689 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
689 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
|
|
From: grigsby@rintintin.Colorado.EDU (Scott Grigsby)
|
|
Subject: Why opium causes constipation
|
|
Message-ID: <CL1Fz1.2Jn@cnsnews.Colorado.EDU>
|
|
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 1994 02:23:24 GMT
|
|
|
|
Well, I bugged all of you to tell me why opium causes constipation.
|
|
I hadn't received a reply, so while on my way to class today
|
|
I stopped at the library (and never quite made it to class. The
|
|
library has that effect...). When I got home, I found that someone
|
|
had sent me a reply, confirming what the library told me. So here's
|
|
what I found out (you're dying to know, aren't you?):
|
|
|
|
The gastrointestinal tract contains many opioid receptors (gamma,
|
|
kappa, and sigma, I think), to which the opiods bond (duh).
|
|
The rest I'll copy from this book (I forgot the title, but the
|
|
authors (of this chapter) are T.H. Bewley and A.H. Ghodse):
|
|
|
|
"There is a decrease of motility with increase in tone of the central
|
|
part of the stomach. There is an increase tone in the first part
|
|
of the duodenum... Digestion of food in the small intestine is
|
|
delayed where propulsive contractions are markedly decreased. The
|
|
action on the small intestine is thought to cause about a quarter
|
|
of the total constipating effect. In the large intestine,
|
|
propulsive peristaltic waves in the colon are diminished or
|
|
abolished after morphine. Delay in passage of contents causes
|
|
dessication of feces. Anal sphincter tone is augmented."
|
|
|
|
So that's it.
|
|
|
|
Scott
|
|
--
|
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\__________/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
|
Scott Grigsby ///-///-/// The cut worm forgives the plow.
|
|
\\\-\\\-\\\ -Blake
|
|
grigsby@rtt.colorado.edu ///-///-///
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Date: Thu, 17 Mar 1994 11:56:17 +1300
|
|
From: Brandon Hutchison <hutch@CIVL.CANTERBURY.AC.NZ>
|
|
Subject: Re: natural history of opiate addiction
|
|
Sender: "Academic & Scholarly discussion of addiction related topics."
|
|
<ADDICT-L@KENTVM.BITNET>
|
|
Message-id: <01HA1QDIZ2W68WYYFD@ymir.claremont.edu>
|
|
|
|
On Tue, 15 Mar 1994, ROB ANDERSON wrote:
|
|
> > If those causes consisted of gunshot or stab wounds,accidental
|
|
> > overdose,hepatitis,HIV, etc then I would suggest you are
|
|
> > looking at the "unnatural" history of opiate addiction as these deaths are
|
|
> > generally a consequence of prohibition
|
|
> >
|
|
>
|
|
> I think that this is an oversimplification. BTW, could you please
|
|
> explain to me why you think that "accidental overdose" is generally a
|
|
> consequence of prohibition?
|
|
|
|
I don't think this is oversimple. Was it the CATO institute that
|
|
estimated that 80% of the deaths associated with opiates would not have
|
|
occurred under a legal regime?
|
|
|
|
Accidental overdoses can occur when the dose taken is greater than what
|
|
one is used to. (excuse me for stating the obvious)
|
|
How much heroin is in a given illicit sample is usually quite variable.
|
|
Depends on how often its been cut, where it came from etc.
|
|
(excuse me again for stating the obvious)
|
|
|
|
If a batch of stronger stuff gets out onto the street then there is likely to
|
|
be an increase of ODs. This happened last year in the New York area and
|
|
eastern Canada, so I read in our papers.
|
|
|
|
It seems paradoxic to some people, but the greater the purity the safer
|
|
the stuff is, though consistency is obviously the critical factor. Under a
|
|
legal regime, such problems would be solved. Overdoses, while not eliminated
|
|
would be substantially reduced.
|
|
|
|
Here 's a little article I picked up which discusses these issues...
|
|
|
|
Copied from p.56 (Box 5-1) of 'Drugs and Behavior' by William A. McKim.
|
|
|
|
One of the greatest risks of being a heroin addict is death from heroin
|
|
overdose. Each year about one percent of all heroin addicts in the United
|
|
States die from an overdose of heroin despite having developed a fantastic
|
|
tolerance to the effects of the dr ug. In a nontolerant person the
|
|
estimated lethal dose of heroin may range from 200 to 500 mg, but addicts
|
|
have tolerated doses as high as 1800 mg without even being sick[1]. No
|
|
doubt, some overdoses are a result of mixing heroin with other drugs, but
|
|
appear to result from a sudden loss of tolerance. Addicts have been killed
|
|
one day by a dose that was readily tolerated the day before. An
|
|
explanation for this sudden loss of tolerance has been suggested by
|
|
Shepard Siegel of McMaster University, and his a ssociated, Riley Hinson,
|
|
Marvin Krank, and Jane McCully.
|
|
|
|
Siegel reasoned that the tolerance to heroin was partially conditioned to
|
|
the environment where the drug was normally administered. If the drug is
|
|
consumed in a new setting, much of the conditioned tolerance will
|
|
disappear and the addict will be more like ly to overdose. To test this
|
|
theory Siegel and associates ran the following experiment[2].
|
|
|
|
Rats were given daily intravenous injections for 30 days. The injections
|
|
were either a dextrose placebo or heroin and they were given in either the
|
|
animal colony or a different room where there was a constant white noise.
|
|
The drug and the placebo were giv en on alternate days and the drug
|
|
condition always corresponded with a particular environment so that for
|
|
some rats, the heroin was always administered in the white noise room and
|
|
the placebo was always given in the colony. For other rats the heroin ways
|
|
given in the colony and the placebo was always given in the white noise
|
|
room. Another group of rats served as a control: these were injected in
|
|
different rooms on alternate dates, but were only injected with the
|
|
dextrose and had no experience with th e heroin at all.
|
|
|
|
All rats were then injected with a large dose of heroin: 15.0 mg/kg. The
|
|
rats in one group were given the heroin in the same room where they had
|
|
previously been given heroin. (This was labeled the ST group.) The other
|
|
rats, the DT group, were given the he roin in the room where they had
|
|
previously been given the placebo.
|
|
|
|
Siegel found that 96 percent of the control group died, showing the lethal
|
|
effect of the heroin in nontolerant animals. Rats in the DT group who
|
|
receieved heroin were partially tolerant, and only 64 percent died. Only
|
|
32 percent of ST rats died, showing t hat the tolerance was even greter
|
|
when the overdose test was done in the same environment where the drug
|
|
previously had been administered.
|
|
|
|
Siegel suggested that one reason addicts suddenly lose their tolerance
|
|
could be because they take the drug in a different or unusual environment
|
|
like the rats in the DT group. Surveys of heroin addicts admitted to
|
|
hospitals suffering from heroin overdose tend to support this conclusion.
|
|
Many addicts report that they had taken the near-fatal dose in an unusual
|
|
circumstance or that their normal pattern was different on that day[2].
|
|
|
|
[1] Brecher, E. M., & the editors of Consumer Reports (1972). _Licit and
|
|
illicit drugs_ Mount Vernon, New York: Consumers Union.
|
|
|
|
[2] Siegel, S. (1982). Drug dissociation in the nineteenth century. In F.
|
|
C. Colpart & J. L. Slangen (Eds.), _Drug discrimination: Applications in
|
|
CNS pharmacology (pp. 257-262). Amsterdam: Elsevier Biomedical Press.
|
|
|
|
Brandon Hutchison,University of Canterbury, Christchurch
|
|
New Zealand
|
|
(Long 172deg35min00sec,Lat43deg31min13sec south)
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Subject: Re: death sentence for drug users
|
|
From: den0@quads.uchicago.edu (funky chicken)
|
|
Date: 13 May 91 02:50:05 GMT
|
|
|
|
In article <1991May12.131321.4087@elevia.UUCP> alain@elevia.UUCP responds
|
|
to my claim that heroin "IS reasonably safe and a lot of fun" by writing:
|
|
|
|
> Considering that my only source of information on heroin
|
|
> is the Voice of Daddy Knows Best, and his little brothers
|
|
> in propaganda, I can safely say I know fuck all about it.
|
|
> I will not necessarily assume that their lie means heroin
|
|
> is safe and fun. Since you said this, can you please tell
|
|
> us more, and document it please?
|
|
|
|
Sure, Old Man. I assume that the provocative part of my statement concerns
|
|
its safety and I will therefore not discuss the issue of whether heroin
|
|
is fun.
|
|
|
|
Let me first qualify my provocative statement by saying that heroin use
|
|
CAN BE reasonably safe, if used in a smart manner. Heroin in itself seems
|
|
to pose no real health problems, even when it is used for long periods of
|
|
time. G. Dimijian in "Contemporary Drug Abuse" (in _Medical Pharmacology:
|
|
Principles and Concepts_ ed A. Goth, p. 299) describes an 84-yr old
|
|
physician who had been a morphine addict for 60 years and seemed to have
|
|
no mental or physical problems from the addiction. In general, it seems
|
|
that middle-class heroin/morphine addicts are no less healthy than the
|
|
general population (see D. Musto and M. Ramos (1981) "Follow-up Study of the
|
|
New England Morphine Maintenance CLinic of 1920," _New Eng J Med_ 308(30):
|
|
p. 1075-76; J. Ball and J. Urbaitis (1970) "Absence of Major Medical
|
|
Complications among Chronic Opiate Addicts" in _The Epidemiology of Opiate
|
|
Addiction in the United States (eds J. Ball and C. Chambers), p. 301-6.)
|
|
There may be some problems associated with long-term controlled use of H,
|
|
but they aren't well documented and they are certainly not comparable to
|
|
those associated with either tobacco or alcohol.
|
|
|
|
So where do the health problems of heroin come from? Primarily from the use
|
|
of needles, the presence of adulterants in the drug, the poor nutrition and
|
|
health care associated with the hard core addict liife-style; and the
|
|
violence associated with said life-style. Before I discuss these, we should
|
|
note that all of these factors except adulterants are controllable by the
|
|
user. The many "chippers" (that being the term for non-addicts who use
|
|
addictive drugs in a controlled fashion; see, for example N. Zinberg and
|
|
R. Jacobson's (1976) "The Natural History of 'Chipping,'" _Amer J Psych_
|
|
133(1): p. 37-40.) who avoid injections (usually by "chasing the dragon"
|
|
ie smoking it) have few problems.
|
|
|
|
Let's start with needles. There are two reasons to use needles: it gives
|
|
a bigger rush, and it makes more effective use of the drug. This second
|
|
reason is, of course, only a consideration because the drug is expensive
|
|
and difficult to get. The problems with needles are that you inject a
|
|
lot of crap into your body (adulterants and dilutants), you run the risk
|
|
of infecting yourself with something (HIV or a Hepatitis virus), and
|
|
you wreck your veins and skin. Most IV Heroin users are constantly
|
|
plagued by irritated, infected skin. Hey, you inject talc into your skin,
|
|
that's what you get. Even the quinine (which is believed to have originated
|
|
in heroin during an outbreak of malaria among addicts) can cause
|
|
numerous health problems (there's a large literature on the problems of
|
|
adulterants and dilutants in heroin and cocaine).
|
|
|
|
The life-style that an addict leads is generally pretty unhealthy as well.
|
|
Often, addicts don't get an adequate diet. Vitamin deficiencies are not
|
|
uncommon. Constipation caused by a combination of poor eating that the
|
|
effects of the drug on the bowels can lead to haemorrhoids. Chest
|
|
infections seem pretty common too, especially among cigarette smokers.
|
|
Then you've got the problems of trafficking in the (potentially) violent
|
|
underworld. Joe and Leishman (et al (1982), "Addict Death Rates During
|
|
a Four-Year Post-Treatment Follow-up," _Amer J of Public Health_ 72:
|
|
p. 703-9.) found that 28% of deaths among addicts were from violence (17%
|
|
were from natural causes, and 44% were drug related).
|
|
|
|
So, it would seem that if one had clean heroin from a reliable source
|
|
and avoided the IV route, there'd be few health problems. Potential
|
|
problems would arise from becoming addicted and becoming unproductive
|
|
or from accidentally ODing. It seems that "Chippers" avoid addiction
|
|
by setting strict limits on their use ("I'll only do it on weekends"
|
|
being a common limit). In the lab, it takes a couple weeks of 3 shots
|
|
a day before one gets withdrawl symptoms. So, if you avoid hanging
|
|
around hardcore addicts, it is not that hard to avoid an addiction.
|
|
The existence of non-addict users shouldn't be surprising. It is only
|
|
because of silly people like Anslinger and Henry Giordano (head of the
|
|
FB of Narc, who testified that anyone who used H more than six times
|
|
would become an addict). Admittedly, controlled heroin use is
|
|
difficult to locate, since the users stay out of trouble to the best of
|
|
their abilities. However, if we look at who has used heroin daily
|
|
(a nice substitute for the vague notion of 'addict'), we find substantial
|
|
numbers of regular users who have never taken H on a daily basis (see,
|
|
for example, J. O'Donnell's (1976) "Young Men and Drugs," _NIDA Res Mon_ 5,
|
|
p. 13, where only a third of the users taken from a cross-section of
|
|
American males had ever used H daily). In fact, considering the small
|
|
amount of H in street samples, it is a wonder that users can even
|
|
become true addicts. (As a side note, many of the people who present
|
|
themselves or are presented by the Feds to clinics are not physicially
|
|
dependent on cocaine, heroin, etc.) D. Waldorf's _Careers in Dope_
|
|
provides examples of H addicts who have held employment for long periods
|
|
of time. So, even addicts can hold down jobs. Dr. William Halsted,
|
|
a great surgeon and one of the founders of Johns Hopkins was a
|
|
morphine addict. Surprise surprise, they aren't all the domestic version
|
|
of Viet Cong, despite what the Man tells us.
|
|
|
|
Overdose is a probably largely due to people not knowing the purity
|
|
of their H, the presence of adulterants which act in conjunction
|
|
with the H, and addicts misjudging their tolerance. Using non-IV
|
|
routes probably reduces the chances of ODing. R. Gardner (1970) in
|
|
"Deaths in UK Opioid Users 1965-69" _Lancet_ 2: p. 650-3 found that
|
|
26 of the 42 accidental ODs recorded happened after a period of
|
|
abstinence, so maybe 60% of ODs are from misjudging tolerance.
|
|
Since abstinence is often forced, I can only imagine that most ODs
|
|
could be avoided entirely by proper measures.
|
|
|
|
Oddly enough, British addicts, who get clean heroin, have about as high a
|
|
mortality rate as Americans who shoot street shit (see T. Bewley et al (1968)
|
|
"Morbidity and Mortality from Heroin Dependence, 1: Survey of Heroin
|
|
Addicts Known to the Home Office," _Brit Med J_ 23 March: p 725-26).
|
|
|
|
Tolerance is a funny thing. Addicts have been known to die from their
|
|
second shot of the day after dividing their daily amount into three
|
|
piles. It would therefore seem that their tolerance had been reduced since
|
|
the first shot. Someone conjectured that tolerance was partially a matter
|
|
of place-conditioning and that addicts who shoot in a particular gallery
|
|
get conditioned so that their body begins to gear up for a shot when
|
|
they go their and that therefore they have higher tolerance there. When
|
|
they shoot up someplace else, their body isn't ready and they OD.
|
|
|
|
Before I quit typing, I'll say something about the myth of "pushers."
|
|
John Kaplan (1983), in his excellent book _The Hardest Drug_, points
|
|
out the numerous holes in this myth. The idea of the "pusher" is that
|
|
a dealer tries to get people hooked through free samples so that
|
|
he can have a helpless and reliable market for high-priced drugs.
|
|
This model works pretty well for cigarette companies. However, it
|
|
is totally off the mark with respect to H sellers. To begin with, as
|
|
Big Bill Burroughs has documented, the model is empirically wrong
|
|
since there is no clear distinction between users and sellers. Most
|
|
users sell to their friends, making a little profit. In the social
|
|
network of users, some will sell on a large scale, but typically not
|
|
for a long period of time, as it is a hassle. The only real organization
|
|
in drug dealing is at the higher levels where the drugs are purified,
|
|
smuggled, and cut. Furthermore, ignoring empirical facts, the image
|
|
of the pusher is pretty unsound. It only makes sense to spend time
|
|
hooking people if you plan on selling to them for a long time and they
|
|
will not be able to go elsewhere. Neither condition tends to be true.
|
|
Addicts are notoriously unreliable customers. Furthermore, as I have
|
|
already mentioned, it is difficult to get hooked on H. Addiction is
|
|
rare within the first 6 months of H use. (See Kaplan, p. 27). So,
|
|
you'd have to be giving out samples for a while before you had an
|
|
addict customer. Finally, associating with non-addicts is the surest
|
|
way to get busted. Dealers stick to themselves; they don't hang out
|
|
on play grounds.
|
|
|
|
Anything I left out that should be discussed?
|
|
|
|
>William "Alain" Simon
|
|
> UUCP: alain@elevia.UUCP
|
|
|
|
--Matt Funkchick
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
According to a Cato Institute Policy Analysis (May 25, 1989, no. 121),
|
|
80 percent of the deaths attributed to cocaine and heroin are actually
|
|
caused by black market factors. For example, many heroin deaths are
|
|
caused by an allergic reaction to the street mixture of the drug, while
|
|
30 percent are caused by infections.
|
|
|
|
Decriminalization and proper regulation would lower these deaths markedly.
|
|
|
|
Of course, LAPD Chief Darryl Gates has said that casual drug users should
|
|
be executed for "aiding the enemy in time of war."
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
|
|
From: jerry@teetot.acusd.edu (Jerry Stratton)
|
|
Subject: Heroin and Alcohol
|
|
Message-ID: <1993Nov12.233608.15609@teetot.acusd.edu>
|
|
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 93 23:36:08 GMT
|
|
|
|
Thanks to Lamont for providing the pointer to this study. Here are some
|
|
highlights from it:
|
|
|
|
THE ROLE OF ETHANOL ABUSE
|
|
IN THE ETIOLOGY OF HEROIN-RELATED DEATHS
|
|
Ruttenber, A. J., Kalter, H.
|
|
D., and Santinga, P.
|
|
Journal of Forensic Sciences,
|
|
Vol 35, No. 4, July 1990, pp
|
|
891-900
|
|
|
|
p. 891
|
|
"Our data suggest that ethanol enhances the acute toxicity
|
|
of heroin, and that ethanol use indirectly influences fatal
|
|
overdose through its association with infrequent
|
|
(nonaddictive) heroin use and thus with reduced tolerance to
|
|
the acute toxic effects of heroin."
|
|
|
|
[Ruttenber, A. J. and Luke, J. L., "Heroin-Related Deaths:
|
|
New Epidemiologic Insights," Science, Vol 226, Oct 5, 1984,
|
|
pp 14-20] "found that blood ethanol concentrations in excess
|
|
of 1000 mg/L raised by a factor of 22 the odds of a heroin
|
|
user experiencing a fatal overdose."
|
|
|
|
"The concomitant use of heroin and ethanol is well
|
|
recognized and considered dangerous..."
|
|
|
|
"The phenomenon of combining ethanol and opiate use and the
|
|
resultant toxic effects were noted as early as 1881
|
|
[Hubbard, F. H., The Opium Habit and Alcoholism, Barnes, New
|
|
York, 1881, pp 3-14]."
|
|
|
|
Possibilities examined:
|
|
1. Ethanol and heroin act additively or
|
|
synergistically on the central nervous and
|
|
respiratory systems, producing cardiopulmonary
|
|
arrest that is more often fatal than that
|
|
produced by heroin alone.
|
|
2. Ethanol interferes with the metabolism of
|
|
heroin, prolonging toxic effects.
|
|
3. Ethanol consumption is commonly associated
|
|
with infrequent (nonaddictive) use of heroin,
|
|
[Greene, M. H., Luke, J. L., and Dupont, R.
|
|
L., "Opiate 'Overdose' Deaths in the District
|
|
of Columbia," Medical Annals of the District
|
|
of Columbia, Vol 43, #4, April 1974, pp 175-
|
|
181] which results in reduced tolerance to
|
|
acute toxicity of heroin.
|
|
|
|
Decedents with toxicological evidence of drugs other than
|
|
heroin/ethanol were excluded from the study.
|
|
|
|
p. 895
|
|
"We determined that HE [High Ethanol] decedents had
|
|
significantly lower blood morphine concentrations than LE
|
|
[Low Ethanol] decedents and identified a significant inverse
|
|
correlation between concentrations of ethanol and morphine
|
|
in the blood. These findings suggest that there is a dose-
|
|
response relationship between consumption of ethanol and the
|
|
acute toxicity of heroin. However, blood ethanol
|
|
concentrations explained only 11% of the variation in blood
|
|
morphine concentrations, indicating that additional factors
|
|
are probably involved in the etiology of fatal overdose by
|
|
users of heroin and ethanol."
|
|
|
|
"There is no evidence from our study that ethanol interferes
|
|
with the metabolism of heroin." (This is in response to possibility
|
|
3.)
|
|
|
|
p. 897
|
|
"Our data suggest that decedents who consumed large
|
|
quantities of ethanol before death also had used heroin
|
|
infrequently in the days before death."
|
|
|
|
"Data presented here and in other studies [Ruttenber, A. J.
|
|
and Luke, J. L., "Heroin-Related Deaths: New Epidemiologic
|
|
Insights," Science, Vol 226, Oct 5, 1984, pp 14-20; and
|
|
Kalter, H. D., Ruttenber, A. J., and Zack, M. M., "Temporal
|
|
clustering of Heroin Overdoses in Washington, DC," Journal
|
|
of Forensic Sciences, Vol. 34, No. 1, Jan. 1989, pp. 156-
|
|
163.] indicate that fatal heroin overdose can be influenced
|
|
by the toxic effects of other drugs and by other risk
|
|
factors and is not merely the consequence of injecting
|
|
unusually high doses of heroin. Our results suggest that
|
|
simply discouraging the practice of drinking and injecting
|
|
heroin may not be effective in preventing fatal overdose.
|
|
Combining chronic ethanol abuse with infrequent
|
|
(nonaddictive) heroin use should also be discouraged. Since
|
|
fatal overdoses are commonly associated with ethanol use,
|
|
public health measures directed towards those who use both
|
|
drugs may help reduce the incidence of these deaths."
|
|
|
|
"Address requests for reprints or additional information to
|
|
A. James Ruttenber, Ph.D., M.D.
|
|
Center for Environmental Health and Injury Control
|
|
Centers for Disease Control
|
|
Mail Stop F-28
|
|
Atlanta, GA 30333"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jerry Stratton
|
|
jerry@teetot.acusd.edu (Finger/Reply for PGP Public Key)
|
|
------
|
|
"You need only reflect that one of the best ways to get yourself a
|
|
reputation as a dangerous citizen these days is to go about repeating
|
|
the very phrases which our founding fathers used in their struggle
|
|
for independence."
|
|
-- C. A. Beard
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
From: lamontg@u.washington.edu (Lamont Granquist)
|
|
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
|
|
Subject: chemistry: levorphanol
|
|
Date: 30 May 1994 06:41:38 GMT
|
|
Message-ID: <2sc1r2$7te@news.u.washington.edu>
|
|
|
|
More copyright violations of Loompanics Books. I'll be getting that catalog
|
|
of theirs up on my WWW site shortly to assuade my guilty conscience...
|
|
|
|
I have *zero* comments on the process involved, indeed i've yet to read
|
|
through it all...
|
|
|
|
A small section out of _Recreational Drugs_ by Professor Buzz:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dromoran (Sometimes called Methorphinan or 3-Hydroxy-N-Methyl-Morphinan)
|
|
|
|
This drug is quite easily synthesized, yet it contains the same
|
|
numbering system as morphine, which is considerably harder to synthesize.
|
|
Although Dromoran lacks the oxygen bridge, the Alicyclic double bond, and
|
|
the alcoholic hydroxyl of morphine it is still 4-5 times more powerful, as
|
|
well as longer acting. The average dose is 1-3 mg intramuscularly
|
|
injected. Dromoran has less than one half the addiction liability of
|
|
morphine and is, therefore, used almost exclusively for severe injuries,
|
|
amputations , etc. The incredible feeling of well-being it produces is
|
|
accompanied by addiction, so it cannot be used regularly. It also has no
|
|
marked hypnotic effect, so it may be taken and enjoyed without drowsiness
|
|
or reduced clarity of thought. The drug is wel l tolerated and does not
|
|
depress blood pressure or cause other circulatory disturbances. The
|
|
effects begin after ten minutes and continue for nine to thirteen hours
|
|
with a minimal dose.
|
|
|
|
This first formula is a street method, but I am sure it was taken
|
|
from the Swiss patents 252,755 and/or 254,106. You should always look up
|
|
all references, even though I know that this method does work and I have
|
|
double checked all the figures.
|
|
|
|
Prepare a Grignard reagent from 325 parts (as usual all parts
|
|
refer to parts by weight) of p-methoxy-benzyl bromide in 800 parts of
|
|
absolute ether with 40 parts thin clean magnesium (unlike THCs, different
|
|
Grignard reagents cannot be substituted here) an d cool to 0-3 C. 275
|
|
parts of (5,6,7,8) tetrahydroisoquinoline methiodide are added in small
|
|
portions. This mixture is allowed to stand for one hour at 0 C and
|
|
saturate with ammonium chloride after pouring onto cracked ice, then
|
|
basify with ammonia by a dding in small portions and checking pH often.
|
|
Separate the ether solution and extract the base with hydrochloric acid.
|
|
The acid solution is basified with ammonia and extracted with ether, the
|
|
ethereal solution is dried in the usual manner. Remove the ether by
|
|
evaporation in vacuo with gentle heating, or distill it out at a low
|
|
temperature in the next step. Distill with 0.2 mmHg of vacuo, collecting
|
|
the fraction at 149 to 154 C to get the desired base.
|
|
|
|
The above base is catalytically hydrogenated (platinum oxide seems
|
|
to work the best) to 1-(p-methoxybenzyl)-2-methyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-
|
|
octahydro-isoquinoline. This is separated from the catalyst and purified
|
|
by distilling under 0.2 mmHg of vacuum, collect ing the fraction at
|
|
138-142 C. Heat at 150 C for three days with ten times its weight of
|
|
phosphoric acid (specific gravity 1.75). The resulting brown solution is
|
|
cooled with ice (in water and externally) and made alkaline to the
|
|
indicator phenolphthalei n, by carefully adding ammonia. The free base is
|
|
then shaken out with ether (this is an extraction) and the ether is
|
|
removed by evaporation in vacuo. Purify the Dromoran by sublimation on an
|
|
oil bath, at 180-199 C with 0.3 mmHg of vacuo and recrystalliz e once with
|
|
anisole, or recrystallize twice with anisole after evaporating the ether.
|
|
Yield: about 30-35%. To get the hydrochloride form, or the sulphate,
|
|
etc., use any of the above methods for isomethorphinan, amidone, etc.
|
|
|
|
Dromoran JOC, 24, 2043 (1950)
|
|
|
|
This method is more modern than the last and it gives details for
|
|
making a lower starting material, eliminating the need for purchasing
|
|
(5,6,7,8) tetrahydroisoquinoline methiodide.
|
|
|
|
6.2 g of 2-(1,4-cyclohexadienyl)ethylamine in 80 ml of benzene is
|
|
treated with p-methoxyphenylacetyl chloride (9.4 g in benzene) in the
|
|
presence of sodium bicarbonate (200 ml of a 5% solution) with stirring and
|
|
external cooling. An oily amide results, w hich solidifies (crystallizes)
|
|
upon scratching the flask with a glass rod (see crystallization in the
|
|
equipment chapter). Recrystallize from a mixture of n-hexane and benzene
|
|
to get colorless scales that melt at 86-86.5 C. Yield of this
|
|
N-2(1,4-cyclohex adienyl)ethyl-p-methoxyphenylacetamide is 12.5 grams or
|
|
92%.
|
|
|
|
A mixture of the above amide (3 g), phosphoryl chloride (3 g) and
|
|
50 ml of benzene is refluxed for 30 minutes creating a reddish-yellow
|
|
solution and evolution of hydrogen chloride. Cool, add enough petroleum
|
|
ether to give a reddish precipitate, which is separated by filtration,
|
|
after allowing to stand long enough to make sure no more precipitation
|
|
will occur. Dissolve the precipitate in dilute hydrochloric acid, then
|
|
shake with benzene and filter through a benzene wetted filter paper. Make
|
|
the filtrat e alkaline by carefully adding a strong caustic soda solution
|
|
with external cooling and stirring. Separate the benzene layer and dry,
|
|
evaporate the solvent (benzene) under vacuo in a hydrogen atmosphere.
|
|
Dissolve the red residue in 50 ml of methanol and reduce over 1.5 g of
|
|
Raney nickel (see reductions chapter for complete information, then work
|
|
in 1.5 g of catalyst). The catalyst is removed by filtration and the
|
|
solvent by evaporation in vacuo. The residue is dissolved in benzene and
|
|
purified by runn ing through an alumina filled chromatography column.
|
|
Evaporate the benzene in vacuo and dissolve the resulting yellow, oily
|
|
base in methanol (50 ml), neutralize with hydrobromic acid, and evaporate
|
|
in vacuo. The residue crystallizes on scratching with a glass rod. Use a
|
|
minimum amount of water to dissolve, upon boiling, add decolorizing carbon
|
|
and filter off hot to get 1.5 g of the hydrobromide salt of
|
|
1-p-methoxybenzyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydroisoquinoline as colorless
|
|
prisms, mp: 197-198 C.
|
|
|
|
The above quinoline can be converted in several ways to Dromoran.
|
|
The process given below methylates it at the same time as the reduction
|
|
takes place and is a superior operation.
|
|
|
|
Reduce the quinoline catalytically in the presence of
|
|
formaldehyde. Most any of the general methods of catalytic reductions
|
|
found in the reductions chapter will work fine, as long as you remember to
|
|
use formaldehyde.
|
|
|
|
Another method is to proceed after the Raney Nickel reduction like
|
|
this: filter the catalyst off and purify as above. React the product with
|
|
CH2O and hydrogen or HCO2H to get the 2-Me derivative, which is heated
|
|
with H3PO4 at 140-150 C for 70 hours. Note: HCO2H is a strange way to
|
|
say formic acid.
|
|
|
|
[From _The Merck Index_ Eleventh Edition] slighty abbreviated
|
|
|
|
Levorphanol. 17-methylmorphinan-3-ol; (-)-3-hydroxy-N-methylmorphinan;
|
|
levorphan; lemoran; Ro 1-5341. C17H23NO; mol wt. 257.38. Orally active
|
|
synthetic morphine analog. Preparation of racemate from 2-methyl-1-
|
|
benzyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydroisoquinoline: Grewe, Naturwiss. 33, 333
|
|
(1946); Angew. Chem. A59, 198 (1947); Grewe, Mondon, Ber. 81, 279 (1948);
|
|
Swiss pat. 280,674 (1952 to Hoffman-LaRoche), C.A. 47, 7554 (1953).
|
|
Preparation of isomers: Schnider, Grussner, Helv. Chim. Acta. 34, 2211
|
|
(1951); Vogler, U.S. patent 2,744,112 (1956 to Hoffman-LaRoche). Absolute
|
|
configuration: Corrodi, et al., Helv. Chim. Acta. 42, 212 (1959).
|
|
Analgesic activity and toxicity data: L.O. Randall, G. Lehmann, J.
|
|
Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 99, 163, (1950). HPLC determination in plasma: R.
|
|
Lucek, R. Dixon, J. Chromatog. 341, 239 (1985). Clinical pharmokinetics:
|
|
R. Dixon et al., Res. Commun. Chem. Pathol. Pharmacol. 41, 3 (1983).
|
|
Crystals, mp 198-199 C.
|
|
Tartrate dihydrate, C21H29NO72H2O, Ro 1-5341/7, Dromoran,
|
|
Levo-Dromoran. Crystals, mp. 113-115 C (when anhydrous, mp 206-208 C).
|
|
pH of a 0.2% aq solution 3.4 to 4.0. One gram dissolves in 45 ml water,
|
|
in 110 g alcohol, in 50 g ether.
|
|
dl-Form, racemorphan, methorphinan. Crystals from anisole and dil
|
|
alcohol, mp. 251-253 C.
|
|
dl-Form Hydrobromide, C17H24BrNO, NU-2206. Crystals, mp 193-195.
|
|
Sol in water; sparingly sol in alcohol. Practically insoluble in ether.
|
|
LD50 i.v. in mice: 41 mg/kg (Randall, Lehmann).
|
|
d-Form, Ro 1-6794, dextrorphan. Crystals, mp 198-199 C.
|
|
|
|
|
|
[From 48th edition Physicians Desk Reference]
|
|
|
|
Equianalgesic Dose (mg)
|
|
Name IM PO
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
morphine 10 60
|
|
hydromorphone (Dilaudid) 1.5 7.5
|
|
methadone (Dolophine) 10 20
|
|
oxycodone (Percocet) 15 30
|
|
levorphanol (Dromoran) 2 4
|
|
oxymorphone (Numorphan) 1 10 (PR)
|
|
heroin 5 60
|
|
meperidine (Demerol) 75 --
|
|
codeine 130 200
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Note: All IM and PO doses in this chart are considered equivalent to 10 mg
|
|
of IM morphine in analgesic effect. IM denotes intramuscular, PO oral,
|
|
and PR rectal.
|
|
|
|
--
|
|
Lamont Granquist (lamontg@u.washington.edu)
|
|
"And then the alien anthropologists - Admitted they were still perplexed - But
|
|
on eliminating every other reason - For our sad demise - They logged the only
|
|
explanation left - This species has amused itself to death" -- Roger Waters
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Message-ID: <103313Z09031994@anon.penet.fi>
|
|
Newsgroups: alt.psychoactives
|
|
From: an40496@anon.penet.fi (Holden Caulfield)
|
|
Date: Wed, 9 Mar 1994 10:27:13 UTC
|
|
Subject: Re: How to oxidize codeine to hydrocodone
|
|
|
|
[quoted text deleted -cak]
|
|
|
|
The Merck Index has this to say about oxycodone:
|
|
|
|
Prepn by catalytic reduction of hydroxycodeinone, its oxime,
|
|
or its bromination products, or by reduction of hydroxycodeinone
|
|
with sodium hydrosulfite. Bibliography: Small, Lutz, "Chemistry
|
|
of the Opium Alkaloids," Suppl. No. 103 to Public Health Reports,
|
|
Washington (1932); K.W. Bentley, _The Chemistry of the Morphine
|
|
Alkaloids_ (Oxford, 1954).
|
|
|
|
So, this leaves the question "How do you prepare hydroxycodeinone?" Back
|
|
to the Merck it says, about hydroxycodeinone:
|
|
|
|
From codeine: Merck, Ger. pat. 411,530; _Frdl._ 15, 1516; K.W.
|
|
Bentley, _The Chemistry of the Morphine Alkaloids_ (Oxford, 1954).
|
|
Improved synthesis [from ??]: F.M. Hauser et al., _J. Med. Chem._
|
|
17, 1117 (1974).
|
|
|
|
About hydrocodone:
|
|
|
|
Prepn by hydrogenation of codeinone: Mannich, Lowenheim, _Arch Pharm_
|
|
258, 295 (1920); by oxidation of dihydrocodeine, Ger. pat. 415,097
|
|
(1925 to E. Merck), _Frdl._ 15, 1518 (1925-1927); by catalytic
|
|
rearrangement of codeine: Ger. pat. 623,821. Industrial prepn from
|
|
dihydrocodeine: Pfister, Tishler, U.S. pat. 2,715,626 (1955 to Merck
|
|
& Co.). [...] Review: Small, Lutz, "Chemistry of the Opium
|
|
Alkaloids," Suppl. No. 103, Public Health Reports, Washington (1932).
|
|
|
|
I wonder if all those methods for reduction of the double bond in hydroxycodeine
|
|
to get oxycodone are applicable to reduction of codeine or codeinone.
|
|
The one about "reduction of the bromination products" sounds like they add
|
|
bromine across the double bond and then reduce the halide, I believe hydrides
|
|
(LAH, NaBH4) can be used for this, and maybe H2 + catalyst, but I'm really not
|
|
too sure.
|
|
|
|
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
To find out more about the anon service, send mail to help@anon.penet.fi.
|
|
Due to the double-blind, any mail replies to this message will be anonymized,
|
|
and an anonymous id will be allocated automatically. You have been warned.
|
|
Please report any problems, inappropriate use etc. to admin@anon.penet.fi.
|
|
|
|
=============================================================================
|
|
|
|
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs,alt.drugs
|
|
From: jerry@teetot.acusd.edu (Jerry Stratton)
|
|
Subject: Re: Heroin OTC pre-1914 ?
|
|
Message-ID: <1993Nov18.180240.20847@teetot.acusd.edu>
|
|
Date: Thu, 18 Nov 93 18:02:40 GMT
|
|
|
|
civl097@csc.canterbury.ac.nz writes:
|
|
>I am looking for references or quotes that indicate that heroin, or
|
|
>preparations using it were available over-the-counter in the pre-Harrison
|
|
>Act days.
|
|
|
|
Opium and Morphine were certainly available OTC. I don't know if heroin
|
|
was available OTC, but the Harrison Act folks seemed to think it was:
|
|
|
|
From Brecher, Licit & Illicit Drugs, Ch. 8, p. 49:
|
|
|
|
The patent-medicine manufacturers were exempted even from the licensing
|
|
and tax provisions, provided that they limited themselves to "preparations
|
|
and remedies which do not contain more than two grains of opium, or
|
|
more than one-fourth of a grain of morphine, or more than one-eighth of
|
|
a grain of heroin... in one avoirdupois ounce." (5)
|
|
(5) Public Law No. 223, 63rd Cong., approved December 17, 1914
|
|
|
|
Jerry Stratton
|
|
jerry@teetot.acusd.edu (Finger/Reply for PGP Public Key)
|
|
------
|
|
"They play Paranoia seriously. What more can I say?"
|
|
-- T. Kelly
|
|
|
|
|
|
|