Nitrite (Amyl Nitrite, Butyl Nitrite, Cyclohexyl Nitrite, Isoamyl Nitrite, Isobutyl Nitrite, Nitrous Acid)
Pronunciation: NIGH-tright
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 8017-89-8 (amyl nitrite); 542-56-3 (isobutyl nitrite) Formal Names: Amyl Nitrite, Butyl Nitrite, Cyclohexyl Nitrite, Isoamyl Nitrite,
Isobutyl Nitrite, Nitrous Acid
Informal Names: Aimes, Aimies, Ames, Amys, Army, Aroma of Men, Blackjack, Blue Heaven, Bolt, Boppers, Buds, Bullet, Buzz Bomb, Climax, Dixcorama, Hardware, Heart-On, High Ball, Liquid Gold, Liquid Incense, Locker Room, Man Aroma, Oz, Ozone, Pearls, Poppers, Quicksilver, Ram, Rush, Snappers, Thrust, Whiteout drugsencyclopedia.net/drugs/nitrite-amyl-nitrite-butyl-nitrite-cyclohexyl-nitrite-isoamyl-nitrite-isobutyl-nitrite-nitrous-acid/#more-25″ class=”more-link”>Read more
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Pronunciation: NIGH-truhs OX-eyed
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 10024-97-2
Formal Names: Dinitrogen Monoxide, Dinitrogen Oxide, Entonox
Informal Names: Fall Down, Gas, Hippie Crack, Hysteria, Laughing Gas, Nitro, Nitrous, Nitrous Acid, Noss, Pan, Shoot the Breeze, Tanks, Thrust, Whippets
Type: Inhalant. Federal Schedule Listing: Unlisted USA Availability: Nonprescription, but sales and usage are controlled in some jurisdictions Read more
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Pronunciation: NUT-mehg
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 84082-68-8
Formal Names: Mace, Myristica fragrans
Type: Hallucinogen.
Federal Schedule Listing: Unlisted
USA Availability: Nonprescription (food)
Pregnancy Category: None Read more
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Pronunciation: NIGH-tright
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 8017-89-8 (amyl nitrite); 542-56-3 (isobutyl nitrite)
Formal Names: Amyl Nitrite, Butyl Nitrite, drugsencyclopedia.net/drugs/nitrite-amyl-nitrite-butyl-nitrite-cyclohexyl-nitrite-isoamyl-nitrite-isobutyl-nitrite-nitrous-acid/”target=”_blank”title=”" >Cyclohexyl Nitrite, Isoamyl Nitrite, Isobutyl Nitrite, Nitrous Acid
Informal Names: Aimes, Aimies, Ames, Amys, Army, Aroma of Men, Blackjack, Blue Heaven, Bolt, Boppers, Buds, Bullet, Buzz Bomb, Climax, Dixcorama, Hardware, Heart-On, High Ball, Liquid Gold, Liquid Incense, Locker Room, Man Aroma, Oz, Ozone, Pearls, Poppers, Quicksilver, Ram, Rush, Snappers, Thrust, Whiteout Read more
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PCP (Phencyclidine)
Pronunciation: pee-see-pee
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 77-10-1. (Hydrochloride form 956-90-1)
Formal Names: Phencyclidine
Informal Names: Ace, Ad, Alien Sex Fiend (with heroin), Amoeba, Angel, Angel Dust, Angel Hair, Angel Mist, Angel Poke, Animal Trank, Animal Tranq, Animal Tranquilizer, Aurora Borealis, Belladonna, Black Dust, Black Whack, Blotter Acid, Blue Madman, Boat, Bohd, Bush, Busy Bee, Butt Naked, Cadillac, Cannabinol, Cigarrode Cristal, CJ, Clicker, Clickum, Cliffhanger, Columbo,
Cozmo’s, Crazy Coke, Crazy Eddie, Crystal, Crystal Joint, Crystal T, Cycline, Cyclone, D, Detroit Pink, Devil’s Dust, Dipper, DMT, DOA, Do It Jack, Domex, Drink, Dummy Dust, Dust, Dusted Parsley, Elephant, Elephant Trank, Elephant Tranquilizer, Elysion, Embalming Fluid, Energizer, Erth, Fake STP, Flake, Flying Saucer, Fresh, Fuel, Good, Goon, Goon Dust, Gorilla Biscuit, Gorilla Tab, Green, Green Leaves, Green Tea, Happy Sticks, HCP, Heaven & Hell, He-Man,
Herms, Hinkley, Hog, Hog Dust, Horse Tracks, Horse Tranquilizer, Ice, Ill, Illy Momo, Jet Fuel, Juice, K, Kap, Kay Jay, K-Blast, Killer, KJ, Kool, Koolly High, Krystal, KW, LBJ, Leaky Bolla, Leaky Leak, Lemon Drop, Lemon 714, Lenos, Lethal Weapon, Little One, Live One, Log, Loveboat, Lovely, Mad Dog, Madman, Magic, Magic Dust, Magic Mist, Mean Green, Mint Dew, Mint Leaf, Mint Weed, Missile, Mist, Monkey Dust, Monkey Tranquilizer, More, New Acid,
New Magic, Niebla, Octane (mixed with gasoline), Oil, Omen, OPP, Orange Crystal, Ozone, P, Parsley, Paz, PCPA, Peace, PeaCe Pill, Peace Weed, Peep, Peter Pan, Pig Killer, Pikachu (mixed with MDMA), Pit, Polvo, Polvo de Angel, Polvo de Estrellas, Puffy, Purple Rain, Red Devil, Rocket Fuel, Scaffle, Scuffle, Selma, Sernyl, Sernylan, Sheets, Sherm, Sherman, Sherm Stick, Skuffle, Smoking, Snort, Soma, Space Base (mixed with crack cocaine), Space Cadet (with
crack), Space Dust (with crack), Speedboat (with crack and marijuana), Spore, Squirrel (with crack and marijuana), Stardust, Stick, STP, Super, Super Grass (with marijuana), Super Joint, Super Kool, Super Weed, Surfer, Synthetic Cocaine, Synthetic THT, TAC, T-Buzz, Tea, Tic, Tic Tac, Tish, Titch, Trank, Wac, Wack, Water, Weed, Wet (alone or with marijuana), Wet Daddy, Whack (with crack or heroin), Whacky Weed, White Devil, White Horizon, White Powder,
Wicky Stick (with crack and marijuana), Wobble Weed, Wolf, Wooly (with marijuana), Worm, Yellow Fever, Zimbie, Zombie Dust, Zombie Weed, Zoom
Type: Depressant.
Federal Schedule Listing: Schedule II (DEA no. 7471)
USA Availability: Prescription
Uses.
This substance was invented in the 1920s, but not until the 1950s was it introduced as a drug, intended as a human and veterinary anesthetic. Human medical use soon ended because of psychological effects discovered during tests on patients. PCP is related to ketamine and, like that substance, has hallucinogenic qualities. Depending on how PCP is used, it can have stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic actions. In monkeys PCP is about 10 times stronger than ketamine.
Drawbacks.
PCP can make people feel aloof from the world around them, cause numbness, interfere with movement, and distort perception of time. Hallucinations, floating sensations, euphoria, and mania can occur. People may forget what they did while under the drug’s influence; such amnesia can last for 24 hours after a dose. Although euphoric effects are well documented,
one group of researchers noted bouts of depression brought on by chronic use of the substance, though not by intermittent use. Yet the same researchers also found people successfully using the drug as an antidepressant, and animal studies suggest PCP may have antianxiety properties. The substance reduces appetite in dogs. Rats lost weight when they chronically received PCP.
Law enforcement authorities say the drug can make people hostile and give them extra physical strength, and the same has been experienced by medical personnel dealing with overdose emergencies. Researchers, however, have generally not observed such results from PCP (although one of the very first studies in the 1950s noted violent reactions from about 5% of surgery patients who received the drug as an anesthetic). A study examining PCP cases at a
Los Angeles psychiatric hospital emergency room explicitly noted that wild conduct among PCP patients was uncommon. Perhaps police simply have more dealings with hostile individuals; for example, alcohol can embolden belligerent persons, but violence is not considered an inherent effect of alcohol.
Persons who become violent after taking PCP already have such a history without the substance, and during a police encounter they may well be under the influence of alcohol or other drugs as well. Military research found that PCP hostility did not occur unless persons were under stress, and not all stressed individuals reacted that way. The military study also found that psychotic
episodes did not occur with normal persons; someone had to be prone to psychosis in order for such behavior to occur while using the drug (a finding supported by other studies as well). In mice research PCP reduces violent behavior. Most species, including monkeys, act more docile after taking the drug. Some violent human episodes are described as coming not from aggression
but from a PCP user’s panic when police or medical personnel try to restrain the person. One group of addicts spoke of the substance lowering inhibitions, which is not the same as causing violence, although an already enraged person who loses inhibitions may engage in stormy behavior. In addition, users who attract attention from police or emergency medical personnel
are not necessarily representative of recreational users in general, either in personality or size of dose or reaction to the dose.
PCP’s physical effects include increased salivation, body temperature, pulse rate, and blood pressure. Case reports about humans indicate that PCP can raise blood pressure so high that a medical emergency occurs. The drug can bring on dizziness and double vision, create seizures, and cause muscle discoordination and damage. Numbness caused by PCP can promote injury due to lack of pain signals that ordinarily warn a person to stop doing something.
Cases of kidney failure and liver destruction have been associated with the
substance.
The higher one rises in the traditional evolutionary scale (for example, from mice to rats to humans), the lower the dose necessary for PCP to create anesthesia. Two observers who noted that trend concluded that human brains are exquisitely sensitive to PCP. Animal experiments reveal brain damage when the substance is used chronically for as little as five days. PCP addicts
have complained of memory trouble. A small human study found impaired ability for abstract thinking and for physical movement in response to signals, impairment measured years after the persons said they had stopped using PCP. Moreover, users of the drug may have normal scores on intelligence tests but have emotional disabilities and be crippled in their ability to cope with
problems. Those latter defects may be caused by the drug or may instead be reasons why people resort to the drug.
Abuse factors.
Initially PCP was a Schedule III drug, but in 1978 government authorities shifted it to Schedule II because of recreational use. At about that time a Los Angeles psychiatric hospital emergency room tested 145 consecutive patients for PCP; 63 were positive (over 40%).
A study of 200 recreational users found differences in effects reported by persons who took a little of the drug once a month and by persons who took a lot every day for years. Heavy users felt more pepped-up, violent, and suicidal. Regular users of PCP are known for self-destruction; one study found that 24% of regular users had tried to commit suicide, and 36% had overdosed
on other drugs. A study of PCP users who were treated at a charity hospital found no behavioral difference between black or white males, but black females acted much stranger and more aggressively than white females. The meaning of that finding is unclear—it could be racial, could be cultural, could be a statistical oddity that would disappear after more research.
When monkeys were given a choice between water or PCP, the animals showed no preference; such indifference is a sign of low addictive potential.
An experiment measuring rats with prenatal exposure to PCP found the animals were more sensitive to the drug than were rats lacking prenatal exposure— the opposite of tolerance. Dependence has been reported in monkeys that receive PCP. Pigeons that received the drug every day for 215 days did not develop dependence. Human research has found tolerance but not dependence among users, although dependence is suspected.
Various cold remedies contain doxylamine succinate, which can cause a false-positive drug test for PCP.
Drug interactions.
In a rat experiment neither alcohol nor PCP affected blood pressure, but blood pressure rose when they were used simultaneously. They also speeded up the heart. One human study found that PCP may be more likely to induce excitability in alcoholics than in nonalcoholics, possibly meaning that alcohol increases the likelihood of a manic reaction. In mice marijuana has reduced hyperactivity caused by PCP.
Cancer.
Not enough scientific information to report.
Pregnancy.
Two studies published only a few months apart in the 1980s gave different impressions about the prevalence of PCP use among pregnant women. In one study a group of 2,327 pregnant women were tested for PCP use; 19 were taking the drug. Those 19 were typically polydrug abusers. A different study of 200 pregnant women found 24 using PCP, a rate 15 times
higher than in the other group.
If a pregnant woman uses PCP, it passes into the fetus. Reports exist of PCP being detected in newborns three months after the mothers claimed to have stopped using the drug during pregnancy, which would mean that the drug remains in a fetus months after a pregnant woman stops taking PCP. Whether the women’s claims of abstinence were confirmed by laboratory testing during those months of pregnancy is unclear, however. In mice and pigs PCP builds
up in the fetus, reaching levels 7 to 10 times higher than in the female’s bloodstream.
The drug is suspected of causing birth defects. At dosage levels high enough to poison the pregnant female, birth defects have been produced in rats and mice. Rats with prenatal exposure to PCP show defective memory and learning ability. The substance is suspected of harming fetal brain development in humans. Pregnant women who use the drug tend to produce infants who are smaller than normal. In a group of 83 infants with prenatal PCP exposure,
almost half had a head circumference below the 25th percentile (meaning that 75% of infants in the general population have bigger heads and, by implication, larger brains). Some were below the 10th percentile. Smaller-than-normal infant skulls may interfere with physical growth of the brain. People who abuse one drug tend to abuse others as well; one study of 41 women who
used PCP during pregnancy found that most had also been using cocaine.
Two studies of women who used PCP during pregnancy found that all were poor; most were unmarried, were in an ethnic minority, and had received inadequate prenatal care. Such factors confound efforts to confirm what effect PCP alone has on pregnancy.
Offspring of mothers who have been using PCP can exhibit symptoms similar to those seen in infants undergoing opiate withdrawal—even though the drug is not an opiate, and research has yet to demonstrate that PCP dependence occurs. Infant distress may be real, but the newborn may be responding to the unpleasant effects of the drug itself rather than responding to sudden
absence of the drug.
A year after birth, a group of 57 babies with prenatal PCP exposure showed normal development in mental ability and physical coordination, although almost half were ill-tempered. About 15% had trouble sleeping, and the same percentage lacked normal emotional attachment. Those findings are consistent with other studies. Home environment, of course, may influence behavior as much or more than prenatal drug exposure. Factors noted above (lack of money, absent father, being in a disadvantaged ethnic minority) can weaken home life. Still, the kinds of brain function damage seen in animal studies are the kinds of damage that should interfere with children’s abilities to socialize normally—exactly the kind of deficit seen in children who have prenatal exposure to PCP.
In mice PCP not only passes into maternal milk, but milk levels are 10 times higher than maternal blood levels.
Additional information.
PCP is related to the Schedule I hallucinogens PCE (CAS RN 2201-15-2), PCPy (2201-39-0), TCP (21500-98-1), and TCPy (22912- 13-6).
Rat experimentation measured PCPy as about the same strength as PCP.
Other laboratory measurement shows TCP as stronger than PCP, and PCE as stronger than TCP. French military experiments found that TCP could protect rats and guinea pigs from the chemical warfare agent soman.
“Cannabinol” is a nickname for PCP and refers to THC, which is the active chemical in marijuana and dronabinol, but PCP is not THC. Likewise “DMT” and “STP” (DOM) are nicknames for PCP, but they are all different drugs.
Additional scientific information may be found in:
Baldridge, E.B., and H.A. Bessen. “Phencyclidine.” Emergency Medicine Clinics of North
America 8 (1990): 541–50.
Brecher, M., et al. “Phencyclidine and Violence: Clinical and Legal Issues.” Journal of
Clinical Psychopharmacology 8 (1988): 397–401.
Giannini, A.J., R.K. Bowman, and J.D. Giannini. “Perception of Nonverbal Facial Cues
in Chronic Phencyclidine Abusers.” Perceptual and Motor Skills 89 (1999): 72–78.
Graeven, D.B., J.G. Sharp, and S. Glatt. “Acute Effects of Phencyclidine (PCP) on
Chronic and Recreational Users.” American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse 8
(1981): 39–50.
Harry, G.J., and J. Howard. “Phencyclidine: Experimental Studies in Animals and
Long-term Developmental Effects on Humans.” In Perinatal Substance Abuse: Research
Findings and Clinical Implications, ed. T.B. Sonderegger. Baltimore, MD:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. 254–78.
Khajawall, A.M., T.B. Erickson, and G.M. Simpson. “Chronic Phencyclidine Abuse and
Physical Assault.” American Journal of Psychiatry 139 (1982): 1604–6.
Pradhan, S.N. “Phencyclidine (PCP): Some Human Studies.” Neuroscience and Biobehavioral
Reviews 8 (1984): 493–501.
Schuckit, M.A., and E.R. Morrissey. “Propoxyphene and Phencyclidine (PCP) Use in
Adolescents.” Journal of Clinical Psychiatry 39 (1978): 7–13.
Sioris, L.J., and E.P. Krenzelok. “Phencyclidine Intoxication: Literature Review.” American
Journal of Hospital Pharmacy 35 (1978): 1362–67.
Incoming search terms for the article:
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Pronunciation: ox-i-KOH-dun
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 76-42-6 (Hydrochloride form 124-
90-3)
Formal Names: Endocet, Endocodone, Endodan, M-Oxy, Oxycet, Oxycocet, OxyContin, OxyFast, OxyIR, Percocet, Percodan, Percodan-Demi, Percolone, Roxicet, Roxicodone, Roxilox, Roxiprin, Supeudol, Tylox
Informal Names: Oxicotten, Oxy, Oxycotton, Oxy 80s, Percs
Type: Depressant (opiate class).
Federal Schedule Listing: Schedule II (DEA no. 9143)
USA Availability: Prescription
Pregnancy Category: B
Uses.
This drug is considered more addictive than codeine, from which oxycodone is derived. Some authorities say oxycodone comes from thebaine, which is correct also, because thebaine is the parent chemical that yields codeine.
Oxycodone is anywhere from 7 to 12 times stronger than codeine and about 0.3 to 2.2 times the strength of morphine, depending on the way the drugs are used. Body chemistry transforms part of an oxycodone dose into oxymorphone. Patients have found pain relief from oxycodone to be as satisfactory as relief from ketamine and morphine. Oxycodone has been used successfully to reduce pain from dentistry, surgery, cancer, and osteoarthritis (a painful disease of a person’s joints). The drug is also used as a sedative and as a cough suppressant. It is sometimes prescribed for “restless leg syndrome,” an affliction in which persons keep moving their arms and legs around. The drug has also reduced tics associated with Tourette’s syndrome.
Oxycodone can relax people and at times even create euphoria. Some researchers speculate that oxycodone’s euphoric effects may improve patients’ sensation of pain relief, making the substance more effective for that purpose than a drug that lacks euphoric effects. The drug works an antidepressant for some persons.
Blood levels from a given dose of oxycodone tend to be about 25% higher in females than in males. The cause is unknown, but the difference apparently has no impact on medical usage.
Drawbacks.
Unwanted effects include nausea, vomiting, constipation, itching, sweating, sleepiness, reduced sex drive, general weakness, impairment of breathing, and momentary low blood pressure when a person stands up. One study found the drug to impair breathing more than various other opiates do, and in another study, doses of oxycodone had to be stopped lest the volunteers
be harmed by further breathing difficulty. Normally the drug should be avoided if a person suffers from pancreatitis, enlarged prostate, difficulty with urination, or poorly functioning thyroid or adrenal glands. Experimenters have demonstrated that the drug reduces physical and mental abilities needed for driving automobiles.
Abuse factors.
The drug’s potential for abuse is considered the same as morphine’s, and oxycodone is a sought-after product among opiate abusers. A study that reviewed medical records found no evidence of tolerance developing in a medical context. Regardless of whether people use the drug
medically or recreationally, dependence can develop, followed by withdrawal symptoms if dosage stops suddenly. Withdrawal symptoms are described as minor and can be avoided by gradually discontinuing the drug instead of suddenly stopping it or by administering clonidine, a substance normally used to control high blood pressure.
Drug interactions.
People should use oxycodone cautiously if they are also taking antihistamines, various antidepressants, or a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI, found in some antidepressants and other medicine). Combining those sorts of drugs with oxycodone can produce excessive effects. The same is true of alcohol. Oxycodone also seems to interact with cyclosporine, a substance used to suppress an individual’s immune system (an effect useful in preventing rejection of organs in transplant patients).
Cancer.
Oxycodone’s potential for causing cancer is unknown.
Pregnancy.
Oxycodone is believed to pose a small risk of causing birth defects, but safety for administration during pregnancy has not been determined. An examination of medical records found a slightly higher likelihood of birth defects if pregnant women use oxycodone, but, unlike most drugs associated with malformations, no particular type of birth defect appeared after using oxycodone. That suggests the drug might not be responsible for the observed abnormalities.
Newborns may have dependence on the drug if their mothers have been taking it during pregnancy. Enough of the drug can pass into a woman’s milk to cause dependence in a breast-feeding infant.
Combination products.
Tylox contains sodium metabisulfite, to which asthmatics and other persons may have a serious allergic reaction, and should be used cautiously if the user is sensitive to sulfites.
Additional scientific information may be found in:
Kalso, E., and A. Vainio. “Morphine and Oxycodone Hydrochloride in the Management
of Cancer Pain.” Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 47 (1990): 639–46.
Saarialho-Kere, U., M.J. Mattila, and T. Seppala. “Psychomotor, Respiratory and Neuroendocrinological Effects of a Mu-Opioid Receptor Agonist (Oxycodone) in Healthy Volunteers.” Pharmacology and Toxicology 65 (1989): 252–57.
Schick, B., et al. “Preliminary Analysis of First Trimester Exposure to Oxycodone and
Hydrocodone.” Reproductive Toxicology 10 (1996): 162.Stoll, A.L., and S. Rueter. “Treatment Augmentation with Opiates in Severe and Refractory Major Depression.” American Journal of Psychiatry 156 (1999): 2017.
Walters, A.S., et al. “Successful Treatment of the Idiopathic Restless Legs Syndrome in
a Randomized Double-Blind Trial of Oxycodone versus Placebo.” Sleep 16 (1993): 327–32.
Ytterberg, S.R., M.L. Mahowald, and S.R. Woods. “Codeine and Oxycodone Use in patients with Chronic Rheumatic Disease Pain.” Arthritis and Rheumatism 41 (1998): 1603–12.
Incoming search terms for the article:
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Pronunciation: OH-pi-uhm
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 8008-60-4
Formal Names: Papaver album, Papaver somniferum, Poppy
Informal Names: Ah-pen-yen, Aunti, Aunti Emma, Big O, Black, Blackjack, Black Pill, Black Stuff, Chandoo, Chandu, Chinese, Chinese Molasses, Chinese Tobacco, Chocolate, Cruz, Dopium, Dover, Dover’s Deck, Dover’s Powder, Dreamer, Dream Gun, Dreams, Dream Stick, Easing Powder, Emma, Fi-Do-Nie, Garden-Poppy, Gee, God’s Medicine, Goma, Gondola, Gong, Goric, Great Tobacco, Gum, Guma, Hard Stuff, Hocus, Hop, Indonesian Bud, Joy, Joy Plant, Mawseed, Midnight Oil, Mira, Mud, O, Oil, OJ, OP, Ope, Pen Yan, Pen Yen, PG, Pin Gon, Pin Yen, Plant, PO, Pox, Skee, Tar, Tongs, Tox, Toxy, Toys, When- Shee, Winshee, Yen Shee Suey, Ze, Zero
Type: Depressant (opiate class).
Federal Schedule Listing: Schedule II (DEA no. 9600)
USA Availability: Prescription
Pregnancy Category: C
Uses.
Many opium products are discussed elsewhere in this book, but here we are dealing with the substance from which all those products originate. Opium has long been used to relieve pain, fight coughs, cure diarrhea, and control spasms. Traditionally, opium is dried sap harvested from the seedproducing portion of opium poppy plants. At harvest time fields of poppies can have a strong smell, and children in the fields can be overcome by those airborne chemicals. A modern opium variety is “poppy straw,” composed of dry or liquid extracts from the plant. The natural product can be used by itself or can be refined to produce various drugs known as “opiates,” valued for their medicinal effects.
Archaeologists have found evidence of opium poppy cultivation dating from 15,000 years ago, but examination of historical records has not proven that ancient peoples understood opium’s medicinal benefits; the product may have been used traditionally but without understanding how or even whether it worked. Opium may have been used in Roman Empire religious ceremonies, perhaps exploiting the drug’s effects to symbolize a process of death and reincarnation, and even older records imply that ancients may have believed that opium could produce happiness, although evidence of ancient recreational use is nonexistent.
The Opium War from 1840 to 1842 was the first drug war, followed by the second Opium War of 1856 to 1860. These military conflicts were fought against China by England and other European powers in order to force the Chinese government to legalize the opium trade (certainly a goal different from that of the “drug war” familiar to Americans as the twenty-first century
began).
Opium and its morphine component were widely used to treat wounded soldiers in the American Civil War, and later historians have routinely said that addiction became so common that it was called “the soldier’s disease.” Such illness may have existed, but an investigator who diligently examined medical writings from that time found none that attributed postwar addictions to war-related medical use. In that era the opium trade was legal, and someone who analyzed opium import statistics found no evidence that consumption rose due to Civil War addictions; a distinguished authority has noted that people of that era called dysentery “the soldier’s disease.”
Just before World War I an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association declared, “If the entire materia medica at our disposal were limited to the choice and use of only one drug, I am sure that a great many, if not the majority, of us would choose opium; and I am convinced that if we were to select, say half a dozen of the most important drugs in the Pharmacopeia,
we should all place opium in the first rank.”1 Although many useful drugs have been discovered since then, opium is still the basis for many standard medications. Because opium is a natural product, its morphine content can vary greatly from batch to batch. Opium commercially processed for medical use is adjusted so that 10% of any given amount of medical opium is composed of morphine.
Although medical opinion about opium has changed little, public opinion has changed a lot. Reasons for that shift go beyond the scope of this book, but in the nineteenth century, use of opium and its derivatives had wide social approval in America. Alcohol was considered more hazardous to health and home. One of the most telling measures of approval came from the life insurance industry in India, which freely granted policies to known opium users, as mortality statistics showed opium having no effect on life span. A life insurance official reported similar experience in China, although older users in China had higher mortality than older nonusers (probably many users took the drug for diseases that nonusers did not have, with the death rate
related more to those diseases than to opium). Some of those statistics would change as the twentieth century progressed because drug laws would change the kinds of people who used opium, thereby associating opium with populations having higher mortality for reasons unrelated to opium’s drug properties.
Although identified with China, opium has been grown in the United States. In the late eighteenth century Benjamin Franklin used laudanum (typically wine laced with opium) to treat himself for kidney stones. During the nineteenth century Americans used opium mainly as an ingredient in laudanum and paregoric. Paregoric is a liquid including anise, camphor, and opium. Paregoric was first produced in the eighteenth century as an asthma medicine.
The compound is no longer used for that purpose but can reduce lung congestion by helping people to cough up mucus. Paregoric is a standard diarrhea remedy and is used to help infants suffering from drug withdrawal syndromes. In the 1960s the compound had a flurry of popularity among opiate addicts who would process the product in hopes of isolating the opium, then inject the substance they produced. The outcomes were typical of what happens when oral medications are injected, resulting in lung damage and disfiguring injuries to injection sites.
Less familiar modern opium preparations include home remedy mixtures of the substance with caffeine, aspirin, and acetaminophen (Tylenol or other brands). In America opium preparations were once a standard method of quieting noisy infants and children, and that practice is still followed in some parts of the world. One hazard in that custom is the possibility of fatal overdose,
as people administering such concoctions do not always understand pediatric dosage.
Drawbacks.
Although some opium users have generally unhealthy lifestyles, few ailments have been attributed solely to the drug. Those ailments tend to be in the gastrointestinal tract, such as problems with the small intestine’s bile duct. “Cauliflower ear,” in which an ear thickens and becomes misshapen, was once associated with opium smoking. The affliction, however,
apparently came not from the drug but rather from the habit of lying down for hours in a comatose condition with an ear pressing against a hard surface.
Abuse factors.
Recreational use of opium is harder to define than we might think, because even if persons take the drug in a social setting, they can be seeking to reduce mental anxiety or physical pain, which is not the same as using a drug for fun. Some people swallow dry opium or drink tea made with
seed or with dried heads of poppy flowers. In the nineteenth century poppy tea was a common medicinal drink, but in the early twenty-first century the habit tends to be limited to opiate addicts. The traditional recreational way to use opium is to inhale its smoke. Heating opium enough to make it smoke can reduce the drug content, and opium is already far weaker than substances refined from it (such as morphine and heroin). One authority estimates that
the amount of active drug inhaled by someone who smokes a given weight of opium will typically be 300 to 400 times less than the drug content in the same weight of injected heroin. Moreover, while an entire dose of heroin might be ingested in a few seconds, a pipeful of opium is smoked over a much longer period to slowly savor its effects, further reducing the opium’s impact. The English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge started out using opium for medical purposes, as did Thomas De Quincey, and both men produced classic accounts of hallucinations and creative inspiration occurring under opium’s influence. Those accounts and later ones may well be true, but for such results people need to be particularly sensitive to the drug and also be prone to such experiences regardless of pharmaceutical encouragement. Arsenic is sometimes added to opium to increase smokers’ interest in sexual activity, a practice generating reports of arsenic poisoning among users. Drug interactions. Not enough scientific information to report about the natural product, although many studies have examined drug interactions with opiates and opioids.
Cancer.
Laboratory tests find that opium smoke may cause cancer, as may opium dross (waste products, such as scrapings from the inside of an opium pipe, which some persons chew or suck). Opium is suspected of causing esophageal and bladder cancer.
Pregnancy.
A pregnant woman using paregoric can give birth to an infant having dependence with opium.
Additional information.
Seed from opium poppies is a food product commonly used in breads, cakes, and candies. Consumption of amounts found in a normal meal can cause a false opiate positive in drug screens; controversy exists about whether further analysis of results from such testing can show
that poppy seed was the cause. Poppy seed oil is a comparatively unfamiliar product, but animal tests indicate it has good potential for human nutrition. In some parts of the world iodized poppy seed oil has been used instead of iodized salt to treat goiter and has been suggested as a means of preventing nervous endemic cretinism caused by iodine deficiency in the diet of pregnant
women. Iodized poppy seed oil is taken up by cancerous portions of a liver, giving the substance clinical usefulness if anticancer drugs are blended into it, as the drugs then concentrate exactly where they are needed in the liver. Results from animal research have led investigators to speculate that consuming normal poppy seed oil may help prevent cancer.
Opium lettuce is not related to opium but can produce mild sensations similar to opium. Sedative and pain relief qualities of opium lettuce have been used for centuries. Lung and urinary tract afflictions have been treated with it. Opium lettuce is smoked for recreational purposes, but results have not caused the practice to gain popularity. A case report tells of individuals who
received medical care after injecting a preparation made from the plant. It has other names including Acrid Lettuce, Bitter Lettuce, Compass Plant, Great Lettuce, Green Endive, Lactucarium, Lactuca virosa, Poison Lettuce, Prickly Lettuce, Strong-Scented Lettuce, and Wild Lettuce.
Additional scientific information may be found in:
Aurin, M. “Chasing the Dragon: The Cultural Metamorphosis of Opium in the United
States, 1825–1935.” Medical Anthropology Quarterly 14 (2000): 414–41.
Gharagozlou, H., and M.T. Behin. “Frequency of Psychiatric Symptoms among 150
Opium Addicts in Shiraz, Iran.” International Journal of the Addictions 14 (1979):
1145–49.
Goodhand, J. “From Holy War to Opium War? A Case Study of the Opium Economy
in North-Eastern Afghanistan.” Disasters 24 (2000): 87–102.
Haller, J.S. “Opium Usage in Nineteenth Century Therapeutics.” Bulletin of the New
York Academy of Medicine 65 (1989): 591–607.
Kalant, H. “Opium Revisited: A Brief Review of Its Nature, Composition, Non-Medical
Use and Relative Risks.” Addiction 92 (1997): 267–77.
Lerner, A.M., and F.J. Oerther. “Characteristics and Sequelae of Paregoric Abuse.” Annals
of Internal Medicine 65 (1966): 1019–30.
Quinones, M.A. “Drug Abuse during the Civil War (1861–1865).” International Journal
of the Addictions 10 (1975): 1007–20.
Strang, J. “Lessons from an English Opium Eater: Thomas De Quincey Reconsidered.”
International Journal of the Addictions 25 (1990): 1455–65.
Note
1. 64 (February 6, 1915): 477.
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Pronunciation: NUT-mehg
Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number: 84082-68-8
Formal Names: Mace, Myristica fragrans
Type: Hallucinogen.
Federal Schedule Listing: Unlisted
USA Availability: Nonprescription (food)
Pregnancy Category: None
Uses.
Nutmeg is a familiar spice, but when used in larger amounts, it can act as a drug. Nutmeg originated in the Spice Islands of Indonesia. It is a seed coming from an evergreen tree that can reach 45 feet in height. Folk medicine uses nutmeg for treating insomnia, mouth sores, stomach inflammation, gas, diarrhea, and vomiting. Animal research verifies the antiinsomnia and antidiarrhea properties; they have been observed among humans undergoing formal
medical care, and recreational users mention sleep-inducing action. The substance is also used as an aphrodisiac, and laboratory tests show that it kills headlice. Nutmeg may be able to help improve dysentery, infections, and rheumatism. In rabbit experiments, nutmeg lowered cholesterol levels and aided in coughing up mucus. Nutmeg, like many other spices, has antimicrobial actions that appear to retard spoilage of unrefrigerated food.
Nutmeg can produce false positives for marijuana in a field test that law enforcement officers have used to identify an unknown substance, but of course more sophisticated laboratory examination can correct such an error.
Drawbacks.
A nutmeg dose sufficient to produce hallucinations is also sufficient to produce headache, thirst, nausea, constipation, rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and a miserable hangover. Muscular discoordination can be severe enough to mimic multiple sclerosis. Research on cats produced liver destruction. All these results are from dosage quantities much higher than the small
amounts used for spicing foods.
Abuse factors.
Nutmeg is not considered addictive, although a case report notes a patient hospitalized for nutmeg poisoning, who craved the substance so much that he had a supply smuggled to him during his hospital stay. The report said he was never able to go beyond two weeks without nutmeg.
Some researchers are skeptical that nutmeg possesses hallucinogenic qualities, but for centuries numerous users have said otherwise. Betel chewers sometimes add nutmeg to a quid for extra sensations, and mixing tobacco with nutmeg is a practice reported in Asia. Research indicates that human body chemistry converts part of a nutmeg dose into substances related to amphetamine, affecting mood and sometimes causing hallucinations. The effects from a dose can last three days. Overdose requiring medical intervention is possible, although only one fatality is recorded. Nutmeg has received mixed reviews as a recreational drug. Some people call it incomparable; others resort to it only as an act of desperation when nothing else is available. A favorable description says nutmeg is “capable of removing one completely from the
world of reality in a hypnotic trance accompanied by golden dreams and euphoric bliss.”1 In contrast, someone who used nutmeg together with marijuana received emergency hospital treatment for gagging, hot and cold flashes, numbness, blurred vision, double vision, triple vision, and difficulty in controlling movements—among other complaints. Persons who use nutmeg by
itself have also reported bad experiences.
Drug interactions.
In a mice experiment nutmeg boosted actions of alcohol and reduced those of dextroamphetamine. One authority describes nutmeg as a weak monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), and MAOIs interact badly with many drugs described in this blog.
Cancer.
A laboratory test using a nutmeg extract found evidence that it might cause cancer, and a nutmeg experiment with mice produced DNA changes that might be related to eventual cancer.
Pregnancy.
Male mice that received nutmeg in an experiment did not show chromosome damage. A case report notes a normal full-term infant born to a woman who had experienced nutmeg poisoning during pregnancy, but pregnant women are advised to avoid using nutmeg as a drug.
Additional information.
As with many other natural products, nutmeg’s effects may be produced by the combination of hundreds of chemicals found in the substance. Researchers have identified several chemicals as likely causes of nutmeg’s effects: elemicin, eugenol, myristicin, and safrole. Under laboratory
conditions myristicin can be chemically converted to MDMA and safrole to MDA, but this conversion has never been detected in animals or humans.
Body chemistry does convert myristicin into substances resembling amphetamine.
Myristicin is found not only in nutmeg but in plants related to carrots. An experiment testing myristicin on rats found no poisonous result. Researchers found no evidence of cancer after dosing mice with the substance, but the study did not last long enough to reveal whether cancer would eventually develop. Myristicin’s potential for causing birth defects is unknown. Safrole
has a faint ability to promote cancer; pregnant women are advised to avoid using it as a drug.
Mace comes from the same seed as nutmeg does, but is a different spice. Folk medicine uses mace to reduce inflammation and pain; research indicates it can protect against some chemically caused cancers. Mace is routinely added to areca nut quids.
Additional scientific information may be found in:
Fras, I., and J.J. Friedman. “Hallucinogenic Effects of Nutmeg in Adolescent.” New York
State Journal of Medicine 69 (1969): 463–65.
Lewis, P.W., and D.W. Patterson. “Acute and Chronic Effects of the Voluntary Inhalation
of Certain Commercial Volatile Solvents by Juveniles.” Journal of Drug
Issues 4 (1974): 172.
Lewis, W.H., and M.P.F. Elvin-Lewis. Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man’s Health. New
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1977. 408–10.
Panayotopoulos, D.J., and D.D. Chisholm. “Hallucinogenic Effect of Nutmeg.” British
Medical Journal 1 (1970): 754.
Sjoholm, A., A. Lindberg, and M. Personne. “Acute Nutmeg Intoxication.” Journal of
Internal Medicine 243 (1998): 329–31.
Van Gils, C., and P.A. Cox. “Ethnobotany of Nutmeg in the Spice Islands.” Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 42 (1994): 117–24.
Weiss, G. “Hallucinogenic and Narcotic-Like Effects of Nutmeg.” Psychiatric Quarterly
34 (1960): 346–56.
Note
1. W.H. Lewis and M.P.F. Elvin-Lewis, Medical Botany: Plants Affecting Man’s Health
(New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1977), 408.
