoholic: A Glossary|journal=[International Journal of the Addictions](/source/International_Journal_of_the_Addictions)|url=https://doi.org/10.3109/10826087109057793|last=Keup|first=Wolfram|date=Jan 1971|volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=353|doi=10.3109/10826087109057793|pmid=4950517 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

In [Alexander Shulgin](/source/Alexander_Shulgin)'s book ''[PiHKAL](/source/PiHKAL)'', under the [2C-I](/source/2C-I) entry, a notable reaction was observed in a participant who took a [placebo](/source/placebo) while in an environment with other people who are under the influence of a drug. The participant wrote that he had "absorbed the ambience of the folks who had actually imbibed the material".<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.erowid.org/library/books_online/pihkal/pihkal033.shtml |via=Erowid Online Books |title=PIHKAL |chapter= #33 2C-I}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
The 1966 debut album by New York band [the Godz](/source/The_Godz_(New_York_band)) was titled ''Contact High with the Godz''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Godz |url=https://www.furious.com/perfect/godz.html |access-date=2025-11-06 |website=www.furious.com}}</ref>

[''Kokomo''](/source/Kokomo_(song)), the Beach Boys song from the 1988 film [Cocktail](/source/Cocktail_(1988_film)) and album [Still Cruisin](/source/Still_Cruisin')', includes the lyric "gave me a tropical contact high".<ref>{{Citation |title=The Beach Boys – Kokomo |url=https://genius.com/The-beach-boys-kokomo-lyrics |access-date=2026-03-29}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [Substance abuse](/source/Substance_abuse)
* [Hotboxing](/source/Hotboxing)
* [Body-centred countertransference](/source/Body-centred_countertransference)

== References ==

{{reflist}}{{psychoactive-stub}}

category:drug culture

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Contact high](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_high) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_high?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.