193 lines
8.7 KiB
Plaintext
193 lines
8.7 KiB
Plaintext
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***
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*** Log start at 17:56 on 2-04-92
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*** Connected to: Hoffman Foundation
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***
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ITEMS REGARDING THE PURITY OF BLACK MARKET LSD
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Excerpt from:
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'Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered' by Lester Grinspoon and James B. Bakalar,
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published in 1979.
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According to data compiled by the PharmChem Research Foundation, a California
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organization, the only psychedelic drugs now generally available on the street
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are LSD, PCP, and to a lesser extent MDA. Almost no one takes the trouble to
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manufacture mescaline or psilocybin, because their effects resemble those of
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LSD and the much larger amounts required make the expense too great. Mescaline
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is available only in the form of peyote buttons and psilocybin only in the form
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of psychedelic mushrooms, which have been discovered growing all over the
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United States; they are increasingly sought after in the wild (see Pollock 1975
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a; Weil 1977 a) and, with difficulty, can also be cultivated (see Oss and Oeric
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1976). (Many "psilocybin mushrooms," incidentally, are just commercial
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mushrooms laced with LSD.) Anything labeled as pure or synthetic mescaline,
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psilocybin, or THC is almost certainly either LSD or PCP, or else contains no
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drug. Some chemicals closely related to LSD have been synthesized to sidestep
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the law; the one most often available is the acetylated variant, ALD-52, which
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is almost as potent as LSD itself. As for the quality of illicit LSD,
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adulterants and substitutes must be distinguished from products of improper
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synthesis. Since the variable physical and psychological effects of LSD
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sometimes resemble those of strychnine, belladonna, or amphetamine, there are
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rumors that illicit LSD often contains these substances. But laboratory
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analysis, especially the work of PharmChem Research Foundation, shows that
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illicit LSD rarely contains adulterants, although the advertised dose is
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usually two to five times the actual one. The major problem is impurities that
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are by-products of careless or inadequate synthesis.
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In the manufacturing process, ergotamine or other ergot alkaloids are
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reduced to lysergic acid (d-lysergic acid monohydrate), which is then converted
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to LSD. The whole procedure, and especially the last stage, in which LSD is
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separated from iso-LSD by chromatography, is rather delicate; it requires skill
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and good equipment. The government has tried to cut off the supply of chemical
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precursors; but illicit chemists are usually able to obtain enough, because
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several ergot derivatives are used as medicines and the quantities needed are
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small: by one estimate, 70 kg of ergotamine tartrate is enough to supply the
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American LSD market for a year (McGlothlin 1974 b). The only impurity
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regularly found by the PharmChem Laboratory, aside form occasional traces of
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ergotamine, is iso-LSD: it is very similar to LSD in chemical structure (the
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same atoms in a slightly different arrangement) but pharmacologically inactive.
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It is rarely present in a proportion of more than 15 percent and appears to
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have no effect on the drug action. So street LSD seems to be reasonably pure.
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McGlothlin, William H. 1974b. The epidemiology of hallucinogenic drug use.
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In Eric Josephson and Eleanor C. Carroll, eds.
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Drug Use: Epidemiological and Sociological Approaches.
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Washington D.C.: Hemisphere Publishing Corp. Pp 279-301.
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Oss, O.T., and Oeric, O. N. 1976. Psilocybin: Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide.
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Berkeley: And/Or Press.
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Pollock, Steven Hayden. 1975a. The psilocybin mushroom pandemic.
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Journal of Psychedelic Drugs 8(1): 43-57.
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Weil, Andrew T. 1977a. The use of psychoactive mushrooms in the Pacific
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Northwest: An ethnopharmacological report.
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Botanical Museum Leaflets, Vol. 25, No. 5, Pp 131-149.
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RELATED ABSTRACTS:
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HOFMANN, ALBERT
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"Lysergic acid diethylamide and related compounds.
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Relationship between spatial arrangement and mental effects."
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_Chemical concepts of psychosis._ Ed. RINKEL, DENBER OBOLENSKY (1958) p 85
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The author and his assistant made personal studies of the mental effects of
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the stereo-isomers of LSD.
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l-LSD: up to 500 mcg orally had no LSD-like effect,
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over 500 mcg caused very slight drowsiness.
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d-iso-LSD: up to 500 mcg had no effect.
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l-iso-LSD: up to 500 mcg had no effect, over 500 mcg caused mild nausea.
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As both the author and his assistant had previously made a very marked
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response to 20 mcg LSD, it seems that the 3 stereo-isomers are at least
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15 to 30 times less active than LSD.
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It is perhaps of significance that of the 4 possible isomers only one -
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which corresponds to natural lysergic acid - causes pronounced mental effects.
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GUHA, D; PRADHAN, S N
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Mescaline.
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PharmChem Newsletter; 1972 Vol 1(4) 1-3
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Describes the pharmacology, behavioral, physiological, and psychological
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effects, mechanisms and metabolism, and history and uses of mescaline. A table
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of 65 substances recently appearing on the illicit market with descriptions of
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alleged and actual contents, origins, and street prices is included.
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RATLIFFE, BRUCE E; HELISTEN, CARMEN
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Street drug analysis as an adjunct to emergency medical care at rock concerts.
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PharmChem Newsletter; 1974 Vol 3(7) 1,
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Describes the process and results of drug analysis as an adjunct to emergency
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medical services at a weekend rock concert in California in the summer of
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1974. Results of analyzing 46 drug samples show that nearly all
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tetrahydrocannabinol, mescaline, and psilocybin samples contained LSD and/or
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parachlorophenylalanine [*sic]; that marihuana was nearly always pure; and
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that LSD dosages were well below those advertised in selling.
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* Note:
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I suspect that "parachlorophenylalanine" above is a transcription error.
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PCPA is the abbreviation for that chemical, and it is used to block
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serotonin synthesis in some animal experiments with LSD. In this abstract it
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was probably confused with the abbreviation PCP, which is Phencyclidine --
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a substance much more likely to be used as a street drug adulterant.]
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ZWEIG, JONATHAN S; CASTAGNOLI, NEAL
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Drug use and analysis results: 1973-1975.
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PharmChem Newsletter; 1976 Jan Vol 5(1) 1-8
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Presents data on trends in the use and effects of 4 major types of popular
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illegal drugs: cannabis products, CNS stimulants, psychotomimetics, and
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opiates and miscellaneous substances. Use of most of these chemicals seems to
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have been relatively constant during the past 2 yrs, although the use of
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phencyclidine, a psychotomimetic, is increasing. Instances of dilution,
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adulteration, and misrepresentation of drugs sold on the street are described,
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including the most notable example which occurred during 1973-1975--alleged
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amphetamine samples. Tabular data on 1,600 samples analyzed during the study
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period are included.
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--------------------------------
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CURRENT AVAILABILITY OF PURE LSD
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--------------------------------
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Excerpt from SIGMA Chemical Company, 1991 Catalog:
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CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES -- DRUG STANDARDS
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No DEA license is required.
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There is no administrative fee charged for handling these items.
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FAX, Telex, and telephone orders for these standards will be accepted.
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FAX: 1-800-535-2674
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TELEX: 434475
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TELEPHONE: 1-800-325-3010 (USA/Canada)
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314-771-5750 (Outside USA/Canada Call Collect)
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Drug standards with purity of 98%+ are prepared w/v in methanol at
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1.0mg/ml (+/- 5%) unless otherwise noted. Concentrations of those drugs in
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salt form are prepared to yield the equivalent of the anhydrous free acid/base.
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Drug Standards are shipped in flame sealed glass ampules. For your convenience,
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an ampule breaker/collar (A3787) is included to aid opening the ampule.
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A labeled screw cap vial is provided allowing storage of unused product for
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future qualitative analysis, such as GC, GC/MS, HPLC, UV, and TLC.
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For maximum stability, store air tight, at 0-5 degrees C
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(unless otherwise noted).
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LYSERGIC ACID DIETHYLAMIDE, 25 ug/ml -- 1 ml $21.95 FOB Sigma
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From the AHF BBS (213) 454-2874
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Press a key...
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