Trip sitter

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A trip sitter—sometimes known as a sober sitter, spotter, or co-pilot—is a term used by recreational or spiritual drug users to describe a person who remains sober to ensure the safety of the drug user while they are under the influence of a drug; they are especially common with first-time experiences or when using psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants. This practice can be seen as a means of harm reduction.

A trip sitter is sometimes called a psychedelic guide or guide, although this term is more often used to describe someone who takes an active role in guiding a drug user's experiences; a sitter merely stands by to discourage bad trips and handle emergencies, but otherwise does not take on an active role. Guides are more common among spiritual users of entheogens.^{[1][dead link][2][better source needed]} Psychedelic guides were strongly encouraged by Timothy Leary and the other authors of The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.^[7] Trip sitters are also mentioned in the Responsible Drug User's Oath.

Some sources recommend a sitter be present when certain drugs are used, regardless of the user's experience or comfort with the substance. A sitter may be necessary for users of Salvia divinorum for example because the drug can sometimes cause both disorientation and a desire to move about.^{[3][better source needed]}

While the presence of a responsible, knowledgeable trip sitter or guide will reduce the risks of drug use, it is not a guarantee that a bad trip will not occur, nor that the drug user will remain free of physical or mental harm.