LSD ...A Different Way To Trip

Better Living Through Chemistry

Albert Hoffman describes the use of LSD (a psychedelic class narcotic) in this way: “my visual field wavered and everything appeared deformed as in a faulty mirror. Space and time became more and more disorganized and I was overcome by a fear that I was going out of my mind, the worst part of it being that I was clearly aware of my condition. (Uppers, Downers, All Arounders, 2011).

It’s a wonder he even continued to run experiments on this as well as new psychedelics after such a negative trip. 

 For those of you who do not know exactly what LSD is, it is a hallucinogenic drug found in the ergot fungus or also synthesized (Uppers, Downers, All Arounders. P. 1.41). Drugs that induce paranoia and hallucinations became popular in the 1960s with the counter culture. Even the U.S Army and the C.I.A. experimented with them as chemical weapons, mind-control drugs, and truth serums.

The use of psychochemical for intelligence purposes gained speed during the cold war (newyorker.com).

Dr. Van Murray Sim was the founder of Edgewood Arsenal’s program of clinical research on psychochemicals. He was the fellow who began pursuing the use of psychedelics for intel purposes at Edgewood and in my opinion he was quite mad.

I say that because he allowed even himself to be experimented on. For example, In 1959, he was the first person to be given VX, a highly lethal nerve agent.

References: 

Newyorker.com retrieved from:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/12/us-army-experiments-with-lsd-in-the-cold-war.html

2011, Uppers, Downers, All Arounders  

Marijuana

It seems marijuana is the most comfortable illicit drug for most, well at least most of the users of illicit drugs that I've known in my time. Perhaps it represents something of intrinsic value to the smoker, an experiment to discover hope. A dance with the devil's lieutenant instead of the devil himself. Enlightening, habit-forming, less than crack, more than a cigarette.
Personally, I could never acquire the taste for it. After the second time I tried it, I decided I liked my lungs more than anything burning that hot just two inches from my lips. Being roughly twenty years old, I had no concept of associated dependence on a substance perceived as so benign. I had also never heard of THC before. Looking back twenty years later, I have a relative who smokes marijuana consistently and also a friend who went from marijuana to using cocaine, lost everything, got into serious trouble, college degrees now mean nothing, etcetera. As far as my relative who is still smoking, I recently tried to encourage him to replace the 'roled' style marijuana cigarette with a bong. It's not the best advice, but remember, the first assumption is that he's even encourageable. Moving to the bong, at least the water may cool the super heated vapors until he possibly reevaluates.

The Carbanamine Drug

   
    Carbanamine is a breakthrough amalgamation of stimulant and sedative-hypnotic. The stimulating effects of Carbanamine put it in a range that is more addictive than smoking tobacco or crack cocaine thus making it a class 1 narcotic. It releases more dopamine into the neuro-synapse than any other drug. Part of the mechanism of its function however is to aid in the reabsorption of catacholamine neurotransmitters and thereby minimizing their enzyme metabolism. This, in a manner of speaking, makes Carbanamine its own antidote in the way that it protects against the psychotic aftereffects, brain damage and long term memory loss. The sedative-hypnotic qualities counter the sleepless nights like we have seen due to the negative 'binge' effects of crystal methamphetamine.

 
   
 
      Carbanamine is the first, true 'Paradise' drug. Obviously, it is now being abused. Law enforcement has been making staggering arrests and seizures, and the price on the street is upwards of $300-$500 per ounce depending on its purity (DEA.com/Carbanamine). The new street name is 'Eden' and new users are starting as young as 9-10 years old. Common methods of use are: injecting, insufflation, smoking, and ingesting. As a narcotic 'Eden' has not met with the textbook definition of illicit as it does not follow the same category of abuse as outlined in the DSM-IV-TR. 700 subjects were observed while under the influence of moderate to high doses of Carbanamine. Pet scans were performed and various areas of the brain were highlighted as 'Eden' attached itself. The pleasure centers of the Nucleus Accumbens (below) were most active and this result was consistent for days. Unlike with the usual cruel stimulants (crack cocaine, crystal meth, etc.) 18 out of 20 subjects slept just fine.

Compulsory behaviors were also virtually unnoted, stealing, unusual sexual practices, poor hygiene. This is perhaps why, other than sudden death or overdose, eden at this stage meets the definition of dependence but not addiction. 

     Okay, time to take two steps back and bring my bloggers in on what I've done. Carbanamine is not an actual drug, its a work of fiction that I've conjured. But what's interesting about it is that, in a way it seems to be at the center of what the pharmaceutical industry and illicit underground laboratories are warring over, two factions with endless supplies of money. There are more than 100,000 deaths per year documented due to side effects of prescription medications. That's ten times the number of deaths caused by street drugs (articles.mercola.com). The common denominator is that both industries are claiming the possession of the one and only revelation. The one and only formula that will end all your woes and make you whole again. 

So there's my question to you the reader: What if, in our near future there was such a drug. A single ultimate drug that offered man a world without hate, fear, or conflict? No wars and no crime.  Where would we find the line between our normal selves and the 'eden' self? What would the difference be between consciousness and mindlessness? Consciousness and vacant contentment? Would the government care one way or the other where it came from as long as they could cash in on it through sales tax? 

Get back to me with your thoughts!! 

Best, 

Anthony

Reference:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/04/12/the-terrifying-side-effects-of-prescription-drugs.aspx 

Technology and the Mexican Drug Cartels

When I was younger I had a few friends who dabbled in peddling marijuana. They tried to be cool with me but I kept my distance because I always felt like they were trying something a little too dangerous for my tastes. Having known them for most of my young adult life I recall an instance where one of them asked me for a lift to a job site that we were both traveling to. I agreed and we set out. While he was settling in, he reached into his pocket to find his money and along with it, out came the tiniest baggie I had ever seen. It was the first time I'd ever seen cellophane and in it was a small white clump. I swerved the car over to the side of the road and told him that he was now, officially on foot patrol! Before he got out I told him, "you're too stupid to figure out how to make something like that on your own! Who taught you how to do that?"
Of course he shrugged me off. Since then I've thought about what a growth market illicit drug sales is and how opportunities are provided at even the lowest levels.  According to Inaba and Cohen, the Mexican cartels have taken charge of smuggling and control the lion's share of the trade (Uppers, Downers, All Arounders p.1.29), dethroning even the Colombians and leaving only 45 percent of smuggling priveleges to be divvied up by the rest of the world. This is a quote taken from the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 'Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations began manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in the mid-1990s. These organizations created "superlabs" in Mexico and southern California that were capable of producing 10 pounds or more of high-purity methamphetamine in 1 to 2 days.' I mean, is it just me, or does someone out there see the growth potential?

References:

Inaba, D.S.; Cohen, W.E. (2013). Uppers, Downers, All Arounders

Nordahl, T.E; Salo, R.; Leamon, M. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences15.3 (Summer 2003): 317-25. 

The Licit Addictives

I had an interesting thought for a post and hopefully it will generate some interesting feedback from you guys. 

After combing through several chapters of our textbooks I had to step back for a second and re-evaluate. I drink coffee on a regular basis, just one cup per day. But I do notice the effects that have been described in the book: greater alertness, energy. I have not noticed any increase in confidence, yet I'm normally very confident. I do however, notice the difference when I miss a day of having coffee. On occasion, I find myself dragging, lol. And, I've gotta tell ya', I was shocked to read that ingesting caffeine pushes harder and faster toward addiction than ecstasy, LSD, and mescaline. Am I kidding you? Wish I was!! 
Another stimulant that is actually much, much worse, and pushes harder and faster toward addiction than (smoking or injecting) heroin as well as crack, is simply tobacco. And as we all know, this drug is fully legal and available OTC. In fact, tobacco companies are seeking new methods of delivering nicotine to you enthusiastic shoppers, such as: flavored cigarettes. Yummy!!!

What's your take? 

Question: The Tobacco Smoker's Lung and The Cigarette Disposal Bin: If the human lung is more than a waste can, then why do 37 million people smoke daily? 

 

Discussion one week one.

Pre discussion post