1717 lines
81 KiB
Plaintext
1717 lines
81 KiB
Plaintext
Subject: FAQ-Ecstasy
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not yet organized, but maybe of interest to some.... contains Shulgin's
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bibliography too
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******************************
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XTC FAQ
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..............................
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MDMA ;(extacy) (XTC); metheylenedimethoxymethamphetamine. Is an analog
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of MDA (methylenedimethoxyamphetamine). MDA Was first synthesized in
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1917 by Parke-Davis company as an appetite suppressant drug. The drug,
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in addition to suppressing appetite, produced what is now termed as an
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"entacto-effect" in the test subjects. Because of the adverse side
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effects, Parke-Davis did not market the drug and let the patent expire.
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The drug resurfaced in the 1960's along with the advent of many other
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psychoactive substance. Known negative side effects are around a 40%
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reduction of serotonergic synapses in the rat brain with a 5mg/kg dosage
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(no data is available for neurotoxicity in humans). Cerebral spinal
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fluid of admitted users has been shown to have a marked decrease in 5-HT
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levels. More on the pharmacology later....
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..............................
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I can't find the strand, but this is intended to correct/clarify some
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recent discussions of DOM (AKA STP).
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When DOM (2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylphenylisopropylamine) first hit the
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streets of San Francisco in the late sixties, it was distributed in
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tablets of 10 or 20 mg. Threshold effects begin at 1 mg (you get
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muscle tremors, facial flushing, and minor sensory amplification)
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and the more you do, the longer and more intense the trip. Obviously,
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if people took two or three tablets, they'd be in for a long trip.
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So, the stories of DOM trips lasting for days are just the result
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of people not knowing the ED. It is really a nice psychedlic at
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5 mgs or so, no worse than LSD.
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As for the stories of antipsychotics not helping or worsening a DOM trip,
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such stories are nonsense from a pharmacological standpoint. There is
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nothing really unusual about DOM as a psychedelic, if anything it is a
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cleaner 5-HT2 agonist than LSD. This rumor was studied using 50-200 m
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g chlorpromazine to counteract large DOM doses. While the effects of DOM w
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eren't completely reversed, the chlorpromazine did calm the people down.
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Check out Snyder et al (1968) in Amer. J. Psychiat. 125: 357-364 and
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Hollister et al (1969) in Psychopharmacologia 14: 62-73 for studies on
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humans with low and high doses respectively.
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..............................
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Subject: Re: Aminization of Nutmeg or Calamus
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mcbeeb@jacobs.CS.ORST.EDU (Brian Mcbee) writes:
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>So, if I had a batch of nutmeg or calamus, and I soaked it in an aqueous
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>solution of ammonia... Hmm. Anyone have a recipe for making quick and
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>dirty psychedelics from natural precursors? Something that doesn't involve
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>expensive lab equipment or dangerous chemicals?
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Try refluxing an Et2O extract of either in NH2CH3 with 200 mesh Al and
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HgCl2 for a few hours. Try this and you will see God in short order.
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Quick and dirty aminations are hard enough to do in your bath tub
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with pure reagents.
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..............................
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alt.drugs by the one and only Tyrone Slothrop. Please edit
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Asarone can be easily extracted from Acorus calamus roots by steam
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distillation. This is a really nice process because it doesn't require
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the use of any smelly, flammable and poisonous solvents. I've used it
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to extract safrole from sasafrass roots. This will get rid of most of
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the ``gunk'', but of course you will have a mix of aromatic oils.
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Shulgin (1978) states: ``It is used as a medicine by the indians of
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northern Canada (Hoffer and Osmond, 1967) where it is known by the name
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of rat-root, and is claimed to have intoxicating properties similar to
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those of LSD. The conversion of asarone to TMA-2 is easily realized...''
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However, asarone is not the ``precursor to all the MDA analogs''.
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It is the precursor to TMA-2. This is discussed in chapter 5 of
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Strafford (1983). TMA-2 is 2,4,5-trimethoxyphenylisopropylamine.
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Shulgin (1976) describes the effects as follows:
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The first indications of intoxication usually noted are signs of physical
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disturbance such as nausea, paraesthesia, and a modest reflexive mydriasis.
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The central sensory changes appear in the second hour and are character-
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ized by some exaggeration of visual input (especially in the appreciation of
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colors and contrasts of lighting) and of empathy with irrational objects in
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one's environment. These preludes lead to a plateau, form three to about
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six hours following administration, which is an impressive altered state of
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consciousness virtually free of the distortions and portentousness so com-
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mon with LSD. The experience dissipates gradually, and is usually com-
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pleted in 8-10 hours. A sharp dose-response curve exists for TMA-2 in that
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several additional toxic symptoms have been reported at 25-30 mg levels.
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There can be a pervasive mausea throughout the entire experimental
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period, accompanied by actual vomiting, apparent fainting, and brief but
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repeated periods of amnesia. Peripheral vision can be lost (this, apparently,
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of hysterical origin) and the accompanying fear of being irrepaprably severed
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from reality has led to situations that have proved difficult to manage.
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Here was a world of simplicity and certainty no acidhead, no revolutionary
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anarchist would ever find, a world based on the one and zero of life and
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death. Minimal, beautiful. The patterns of lives and deaths....
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...it would all be done with keys on alphanumeric keyboards that stood
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for weightless, invisible chains of electronic presence or absence. If
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patterns of ones and zeros were ``like'' patterns of human lives and
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deaths, if everything about an individual could be represented in a
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computer record by a long string of ones and zeros, then what kind of
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creature would be represented by a long string of lives and deaths? It
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would have to be up one level at least -- an angel, a minor god,
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something in a UFO. It would take eight human lives and deaths just to
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form one character in this being's name -- its complete dossier might
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take up a considerable piece of the history of the world. We are digits
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in God's computer... And the only thing we're good for, to be dead or
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to be living, is the only thing He sees. What we cry, what we contend
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for, in our world of toil and blood, it all lies beneath the notice of
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the hacker we call God. -- Pynchon (1990)
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- Tyrone Slothrop - from his scattering
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Hoffer, A., and H. Osmond. 1967. The Hallucinogens, pp. 55-56. Academic
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Press, New York.
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Pynchon, Thomas. 1990. Vineland. Little, Brown and Co. Pp. 385.
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Shulgin, A. T. 1976. Profiles of psychedelic drugs. 2. TMA-2.
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J. Psychedelic Drugs 8: 169.
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_____. 1978. Psychotomimetic drugs: structure-activity relationships.
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In: Handbook of Psychopharmacology, Vol. 11: Stimulants. Iversen, Iversen
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and Snyder [eds.]. Plenum Press, New York. Pp. 243-333.
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Strafford, Peter. 1983. Psychedelics Encyclopedia. Houghton Mifflin.
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Pp. 420.
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-------end forwarded message--------
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----------------begin forwarded message------------------
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Subject: Re: Legal and better highs
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>MDE - "Eve" An intellectual buzz, no emotional effects
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>2-CB - (CBR) MDMA analog, visuals(sometimes frightening)
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> Ultimate in telepathic communications
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>
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>2CT2 - Laboratory exotic - dark earthy visuals, like shrooms
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>DIPT - Obscure compound - said only to effect perception of music
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>DOET - "visual, pretty & pyschedlic, low dosages remove writing
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> blocks
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CBr a MDMA analog? CBr is 2,5-Dimethoxy-4-Bromophenethylamine. The
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"sometimes frightening" part probably comes from taking more than the
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full dose, and the literature suggests that with larger dosages come
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disproportionately larger responses, unlike some other psychedelics
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we all know and love. I've had very enlightening experiences with CBr,
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and they grew better in quantum leap fashion.
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+ wonderful and gently insightful (semi-wilderness, daytime, friends).
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+ profoundly sexual with glimpses of bird-animal forms (indoors, nightime,
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lover) minor telepathic imagery.
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+ sexual and shamanic, native american imagery (indoors, day-night, alone).
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+ profound native american imagery (indoors, night, after cannabis, friend)
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actually slept a bit (too much cannabis) and awoke to the most wonderful
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visuals (friend in other room - ditto).
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+ full-blown spirit animals all night long (desert, night, friend, good THC
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1/2 way thru trip) - mountain lion (very playful) and eagle most prominent
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two deer (incredibly loving), a wolf (very brief), fantastic living plant
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spirits, entities in mountain, mucho native american imagery, et. al.
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very telepathic with friend. brief teleportation/desert-zoom experience.
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understood the ancients' fascination with constellations. imparted with
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sudden knowledge in extreme detail - confirmed later by ex-lover, scared
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ex-lover shitless.
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My last experience with CBr changed my life in many profound ways (for the
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better). With THC and a little concentration I can get back to some of those
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places. With no THC and a lot of concentration I can get back to some of
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those places. Remember.
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I believe CBr is recognized as an enthogen and an entactogen, and
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unfortunately it's now Schedule 1. :-( Put this one on the top of
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the list of drugs to be legalized.
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DO NOT TAKE ANY DRUG YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. KNOW THE SOURCE.
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>A friend of mine needs some information on a chemical called _SAPHROL_...
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Safrole is 4-allyl-1,2-methylenedioxybenzene. Sassafras oil is about 75%
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safrole. It has quite a pleasant and characteristic odor.
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>The way he spoke about it makes me think that it is an illegal substance
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>used in making some illicit substance.
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The methylenedioxybenzene nucleus is found in MDA and MDMA. Amination at
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the appropriate carbon of the olefinic side chain yields the former,
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methylamination, the latter. I think this reaction is non-trivial due
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to conjugation of the double bond with the aromatic ring; the syntheses
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I have seen start with the ketone.
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In article <eesnyder.676649391@beagle> eesnyder@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Eric E. Snyder) writes:
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[regarding safrole]
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>methylamination, the latter. I think this reaction is non-trivial due
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>to conjugation of the double bond with the aromatic ring; the syntheses
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^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^
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>I have seen start with the ketone.
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That's isosafrole. The reaction isn't too difficult. One tries for
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an anti-Markownikov addition in the presence of peroxide or other
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source of free radicals. For the purposes mentioned, safrole undergoes
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the appropriate addition very conveniently. Both safrole and isosafrole
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do have a pleasant odor and have been used in flavorings, but perhaps
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they can't be used anymore due to a possible cancer risk? Although I
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think some "natural" root beers can contain some amount of "natural"
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safrole, but none can be added. Regulations, regulations...
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--
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David J. Heisterberg djh@osc.edu We are NOT all
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The Ohio Supercomputer Center djh@ohstpy.bitnet Keynesians now.
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Columbus, Ohio 43212 ohstpy::djh
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>Just for the record, mescaline is 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylethylamine. It does not
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>contain an indole ring, it is one of the hallucinogenic amphetamines, as is MDMA.
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...just for the record, mescaline is *not* a so-called psychedelic amphetamine.
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Amphetamine, aka phenylisopropylamine, has an alpha methyl group, and thus
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possesses a chiral center. Phenylethylamines are achiral. This is important
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because the alpha methyl group makes phenylisopropylamines poor substrates for
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MAO. In contrast, phenylethylamines are excellent substrates for MAO. As a
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result, mescaline is not a potent psychedelic (ED ca. 300 mg). However,
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3,4,5-TMA, the phenylisopropylamine analog of mescaline is active at around
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20 mg.
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eesnyder@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Eric E. Snyder) writes:
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>...just for the record, mescaline is *not* a so-called psychedelic amphetamine.
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>Amphetamine, aka phenylisopropylamine, has an alpha methyl group, and thus
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>possesses a chiral center. Phenylethylamines are achiral. This is important
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>because the alpha methyl group makes phenylisopropylamines poor substrates for
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>MAO. In contrast, phenylethylamines are excellent substrates for MAO. As a
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>result, mescaline is not a potent psychedelic (ED ca. 300 mg). However,
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>3,4,5-TMA, the phenylisopropylamine analog of mescaline is active at around
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>20 mg.
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Yeah, but does it get you off?
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..............................
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This is some information I recieved by email regarding a "new form"
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of methamphetamine which has been reportedly appearing in Hawaii....
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Here are some passages from an article titled "A Chemical and
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Pharmacological Review of U4Euh/Intellex" by the "New Age Chemist"
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in volume 4 of Psychedelic Monographs & Essays
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(available from Rosetta, PO Pox 4611, Berkeley, CA 94704 ).
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"Chemical names: 4-methyl aminorex, 4-methyl-5-phenyl-2-amino-oxazoline,
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4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-5-phenyl-oxazolamine.
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(note: oxazoline appears to be the ring formed by
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-O-C(NH2)=N-CH(CH3)-CH-
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1 2 3 4 5
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"Common names: U4Euh, Euphoria, Intellex, Ice, Verbosamine
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"History: 4-methyl aminorex was first synthesized and its anorexigenic
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and stimulant properties discovered by the research group of George Poos
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at McNeil labs in Ft. Washington, PA, in the early 60's. [see J. Med. Chem,
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6:266, 1963]. ... Attention was primarily directed at the anorexegenic
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properties and the central effects were regarded as unwanted side effects.
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"When a high production lab was discovered in Gainesville, Florida in
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1986, the DEA investigated and the material has subsequently been
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consigned to Schedule I under the emergency scheduling provision of the
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Controlled Substance Act for a one year period beginning Oct. 15, 1987.
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(i don't know what the final disposition of the drug was but it's not
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hard to guess...)
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"Chemistry: 4-methyl aminorex is prepared through an addition and
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spontaneous cyclizing reaction involving PPA.
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(another paper in the the same volume says it is synthesized from PPA
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and cyanogen bromide)
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The simplicity of the synthesis, the ready availability of precursors,
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high yields, and the interesting central effects suggest that this
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material will be around for a long time to come.
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"Pharmacological profile: ... Quantitatively, the experience is similar
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to a long-lasting MDMA intoxication superimposed with methamphetamine,
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with the added benefits of easy verbalization, free association, integration,
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and elaboration of previous insights, making it a useful tool for
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lecturers... Nothing is know about the pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics
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of 4-methyl aminorex. The central effects (sympathomimetic) are believed
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to be the result of increased release of catecholamines, and mimicking the
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effects of these transmitters at receptor sites in the brainstem.
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Subject: Ice, 4-methylaminorex (was Re: Mad About MDA...)
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Message-ID: <1854@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM>
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Date: 26 Feb 90 18:43:05 GMT
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References: <11478@nigel.udel.EDU> <1990Feb23.043735.3160@spectre.ccsf.caltech.edu> <357@tau-ceti.isc-br.com>
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Reply-To: dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer)
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Distribution: alt
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Organization: S.P. Dyer Computer Consulting, Cambridge MA
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Lines: 17
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Aminorex was withdrawn from the European market in the late 60's
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after women who were given this drug as an appetite suppressant
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developed chronic pulmonary hypertension, leading in most cases
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to death and significant impairment in the rest. It was never
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marketed in the U.S.
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Since the mechanism of this deleterious effect is not known,
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and knowing how similar 4-methyl aminorex is chemically and
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pharmacologically to aminorex (it's related to aminorex in the
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same way as methamphetamine is related to amphetamine or
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phendimetrazine is to phenmetrazine), it seems imprudent
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to recommend its recreational use.
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..............................
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In article <2160@sunset.MATH.UCLA.EDU> trainor@MATH.UCLA.EDU (Douglas J. Trainor) writes:
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>Anyone got a list of common MAO inhibitors (i.e. food stuffs) that
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>should not be consumed with MDMA? E.g., red wine, chicken liver,
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>non-pasturized yogurt, ...
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You've got it backwards. You're thinking of tyramine (a sympathomimetic
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amine found in aged foods formed from the breakdown of tyrosine).
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People taking MAO inhibitors avoid such foods because tyramine is
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ordinarily quickly destroyed by MAO. In the presense of a MAO inhibitor,
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tyramine is absorbed from the gut and produces symptoms of excessive
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adrenergic activity: headache, raised blood pressure, etc. Severe cases
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can cause a stroke.
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I don't think there's any evidence that MDMA is a MAO inhibitor.
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Yogurt probably isn't a big deal, though it's sometimes included on the list
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of foods to avoid. Most cheeses other than cottage cheese are verboten.
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Dried meats and sausages are out. Vegemite has loads of the stuff. Figures.
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..............................
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>No, those will do... "spinal drains" and "cheese toxins"... Cheese, I mean,
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>sheesh.
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Now that I've recovered from my sarcasm attack, let me tell you what I see
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the risks are.
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A real concern of mine is that you can't be sure with street drugs that what
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you're taking is MDMA or not, how pure it is, or how much you're taking.
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I suppose it depends on how trustworthy your source is.
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Now, onto the drug itself. MDMA isn't much of a monoamine oxidase inhibitor,
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so the bit about cheese is bogus. You'll hear other crap about not taking
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any dairy products, but other rumor mongers will say that you need calcium
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to keep you from grinding your teeth. All ridiculous. I'd eat whatever
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you wanted in moderation (i.e., like always). Given a high enough dose of
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MDMA, you're likely to demonstrate some teeth grinding; it's a simple
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menifestation of the drug's dopaminergic actions and it comes with the
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territory. Calcium isn't going to help.
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MDMA has been shown to be toxic to serotonergic neurons in rats and primates
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at doses only slightly higher than the typical recreational dose in humans
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(on a mg/kg basis.) This should be tempered by the observation that there
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have been no observable long-term behavioral effects in people who have
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taken MDMA, but it is unfashionable to decapitate humans and examine their
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brains' serotonergic neurons directly. Additionally, many drugs (meth-
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amphetamine, fenfluramine) have similar effects in animal models, but they
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are still used without any ill effects. I think the jury is still out, myself.
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--
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Steve Dyer
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..............................
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>
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>MDMA has been shown to be toxic to serotonergic neurons in rats and primates
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>at doses only slightly higher than the typical recreational dose in humans
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>(on a mg/kg basis.) This should be tempered by the observation that there
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>have been no observable long-term behavioral effects in people who have
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>taken MDMA, but it is unfashionable to decapitate humans and examine their
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>brains' serotonergic neurons directly. Additionally, many drugs (meth-
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>amphetamine, fenfluramine) have similar effects in animal models, but they
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>are still used without any ill effects. I think the jury is still out, myself.
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>Steve Dyer
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>dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
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>dyer@arktouros.mit.edu
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>
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I agree with that conclusion, but would also like to point to
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a couple of related facts. First, people will show symptoms of
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Parkinson's disease only after about 80 % of their dopaminergic
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neurons are destroyed. Second, patients will notice a loss of memory
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only after tests show their short term memory has been impaired by 85%
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Which means that half your serotonergic receptors could be destroyed
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and you would probably not notice any difference. The brain is a
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wonderful organ with a lot of redundancy built in it! The problem is
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that you might feel this loss of receptors later in life as some of
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your brain cells die due to normal aging and there are not enough
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"backup" receptors. Of course, no data exist on MDMA users who have been
|
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using it for 50 years. Since MDMA has been shown to be toxic to some
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animals, no research is likely to be done on humans for ethical
|
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reasons. I have used MDMA (when it was legal) and enjoyed it, but now
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I would be scared to do it even assuming it was still legal. This is of
|
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course a personal opinion. Has there been some more recent info on
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this serotonergic receptor stuff in the litterature?
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Pierre St-Hilaire
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MIT Media Laboratory
|
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|
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Subject: Re: long term dangers of MDMA
|
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In article <90341.021142MASSOUD@auvm.auvm.edu> MASSOUD@auvm.auvm.edu (NADIM MASSOUD) writes:
|
||
>Hi, could any knowledgeble person tell me about the possible dangers
|
||
>of occasional MDMA use? I have read lots of articles on the subject,
|
||
>but no study offered convincing evidence as to the negative effects
|
||
>on humans.... All answers are greatly appreciated.. Thanks..
|
||
|
||
Well, that's because there ISN'T evidence of any observable deleterious
|
||
behavioral or neuropsychological effects in humans, but what is observed
|
||
in animal models (histological and neurochemical) probably should be
|
||
interpreted conservatively. Matt F. mentions that there are some upcoming
|
||
studies of HIAA levels in spinal fluid in MDMA users, a test which may be
|
||
a marker for evidence of neurotoxicity. On the other hand, Ricaurte's other
|
||
human studies have not been without criticism. We'll have to see.
|
||
|
||
I have no reason to beat the drum for MDMA, but the thing that makes me
|
||
somewhat suspicious and uneasy about the facileness of these studies
|
||
purporting to point to MDMA's neurotoxicity (and thus support the conclusion
|
||
that the drug should be banned), is that drugs which are far more neurotoxic
|
||
in the same models are used quite routinely without harm. Fenfluramine, a
|
||
serotonergic appetite suppressant is three times more potent than MDMA in
|
||
producing the same experimental lesions in animals. It has been marketed
|
||
and sold for more than 25 years, and millions of doses have been administered
|
||
to people, usually chronically, without any particular side effects which
|
||
would point to a lasting neurological lesion. In fact, one of its two isomers,
|
||
d-fenfluramine, is in the middle of clinical trials for FDA approval as an
|
||
appetite suppressant which lacks some of the side-effects of the racemic drug.
|
||
Methamphetamine also appears to be neurotoxic in the same models, but even
|
||
though it is a very abusable drug, no one would say that it produces obvious
|
||
neurological deficits when used in the treatment of narcolepsy or attention-
|
||
deficit disorder.
|
||
|
||
The lack of evidence of side effects in people who have used MDMA,
|
||
even in those who have used it more than a few times, taken together
|
||
with the evidence of the safe use of other drugs which would otherwise
|
||
be thought to be dangerous according to this model, suggests that
|
||
the neurotoxicity of MDMA in humans might very well have been exaggerated.
|
||
Now, you have to balance that rather cool assessment with the question
|
||
"Well, just what IS going on?" (especially if the studies in humans become
|
||
better refined.) Maybe there is a lot of redundancy in the areas where
|
||
MDMA (and other drugs) ostensibly exert their serotonergic neurotoxicity,
|
||
such that any deficit remains subclinical. What might it take to unmask
|
||
that damage in the future? Who knows?
|
||
|
||
It depends on how conservative you want to be.
|
||
|
||
--
|
||
Steve Dyer
|
||
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
|
||
dyer@arktouros.mit.edu, dyer@hstbme.mit.edu
|
||
|
||
|
||
Subject: Re: MDMA/Ecstasy
|
||
Summary: MDMA, MDA are neurotoxic to serotonergic neurons
|
||
|
||
|
||
In article <26C35239.2952@ics.uci.edu> honig@ics.uci.edu (David Honig) writes:
|
||
|
||
>I don't believe the neurotoxicity reports are relevent to human use; I know
|
||
>of people who've taken several times the usual dose with no adverse effects
|
||
>other than tiredness afterwards, and slight visuals during.
|
||
|
||
>David A. Honig
|
||
|
||
Yes, and I have a few friends who shoot MPTP and they haven't had any problems
|
||
either.
|
||
|
||
While I generally find your opinions to be thoughtful and well-informed, I
|
||
have a difficult time understanding your reasoning here, David. Are you
|
||
saying that, since you and people you know have noticed no obvious behavioral
|
||
(or introspective) correlates to MDMA's neurotoxicty, that neurotoxicity is
|
||
irrelevant? If so, this seems to be a very premature judgement to me. After
|
||
all, although we don't generally see any effects of dopamine depletion in
|
||
humans until they've lost 80 or more percent (at which point they develop
|
||
parkinson's syndrome), it isn't really advisable to shoot MPTP. Why weaken
|
||
the reliability of your system unless there are significant benefits to the
|
||
medication (as may be true in MDMA's use in psychotherapy)? Furthermore,
|
||
it may be that our tests just aren't sensitive enough to detect the behavioral
|
||
changes associated with the damage. There's been some recent success in
|
||
detecting damage to the dopaminergic system using reactions. While I don't
|
||
think this has yet been replicated in humans, researchers (Spirduso et all,
|
||
I think) have found that rats with dopamine losses of approx. 45% and more
|
||
have slightly impaired reaction times. Basically, it seems to me that
|
||
uncontrolled, anecdotal data shouldn't be relied on.
|
||
|
||
I realize that the serotonergic system is very different from the dopamine
|
||
one and that NO behavioral changes have been found for MDMA-induced seroton-
|
||
ergic depletion, still judging the neurotoxicity as "irrelevant" seems to
|
||
me to be very premature.
|
||
|
||
It seems to me that the benefits would have to be better than a good trip in
|
||
order to out weight the cost. Neurotoxic effects of MDMA have
|
||
been found at 3-4 times the effective dose (IP injected) in rats and monkeys
|
||
are even more susceptable. Admittedly, the "effective dose" is probably
|
||
on the high end (since one can't ask a rat if it feels good, but must give
|
||
enough to alter its behavior measurably), but even if we couldn't pick up
|
||
the neurotoxicity until 6-8 times the ED, that's still wouldn't be a very
|
||
safe window (given the variables and unknown doses involved and the likely-
|
||
hood of better tests revealing neurotoxicity at lower doses).
|
||
|
||
For those interested in reading primary sources on this subject, I recommend
|
||
the work by George Ricaurte, who's done a great deal of MDMA research
|
||
(including studies involving oral doses in squirrel monkeys). G. Battaglia's
|
||
also active in this field. I recall a paper in Pharmacol-Biochem-Behav.
|
||
(journal) in the Feb. 88 issue on the parameters of the neurotoxicity. In
|
||
any case, one would want to look up the latest articles by these two and read
|
||
the abstracts, intros, and discussions. People interested in the importance
|
||
of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) should find the target article in
|
||
Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS, an excellent, readable journal with
|
||
important articles and extensive peer reviews). Serotonin is believed to
|
||
be related to aggression, sexual behavior, and sleep, to name a few things.
|
||
Oh, and it's also important in the activity of hallucinogens.
|
||
|
||
--Matt Funkchick.
|
||
den0@quads.uchicago.edu
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Subject: Nutmeg & Psychedelic Amphetamines
|
||
|
||
In article <3894@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM>
|
||
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer) writes:
|
||
>Huh? I believe that nutmeg contains several methoxy- and methylenedioxy-
|
||
>phenyl alkenes (essentially the deaminated forms of the psychedelic
|
||
>amphetamines.) I know of no evidence that they are biotransformed
|
||
>into the corresponding amphetamines.
|
||
|
||
As you may remember, we discussed this exact point some time ago. What
|
||
follows is a posting I made on the subject in October 1988. After posting
|
||
I tried 2 tablespoons of McCormick's (sp?) new from the store. I was
|
||
more moist and aromatic than I remembered, so maybe freshness makes a
|
||
difference. It left me slightly speedy and trippy. I've never taken
|
||
psychedelic amphetamines, but what I experienced was inline with what
|
||
I would have expect them.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
|
||
Subject: Nutmeg
|
||
Date: 11 Oct 88 19:46:42 GMT
|
||
|
||
In article <451@husc6.harvard.edu> gallaghe@husc8.UUCP
|
||
(Paul Gallagher) writes (a nice article):
|
||
>Another household substance with psychedelic properties is nutmeg, which
|
||
>contains small amounts of the methoxylated amphetamine, myristicin.
|
||
|
||
In article <7388@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> dyer@arktouros.MIT.EDU
|
||
(Steve Dyer) writes:
|
||
>Myristicin is not a methoxylated amphetamine. It is in fact
|
||
>non-nitrogenous and only resembles the methoxylated amphetamines in their
|
||
>phenyl rings.
|
||
|
||
In article <1722@laidbak.UUCP> rayd@laidbak.UUCP (Ray Dueland) writes:
|
||
>The constituents of nutmeg don't contain psychedelic amphetamines, but
|
||
>do contain good MDMA, MDA, and DMA precursors. I'm not familiar with
|
||
|
||
|
||
I got curious enough about nutmeg to do some reading. Nutmeg contains
|
||
a variety of allylbenzenes (double bond between beta and gamma carbons),
|
||
all very similar to psychedelic amphetamines. I tried drawing the
|
||
compounds, but they're difficult in ASCII. The compounds all have the
|
||
allylbenzene in common, the differ in their substitutions at the 3,4,5
|
||
positions of the benzene ring. The compounds and their concentrations
|
||
from (1):
|
||
|
||
compound substitutions concentration
|
||
-------- ------------- -------------
|
||
myristicin 3-methoxy, 4,5-methylenedioxy 4.0%
|
||
safrole 3,4-methylenedioxy 0.6%
|
||
eugenol 3-methoxy, 4-hydroxyl 0.2%
|
||
elemicin 3,4,5-trimethoxy *
|
||
methyleugenol 3,4-dimethoxy *
|
||
----
|
||
*-mentioned in (4) and stated as being previously included with
|
||
the myristicin portion incorrectly.
|
||
|
||
Weil's (1) paper gives a broad history of nutmeg use as food and as
|
||
narcotic, and gives a summary of research into the pharmacological
|
||
effects of nutmeg. Some of the more interesting work cited is that by
|
||
Alexander Sulgin (3,4). Unfortunately some of the cited work is from an
|
||
unpublished paper, and the library didn't have the journal another
|
||
article was in (3) so I only saw excerpts.
|
||
|
||
The descriptions of the experience mentioned by Weil are consistent
|
||
with pyschedelic amphetamine experiences, although the initial phase
|
||
of an excitment and distorted perception is often followed by
|
||
narcosis, the effects sometimes reported as lasting days. There are a
|
||
wide variety of other toxic effects reported (infrequently, death) with
|
||
enough frequency to make it clear why this is not a widely abused
|
||
substance.
|
||
|
||
The psychedelic component is examined by Shulgin who concludes that
|
||
the hallucinogenic action is mainly from the myristicin and related
|
||
components. He notes that only know mechanism of metabolism of any of
|
||
the compounds is the detoxification of safrole to piperonylic acid.
|
||
This reaction show the capacity to oxidize an olefinic side chain.
|
||
He uses this fact to speculate on a possible pharmacologic mechanism
|
||
(quoted from Weil):
|
||
|
||
"Shulte suggests that, if this degradative process is `applicable to
|
||
myristicin, or especially to elemicin, a theoretical intermediate, a
|
||
vinyl alcohol, could undergo transamination producing the known
|
||
psychotomimetic drug, 3,4,5-trimethoxy amphetamine (TMA). The recent
|
||
description of the new, synthetic hallucinogen -
|
||
3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy amphetamine (MMDA)-which might be
|
||
derived by an analogous process from myristicin, itself, is even more
|
||
suggestive of a psychotropic function for this component of nutmeg.'"
|
||
|
||
References
|
||
----------
|
||
1. Weil, Andrew (1965). Nutmeg as a Narcotic. 19(3), 194-217.
|
||
|
||
2. Truitt, Edward and others (1961). The Pharmacology of Myristicin; A
|
||
Contribution to the Psychoparmacology of Nutmeg. 2(4), 205.
|
||
|
||
3. Shulgin, Alexander T. (1963). Concerning the pharmacology of nutmeg.
|
||
Mind 299-303.
|
||
|
||
4. Shulgin, Alexander T. (1964). Composition of the myristicin fraction
|
||
from oil of nutmeg. Nature, 197:4865, p.379.
|
||
|
||
--
|
||
Ray Dueland
|
||
raydu@ico.isc.com
|
||
...uunet!ico!raydu
|
||
|
||
|
||
Subject: Shulgin
|
||
|
||
More on Shulgin from Email sent to me -
|
||
|
||
--
|
||
|
||
I sent away to shulgin for his book on the controlled substances act.
|
||
He sent me back a letter which included the following:
|
||
|
||
"I am presently struggling through my book on the entire phenylethylamine
|
||
area, and with the smiles of the almighty, it will be done soon. This is
|
||
a novel, PIHKAL, that embodies all I have uncovered in my research over the
|
||
last forty years, some published but mostly unpublished. It will have the
|
||
world's longest footnote, with the recipes and dosages and duration and
|
||
descriptions of experiences and related comments on all the phenylethylamines
|
||
I have ever made or looked at. Some 250 of them. (!) ... And, as I had
|
||
said, all published as fiction. PIHKAL is the acronym for "Phenylethylamines
|
||
I Have Known and Loved"
|
||
|
||
The book should be done by the end of the year.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
DRUG QUIZ
|
||
(answers follow posting)
|
||
|
||
(1) What is the present Schedule, within the CSA, for each of the
|
||
following drugs:
|
||
(a) the hallucinogen Tiletamine?
|
||
(b) the stimulant U-4-E-uh (Methylaminorex)?
|
||
(c) the narcotic Benzylfentanyl?
|
||
(2) Was MDMA (Ecstasy) a Scheduled drug on March 1, 1988?
|
||
(3) What material is listed as #8254 in the DEA computer?
|
||
(4) What drug is Scheduled but has yet to be synthesized?
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT
|
||
|
||
This is a 383 page manual containing all details of the Federal Drug
|
||
Law, including names, schedules, definitions, DEA code numbers,
|
||
structures, regulatory authority, history, drug formulae, plant
|
||
sources, synonyms, CAS registries, chemical names, and more.
|
||
|
||
$34.95, plus $4.00 s/h ____ Bill me ____ Check enclosed
|
||
|
||
SHIP TO: ORDER FROM:
|
||
Name ___________________ Alexander T. Shulgin
|
||
Address ___________________ 1483 Shulgin Road
|
||
City, Zip ___________________ Lafayette, CA 94549
|
||
|
||
|
||
Answers:
|
||
(1) a: not scheduled
|
||
b: Schedule I
|
||
c: not scheduled
|
||
(2) No.
|
||
(3) Tapioca starch
|
||
(4) MMDA-4
|
||
|
||
|
||
..............................
|
||
|
||
Just in case you were having trouble getting the Shulgin bibliography
|
||
to come out right, I have received the following.
|
||
|
||
--------begin forwarded message---------------
|
||
|
||
Mr. Berryhill:
|
||
|
||
In article <10567@nigel.udel.EDU> you give a bibliography of
|
||
Dr. Alexander T. Shulgin's work:
|
||
|
||
>. . . I have the references in troff format. For those not
|
||
>familiar with this format, I include a list of the format commands.
|
||
|
||
Now, I consider myself a neutral in the so-called "War" on drugs,
|
||
because I have strong feelings on both sides of the issue, but
|
||
out of sheer hacker curiosity, I tried yesterday to troff your
|
||
bibliography. Here are a few suggestions, based on what works
|
||
at my site and what doesn't:
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Tyrone Slothrop wishes to add the following remarks to the recent
|
||
posting of the re-formatted bibliography of Shulgin's publications...
|
||
|
||
------begin forwarded message-------------
|
||
|
||
I haven't read alt.drugs in ages. But looking in today I am glad to see
|
||
that my efforts to make the Shulgin bibliography available were not wasted.
|
||
Some persons have even endeavored to make the troff formatting nicer. Thank
|
||
you. I noticed that somehow, some pieces of the file have gotten lost.
|
||
There was a deletion of a second author in one 1976 reference. These were
|
||
present in the original, so I am making it available again. The guess by
|
||
Rich Thomson (5739) and others on this reference was not correct.
|
||
|
||
While I am glad that the bibliography is being passed around, I am
|
||
disappointed that the Pynchon quote was stripped off. I add these quotes
|
||
for their literary merit, to turn people on to Pynchon, to raise the
|
||
collective conscious level, and your indulgence is a small price I ask in
|
||
exchange for the information I provide.
|
||
|
||
- Tyrone Slothrop -- from his scattering
|
||
|
||
Subject: The End of Psychedelic Exploration - from Slothrop
|
||
Homage To: Shulgin's Psychedelic Publications
|
||
|
||
Alexander Shulgin is the worlds foremost developer and explorer of
|
||
psychedelic drugs. He has been, and remains, a prolific writer. His
|
||
publications provide a great introduction to the diverse world of
|
||
psychedelics, and provide and inspiration for psychedelic exploration.
|
||
However, Shulgin has informed me that the publishing of any
|
||
human data on new compounds had to stop abruptly with the enactment
|
||
of the Analogue Drug Bill in 1986. This particular bit of obscenity
|
||
makes the generation, or even the attempted generation, of any altered
|
||
state of consciousness a felonious act. The continuing publication of
|
||
experimental results in the medical and scientific literature is now
|
||
totally impossible. For this reason I think it is worthwhile to
|
||
provide a complete list of his psychedelic publications. They are
|
||
well referenced, and can lead to much other psychedelic literature.
|
||
|
||
Shulgin crossed the diamond with the pearl and gave birth to all forms of
|
||
light: "It is early morning now. Slothrop's breath is white on the air.
|
||
He is just up from a dream. Part I of a poem, with woodcuts accompanying
|
||
the text - a woman is attending a dog show which is also, in some way, a
|
||
stud service. She has brought her Pekingese, a female with a sickeningly
|
||
cute name, Mimsy or Goo-Goo or something, here to be serviced. She is
|
||
passing the time in a garden setting, with some other middle-class ladies
|
||
like herself, when from some enclosure nearby she hears the sound of
|
||
her bitch, coming. The sound goes on and on for much longer than
|
||
seems appropriate, and she suddenly realizes that the sound is her own
|
||
voice, this interminable cry of dog-pleasure. The others, politely, are
|
||
pretending not to notice. She feels shame, but is helpless, driven now by
|
||
a need to go out and find other animal species to fuck. She sucks the
|
||
penis of a multicolored mongrel who has tried to mount her in the
|
||
street. Out in a barren field near a barbed-wire fence, winter fires across
|
||
the clouds, a tall horse compels her to kneel, passively, and kiss his
|
||
hooves. Cats and minks, hyenas and rabbits, fuck her inside automo-
|
||
biles, lost at night in the forests, out beside a waterhole in the desert.
|
||
|
||
"As Part II begins, she has discovered she's pregnant. Her husband, a
|
||
dumb, easygoing screen door salesman, makes an agreement with her:
|
||
her own promise is never stated, but in return, nine months from now,
|
||
he will take her where she wants to go. So it is that close to the end of
|
||
her term he is out on the river, and American river, in a rowboat, hauling
|
||
on the oars, carrying her on a journey. The key color in this section is
|
||
violet.
|
||
|
||
"Part III finds her at the bottom of the river. She has drowned. But all
|
||
forms of life fill her womb. 'Using her as mermaid' (line 7), they trans-
|
||
port her down through these green river-depths. 'It was down, and out
|
||
again./ Old Squalidozzi, ploughman of the deep,/ At the end of his
|
||
day's sowing/ Sees her verdigris belly among the weeds' (lines 10-13),
|
||
and brings her back up. He is a classically-bearded Neptune figure with
|
||
an old serene face. From out of her body streams a flood now of dif-
|
||
ferent creatures, octopuses, reindeer, kangaroos, 'Who can say all the
|
||
life/ That left her womb that day?' Squalidozzi can only catch a
|
||
glimpse of the amazing spill as he bears her back toward the surface.
|
||
Above, it is a mild and sunlit green lake or pond, grassy at the banks,
|
||
shaded by willows. Insects whine and hover. The key color now is
|
||
green. 'And there as it broke to sun/ Her corpse found sleep in the
|
||
water/ And in the summer depths/ The creatures took their way/ Each
|
||
to its proper love/ In the height of afternoon/ As the peaceful river
|
||
went....'" Pynchon (1973, p. 446-447)
|
||
|
||
For reprints of Shulgin's publications, write to:
|
||
|
||
Alexander T. Shulgin
|
||
1483 Shulgin Road
|
||
Lafayette, CA 94549
|
||
|
||
Be merciful. He is out of many of the older papers, and probably doesn't
|
||
have reprints of the longer review articles. Don't request reprints of
|
||
articles that you can get at the library. After each article I have
|
||
included a number. These are the numbers that Shulgin uses to reference
|
||
his papers. If you include these it will make it easier for him to
|
||
locate them. I have the references in troff format. For those not
|
||
familiar with this format, I include a list of the format commands.
|
||
|
||
\fI start italics
|
||
\fG start greek
|
||
\fR end italics or greek
|
||
\u shift up half line, begin superscript or end subscript
|
||
\d shift down half line, begin subscript or end superscript
|
||
\s+2 increase point size by two
|
||
\s-2 decrease point size by two
|
||
\*' accent on preceding letter
|
||
\*: umlaut on preceding letter
|
||
|
||
.XP
|
||
Pynchon, Thomas. 1973. Gravity's Rainbow. The Viking Press, N.Y. Pp. 760.
|
||
.XP
|
||
Shulgin, A. T., S. Bunnell, and T. Sargent. 1961. The psychotomimetic
|
||
properties of 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine. Nature 189: 10011-1012. 12
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1963. Psychotomimetic agents related to mescaline. Experientia
|
||
19: 127. 19
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1963. Composition of the myristicin fraction from oil of nutmeg.
|
||
Nature 197: 379. 20
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1963. Concerning the pharmacology of nutmeg. Mind 1: 299-302. 23
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1964. 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxy amphetamine, a new
|
||
psychotomimetic agent. Nature 201: 1120-1121. 29
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1964. Psychotomimetic amphetamines: methoxy 3,4-dialkoxyamphetamines
|
||
Experientia 20: 366. 30
|
||
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Helisten, C., and A. T. Shulgin. The detection of 1-piperidinodydlohexane-
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||
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.XP
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.XP
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.XP
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Nichols, D. E., A. J. Hoffman, R. A. Oberlender, P. Jacob, and A. T.
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|
||
Shulgin, A. T. 1987. The 'social-chemistry' of pharmacological discovery.
|
||
Social Pharmacology 1: 279-290. 148
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1987. Reference information on MDMA. Analog 9: #4 (page 10). 149
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1988. DIPT: the distortion of music. Reality Hackers #6 (Winter
|
||
1988) p. 27. 152.
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. 1988. THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT: A resource manual of the
|
||
current status of the federal drug laws. 383 pp., published in Lafayette,
|
||
California 94549 April 1988. 154
|
||
.XP
|
||
_____. In press. History of MDMA. \fIIn\fR: S. Peroutka [ed.], MDMA:
|
||
"Ecstasy" and human neurotoxin? Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, MA,
|
||
02061.
|
||
|
||
|
||
------end forwarded message----------
|
||
--
|
||
Subject: mdma neurotoxocity
|
||
|
||
|
||
Yesterday, I posted info on MDMA, working from memory. Today, I brought
|
||
the June '91 High Times article on the Bridge Conference, held at
|
||
Stanford (!) February 2-3. Here are some excerpts from the article
|
||
regarding MDMA:
|
||
|
||
... Bruce Eisner eloquently characterized MDMA ("ecstasy") as a
|
||
substance which reveals "the inner nature of human beings, that
|
||
we all have a core of love and beauty that we can tap into".
|
||
The question on everyone else's minds seemed to be whether
|
||
this miraculous chemical also causes brain damage in humans.
|
||
|
||
In several presentations, audience questions about this issue
|
||
were addressed by Debby Harlow and Jerome Beck, authors of a
|
||
sociological study of MDMA funded by the National Institute
|
||
on Drug Abuse; Dennis McKenna, who has been associated with
|
||
some of the major MDMA neurotoxicity researchers; and David
|
||
Nichols, whose 20 years of research on the effects of psychedelics
|
||
on rats at the Pharmacology Department of Purdue University has
|
||
also been funded by the NIDA. They did their best to dispel
|
||
several myths about MDMA toxicity, and to set the record straight
|
||
on what is known about MDMA neurotoxicity in humans.
|
||
|
||
The first myth put to rest was that MDMA causes Parkinson's
|
||
disease or a Parkinson's-like syndrome. This rumor was
|
||
apparently caused by confusion of MDMA with MPTP, an impurity
|
||
present in a designer analog of heroin, long-term use of which
|
||
has caused at least one case of this kind of effect. The second
|
||
misapprehension concerned the fact that MDMA causes some sort of
|
||
drainage of spinal fluid. This misconception somehow resulted
|
||
from a misunderstanding of research into the effects of MDMA on
|
||
levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which are accessed
|
||
through spinal taps. It's the spinal taps that drain the fluid,
|
||
NOT the MDMA.
|
||
|
||
Research into possible MDMA-caused damage to serotonin neurons
|
||
has spawned a great deal of anxiety and misinterpretation. (Some
|
||
of the problem results from the fact that MDMA research has been
|
||
frequently confused with MDA research). Huge, repeated doses of
|
||
MDMA administered to rats DO cause selective damage to serotonin-
|
||
receptor sites. (Mice are apparently less sensitive). A similar
|
||
effect has been observed in primates at dosages above, but
|
||
approximating, human levels. Recovery from this damage seems to
|
||
occur in about four months, followed mysteriously by a reappearance
|
||
of deterioration.
|
||
|
||
David Nichols offered the most detailed and cogent explanation of
|
||
what happens in this process. The temporary decrease in serotonin
|
||
levels following an MDMA trip, which initiates a massive release
|
||
of serotonin, causes the absorption into serotonin neurons of
|
||
another neurotransmitter, dopamine, in place of serotonin.
|
||
Dopamine does not belong in these serotonin-receptor sites, and
|
||
it is likely that a toxic metabolite created by the enzyme-induced
|
||
breakdown of dopamine causes the observed damage. This
|
||
deterioration is "axodentritic", which means that it occurs in the
|
||
terminals of the nerve cell, not in its main body.
|
||
|
||
A number of other relevant facts were noted. Nichols pointed out
|
||
that for over 20 years, large doses of fenfluoramine -- an FDA-
|
||
approved, MDMA-related chemical prescribed as an appetite
|
||
suppressant -- have been taken by one and a half to two million
|
||
people in the US. This drug is twice as toxic as MDMA and is
|
||
ingested on a daily basis. However, no aberrations have been
|
||
observed.
|
||
|
||
Furthermore, Harlow remarked that there are no "behavioral
|
||
correlates" to MDMA neurotoxicity in any mammals, including
|
||
humans. This means that no cognitive, emotional, or physiological
|
||
dysfunctions have been observed to occur as a result of this
|
||
nerve damage. Harlow asked how, without such correlates, "can
|
||
we know that this is a negative thing ? What the neurotoxicity
|
||
researchers are calling brain DAMAGE is really brain CHANGE".
|
||
Dennis McKenna agreed: "There is no rational reason to assume
|
||
that this is negative, given the well-known plasticity of the
|
||
brain".
|
||
|
||
One psychopharmacologist, who has asked not to be quoted by name,
|
||
takes this issue even further. "Who knows ? Maybe the trimming
|
||
back of serotonin receptors has the effect of pruning the psyche!"
|
||
|
||
For those still concerned about brain damage from MDMA, Nichols
|
||
referred to a study involving MDMA and the popular antidepressant
|
||
Prozac. The latter drug blocks the "reuptake" or reabsorption of
|
||
serotonin into serotonin nerve cells, and has been shown to
|
||
counteract as well the absorption of the culprit neurotransmitter
|
||
dopamine into these same cells after administration of MDMA in
|
||
rats. The conclusion is that a single therapeutic dose of Prozac
|
||
taken three hours after MDMA would block any possible neuro-
|
||
toxicity in humans, and one dose three-to-six-hours after MDMA
|
||
should significantly decrease such damage.
|
||
|
||
In spite of all the controversy, there is still no positive
|
||
indication that the animal studies have any bearing on humans.
|
||
Nichols flatly summed up the situation: "There is no evidence
|
||
of MDMA neurotoxicity in humans".
|
||
|
||
|
||
In article <1083@tau-ceti.isc-br.com> geraldb@tau-ceti.isc-br.com (Gerald
|
||
Bryan (Denver)) writes:
|
||
|
||
>Here's what I've read about MDMA's effects:
|
||
>
|
||
> o In the average person, given the right set and setting, there are no
|
||
> long lasting psychological effects that would generally be considered
|
||
> deleterious.
|
||
>
|
||
> o One of the arguments used by the DEA to schedule MDMA was that tests
|
||
> done with MDA (note, not the same as MDMA) on rats showed some damage
|
||
> at nerve cell receptor sites.
|
||
|
||
> o After being scheduled, similar tests were done with MDMA, also showing
|
||
> similar "neurotoxocity", though not as bad as that with MDA.
|
||
|
||
> o Further tests revealed that the nerve cell receptor site damage goes
|
||
> away after a period of abstinence (I believe the period of time was
|
||
> 1 month). Also, the amounts of MDMA needed to produce the neurotoxicity
|
||
> were significantly higher than human dosages (I think based on body
|
||
> weight).
|
||
|
||
You get the quote unquote neurotoxic effect in squirrel monkeys at about
|
||
2-3 times the human ED orally (based on body weight).
|
||
|
||
> o There is at least one commonly prescribed drug, called something like
|
||
> Fleurotin (help me on this one, netters), that fails the neurotoxicity
|
||
> test worse than MDMA, yet no one seems concerned about it when
|
||
> prescribing the drug.
|
||
|
||
Fenfluramine. Used for weight loss.One difference between MDMA and Fenfluramine
|
||
is that MDMA is used recreationally. The comparison is a good one given
|
||
that Fenfluramine has been prescribed for many years with no noticable
|
||
problems. My inclination would be to hold off on it for a few years. It's
|
||
good for weight loss but there are other drugs.
|
||
|
||
Given MDMA's very probable efficacy in therapy (as Lester Grinspoon has
|
||
argued), there is no way that it should be Schedule I. At worst, it
|
||
should be categorized with its cousins, amp and MA, in Schedule II where
|
||
researchers can get to it more easily.
|
||
|
||
As has been previously posted here (by, I think, Tim Basher) there is a
|
||
good chance that the neurotoxic effects of MDMA can be prevented, without
|
||
effecting its psychactive effects. The neurotoxic effects of MDMA happen
|
||
AFTER the psychoactive ones. A 5-HT reuptake blocker administered at
|
||
this point can prevent the 5-HT neurotoxicty. I've all but seen it done
|
||
in real time with microdialysis (with fenfluramine and fluoxetine) in
|
||
rats.
|
||
|
||
> o The neuro-toxicity has never been observed in humans (but, I've
|
||
> always wondered, how would they know ?)
|
||
|
||
5-HIAA levels in the spinal fluid have been found to be lowered in human users,
|
||
suggesting that the neurotoxicity exists as well.
|
||
|
||
> o There is some disagreement about what the perceived (and temporary)
|
||
> neuro-toxicity means, if anything. It's more than just a
|
||
> disagreement -- I don't think anyone has ventured to guess what it
|
||
> implies. Not saying that I agree with this, but I once heard
|
||
> Andrew Weil venture that the supposed neurotoxicity might even be
|
||
> beneficial brain pruning, much like that that occurs normally
|
||
> in infants.
|
||
|
||
The only successful experiments I've seen were with dopamine neurotoxicity
|
||
from MA. This was a poster at Neuroscience which found that DA loss of
|
||
about 50% was correlated with the number of times a rat slipped when
|
||
walking across a thin beam. Weil's 'beneficial brain pruning' seems
|
||
intuitively implausible to me, but that's just my inclination.
|
||
|
||
> o According to Dr. David Nichols (within the last several months),
|
||
> MDMA has not been proven to cause any damage (he may have qualified
|
||
> this with the word "permanent" -- see the HT article mentioned below).
|
||
> Dr. David Nichols, by the way, is probably the number 2 psychedelic
|
||
> chemist in the world today, right after Alexander Shulgin.
|
||
|
||
Dr. Nichols is correct. And Gerald is correct that Nichols knows what he's
|
||
talking about.
|
||
|
||
>Sources: "Ecstasy: The MDMA Story" by Bruce Eisner.
|
||
> This month's High Times coverage of the psychedelics conference
|
||
> held in Santa Cruz, San Francisco, or some place like that.
|
||
>--
|
||
>gerald Bryan | "I don't like myself sober," confided Alan Watts to a
|
||
> | friend of mine, "so I spend much of my time drunk."
|
||
> | -- Robert S. deRopp
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
From: Chemical & Engineering News. September 9, 1985.
|
||
|
||
"3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)....
|
||
|
||
H H To a number of psychiatrists scattered across
|
||
\ / the country, MDMA is a useful therapeutic tool.
|
||
C Those psychiatrists have been using MDMA quietly
|
||
/ \ since the mid-1970's in counseling sessions as
|
||
O O an adjunct to psychotherapy. They report that,
|
||
\ / when used under controlled conditions, MDMA has
|
||
----- few negative side effects and can act to ease
|
||
// \\ psychic trauma and break down barriers to
|
||
'< >` communication.
|
||
\ /
|
||
===== The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
|
||
\ maintains that MDMA is a 'nationwide problem
|
||
/ as well as a serious health threat.' According
|
||
H C--< to a NIDA publication, MDMA users experience problems
|
||
3 \ similar to those associated with use of amphetamines
|
||
NHCH and cocaine. The publication cites specifically
|
||
3 'psychological difficulties, including confusion,
|
||
depression, sleep problems, drug craving, severe
|
||
anxiety, and paranoia - during and sometimes weeks
|
||
after taking MDMA.'
|
||
|
||
MDMA was first synthesized and patented by E. Merck & Co., Germany,
|
||
in 1914 as an appetite suppressant. The compound was never marketed,
|
||
however, and the patent on it has long since expired.
|
||
|
||
It is currently accepted CHEMICAL ABSTRACTS designation is
|
||
N, alpha-dimethyl-1,3-benzodioxole-5-ethanamine. On the street,
|
||
it is sold as MDMA, MDM, Adam, Ecstasy, or XTC.
|
||
|
||
Chemically, MDMA is related both to methamphetamine and
|
||
3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA). According to a number of
|
||
research workers, however, it bears little pharmacological relationsh\
|
||
ip
|
||
to those drugs. 'It stands out as unique in its constellation of
|
||
properties,' says one.
|
||
|
||
Unlike MDA, MDMA appears to have almost no hallucinogenic properties.
|
||
Nor is its effects primarily that of a stimulant such as
|
||
methamphetamine. Instead, MDMA seems to break down barriers to
|
||
communication between people, ease psychic trauma, and allow
|
||
individuals access to repressed psychological information.
|
||
|
||
George Greer, a psychiatrist in private practice in Santa Fe, N.M.,
|
||
...concluded that 'the single best use of MDMA is to facilitate
|
||
more direct communication between people involved in a significant
|
||
emotional relationship....'
|
||
|
||
The psychiatrists who have used MDMA in therapy also believe that
|
||
it has relatively low abuse potential because its beneficial or
|
||
pleasant side effects diminish rapidly with regular use.
|
||
|
||
...DEA proposed in July, 1984 that MDMA be classified as a Schedule I
|
||
controlled substance.
|
||
|
||
...DEA's Frank Sapienza...defends DEA's action on the grounds that
|
||
research conducted at the University of Chicago demonstrated that
|
||
MDA is selectively neurotoxic to seratonergic neurons in the brain.
|
||
Although MDMA's mechanism of action remains unknown, research has
|
||
shown that its action involves seratonergic neurons. By extrapolatio\
|
||
n,
|
||
MDMA also might be neurotoxic to such neurons.
|
||
|
||
Such a classification, however, creates a catch-22 situation for
|
||
the proponents of MDMA as a useful therapeutic drug. The laws
|
||
applying to Schedule I controlled substances make it quite difficult
|
||
to obtain approval to conduct clinical trials of a drug. Because
|
||
it is impossible to obtain patent protection on MDMA, it is unlikely
|
||
that a pharmaceutical firm will undertake the costly effort to
|
||
obtain FDA approval for its use. "
|
||
|
||
*** END QUOTE
|
||
|
||
If anyone is interested I would be willing to find out if there has been
|
||
any further research on MDMA and report any results of the research.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
A few people have written to me, asking for more information on the
|
||
possible neurotoxic effects of MDMA. So off I went, once more, to the
|
||
library in search of...
|
||
|
||
"The Journal of Phamacology and Experimental Therapeutics", 1987, 240(1), 1-7.
|
||
_Neurotoxicity of the Psychedelic Amphetamine, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine_
|
||
by Christopher Joseph Schmidt
|
||
|
||
[Ed. note - All emphasis mine]
|
||
"The neurochemical effects of the unique psychedelic agent,
|
||
methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), inidicate it may be a
|
||
seratonergic neurotoxin related to agents such as p-chloro-
|
||
amphetamine (PCA)."
|
||
|
||
"The results clearly demonstrate that MDMA has two distinct
|
||
influences on the serotonergic system of the rat brain, both
|
||
of which are manifested by a significant decrease in the
|
||
concentration of 5-HT (serotonin). Whereas the first effect
|
||
of MDMA appears to produce a REVERSIBLE depletion of 5-HT,
|
||
the second is due to a NEUROTOXIC effect of the drug on
|
||
serotonergic neurons or nerve terminals."
|
||
|
||
"As demonstrated by the results of the experiments...these
|
||
two effects can be separated temporally into an early and a
|
||
later phase."
|
||
|
||
"This early phase of depletion was REVERSIBLE because cortical
|
||
serotonin concentrations had recovered to control levels by
|
||
24 hours."
|
||
|
||
"The depletion observed at 3 hr is due almost completely
|
||
to the acute effect of the drug inasmuch as it is reversed
|
||
completely by 24 hr...."
|
||
|
||
"However, transmitter concentrations were reduced significantly
|
||
1 week later, indicating a second phase of depletion. The
|
||
latter phase of depletion was associated with a decrease in
|
||
synaptosomal serotonin uptake due to a loss in the number of
|
||
uptake sites with no change in the affinity of the carrier
|
||
for serotonin."
|
||
|
||
"The similarities between the neurochemical effects of
|
||
MDMA and those reported for PCA led us to suggest that
|
||
the long-term depletions of 5-HT produced by MDMA and PCA
|
||
occurred though similar mechanisms, i.e., a selective
|
||
degeneration of seratonergic neurons or nerve terminals."
|
||
|
||
"... The results from the uptake studies here present [the
|
||
confirming] biochemical evidence of TERMINAL DAMAGE."
|
||
|
||
Okay, folks. That is the bottom line. Ecstasy does have a neurotoxic effect.
|
||
I will quote some more on the author's views on what this means to humans.
|
||
|
||
"Although it is difficult to extrapolate from animal studies
|
||
to the human situation, some comment about the risk to human
|
||
MDMA users seems appropriate ...."
|
||
|
||
"It is first important to point out that the parenteral doses
|
||
used in this study are approximately 4 to 8 times the human
|
||
oral dose. There is also evidence to suggest that drugs such
|
||
as MDMA and MDA may be subject to significant first pass
|
||
metabolism .... This would mean that the does used in this
|
||
study may be even further from those to which a user taking
|
||
the drug p.o. is normally exposed. However, all effects
|
||
described in this study were produced with a SINGLE ADMINISTRATION
|
||
of MDMA; consequently, the possible cumulative effects of
|
||
multiple MDMA exposures remain to be evaluated. Finally ...
|
||
the possibility that humans might ... be more sensitive
|
||
to MDMA-induced neurotoxicity must not be overlooked."
|
||
|
||
Well that's the bad news. The good news is ...
|
||
|
||
"Coadministration of the selective seratonin uptake inhibitor,
|
||
fluoxetine, completely blocked the reduction in cortical
|
||
serotonin concentrations 1 week after MDMA. Administration
|
||
of fluoxetine at various times after MDMA revealed that the
|
||
long-term effects of the drug developed independently of the
|
||
acute depletion of serotonin."
|
||
|
||
"...[The] inhibition of the uptake system by 3 hr postMDMA can
|
||
still completely protect the serotonergic neurons from the later
|
||
effects of MDMA."
|
||
|
||
But the good news gets worse ...
|
||
|
||
"At 6 hr after MDMA the irreversible effects of the drug have
|
||
progress to the extent that the administration of the fluoxetine
|
||
at this point blocks only an approximate 50% of the depletion."
|
||
|
||
"By 12 hr the steps required for the drug's irreversible effects
|
||
... have been completed."
|
||
|
||
However, more good news is ...
|
||
|
||
"The two phases of 5-HT depletion are also differentiated by
|
||
their stereoselectivity ... The long term or persistent
|
||
effect of MDMA on serotonergic neurons is ... a property of
|
||
[only] the (+)-stereoisomer."
|
||
|
||
The bad news is ...
|
||
|
||
According to Christopher (in a telephone conversation), it
|
||
is this (+)-stereoisomer which is PROBABLY responsible for
|
||
most of MDMA's interesting effects (this info is from other
|
||
peoples' behaviorial studies). And also that by blocking the
|
||
acute effect you PROBABLY block its interesting effects also.
|
||
He said it was not his area of expertise but that this was
|
||
his impression from his reading.
|
||
|
||
This article is very well written. It includes methodology, results,
|
||
and a nice bibliography. You should be able to find the journal in a good
|
||
hospital or medical school library. If you cannot locate it, reprints
|
||
can be requested by writing:
|
||
|
||
Christopher J. Schmidt
|
||
Merrill Dow Research Institute
|
||
2110 E. Galbraith Road
|
||
Cincinnati, OH 45215
|
||
|
||
Please, do not say I sent you :-) I already called him once.
|
||
Once again I will offer to find out more, if there is something you need
|
||
to know. If you want to try to locate info yourself here is the data
|
||
you might need. Try Chemical Abstracts. Look under C H NO .
|
||
11 15 2
|
||
Then look under 1,3-Benzodioxole-5-ethanamine
|
||
-alpha,alpha-dimethyl
|
||
|
||
|
||
Thanx, Tim, for your research & that highly informative article.
|
||
|
||
Here's the latest on it's legality. It's previous classification as a
|
||
Schedule 1 drug has been struck down. I don't understand where that leaves
|
||
it now; I'm sure it's still controlled, but this may open the way for
|
||
further research, as well as legal progress.
|
||
|
||
Here's the text from High Times, January 1988:
|
||
|
||
|
||
COURT VOIDS "ECSTASY" PROHIBITION
|
||
|
||
In a landmark ruling, a U.S. Court of Appeals judge struck down the
|
||
classification of MDMA ("Ecstasy") as a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled
|
||
Substances Act in a decree issued this past September.
|
||
|
||
There are five classifications for drugs under the CSA. A substance may be
|
||
classified as Schedule 1 if it is found to have: a high potential for abuse;
|
||
no accepted medical use; no way to safely supervise its medical use.
|
||
Marijuana and heroin are currently classified as Schedule 1 substances, for
|
||
which the CSA mandates the most severe controls and penalties.
|
||
|
||
The Drug Enforcement Agency had initially classified MDMA as a Schedule 1
|
||
substance in 1984. The ruling was challenged but the scheduling was
|
||
subsequently upheld in a 1985 decision. However, the ruling was challenged
|
||
again, this time by Dr. Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor of psychiatry
|
||
at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon contended that his research on the
|
||
therapeutic uses of MDMA would be eliminated by its Schedule 1 classification.
|
||
He cited four reasons for the classification to be voided, challenging the
|
||
DEA's assertion that the drug has a high potential for abuse and contending
|
||
that the ruling was based "upon incomplete and arbitrary recommendations from
|
||
the Secretary of Health and Human Services."
|
||
|
||
Dr. Grinspoon further contended that the DEA had applied the wrong legal
|
||
standards in making its assessment and in classifying MDMA as a Schedule 1
|
||
substance. Grinspoon's arguments were eventually upheld and the ruling was
|
||
vacated and remanded back to the administrator of the DEA "for further
|
||
proceedings consistent with this opinion." The DEA may decide to reclassify,
|
||
or sharpen its legal argument and continue to press for Schedule 1
|
||
classification. So stay tuned: a battle has been won, but the war continues.
|
||
|
||
|
||
In article <1235@laidbak.UUCP>, shawn@laidbak.UUCP (Shawn McKay) writes:
|
||
> I know I spelled that wrong, but I don't remember seeing a proper name for
|
||
> it, if memory serves, this was recently made illegal in CA, anyone ever have
|
||
> any experience with it? Know what its effect is/was or where it comes from?
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>
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> Thanks.
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> -- Shawn
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XTC is one of the more common names for a drug named MDMA. MDMA is one of
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many metamphetamines like MDA, Crystal Meth, and others. MDMA is one of the
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least toxic of these, although it still does some damage to your liver. But
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then, alcohol in reasonable quantities does a lot more damage to your liver.
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MDA is the worst. The effects of MDMA as I experienced an unspecified time
|
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ago last about half as long as those of MDA, only 4 to 6 hours. It is taken
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||
in crystal form, in caplets or just solved in water. The effects are quite
|
||
pleasant (trust me). The stuff does something to your nerves. Feeling and
|
||
touching things becomes the most awesome experience. Soft objects (especially
|
||
cats!) feel very different. It is hard to describe. Other people are also
|
||
a nice ecxperience. You feel like hugging them all the time (this is the
|
||
reason people call it XTC/ecstacy or just the love drug.
|
||
I'm not a chemist, so I can't tell what it actually does, but I know that
|
||
it drains water from your spine or something like that. That's why drinking
|
||
liquids like water or juices is absolutely necessary when on MDMA. The
|
||
chemists here might even be able to explain to me why it is very harmful to
|
||
drink alcoholic beverages, to eat/drink dairy products or to eat chocolate.
|
||
Prices for MDMA are not really high, but since availbility varies, it is
|
||
hard for me to jut give a price. I paid around $5 per hit. I expect that most
|
||
prices are somewhere between $4 and $10.
|
||
|
||
..............................
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||
|
||
Not completely on subject, but I would like to comment on the ingestion of MDMA
|
||
analogs.Not long ago I would have warned everyone off it and its analogs becauseshortly after the appearance of "X" and its rapid growth as a psuedo-
|
||
legal drug, scientific reports started to surface stating that permanent damage
|
||
was caused to dopamine receptors in certain parts of the brain. Now 2 and 3
|
||
years after those reports very similar tests have been done by various groups
|
||
and they show that the results of the government sponsored original trials are
|
||
not reproducable. Clearly these too are to some extent goverment sponsored, but
|
||
seem to lack the bias the previous experiments had(I'm trusting a biologist on
|
||
this, I don't claim to be able to analyze neurobiological techniqe). In any caseeveryone should be aware that the effective doses for MDA and its analogs are
|
||
quite close to the LD50. And finaly,does anyone know anything about the effects
|
||
of "euphoria", its chemical structure or relation to other newly developed
|
||
psychedelics. Maybe my feeling of outrage is silly after watching the responce
|
||
so far of the war on drugs, but asking scientists to fake reports sets a really
|
||
bad precident. May be this should have just been posted to alt.conspiricy.
|
||
If you would like the references to the papers above please send e-mail they
|
||
should be available in full at your local large sized clollage library.
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