Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports
March 22, 2026
Shane Darke, Johan Duflou, Michael Farrell et al.
New psychoactive stimulants and hallucinogens (NPSH) poisonings have generated considerable public health concern in recent years. We aimed to determine: 1. The characteristics, toxicology and major autopsy findings of known cases of NBZD-related poisoning in Australia, 2000-2025; and 2. Changes in characteristics of known cases from 2020 onwards compared to earlier known cases. Retrospective...
Addiction
May 21, 2024
Shane Darke, Johan Duflou, Amy Peacock et al.
14 citations
Abstract Background and aims Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin are used as recreational drugs, and there is renewed interest in their clinical use. The current study aimed to (1) determine the circumstances of death and case characteristics of LSD‐ and psilocybin‐related death in Australia, 2000–23; and (2) determine the toxicological profile and major autopsy findings of these...
The International journal on drug policy
December 1, 2021
Shane Darke, Samuel Banister, Michael Farrell et al.
The term 'synthetic cannabis' has been widely used in public discourse to refer to a group of cannabinoid receptor agonists. In this paper we detail the characteristics of these drugs, and present the case that the term is a misnomer. We describe the pharmacodynamics of these drugs, their epidemiology, mechanisms of action, physiological effects and how these differ substantially from...
Addiction
October 11, 2021
Wayne Hall, Michael Farrell
Aldous Huxley's personal account of his experience taking mescaline in The Doors of Perception (1954) has influenced popular understandings of the effects of psychedelic drugs and encouraged many personal experiences with these drugs. Huxley encouraged the psychiatrist Humphry Osmond to coin the term 'psychedelic'. He knew many of the leading figures in early psychedelic research and advocated...
Addiction
August 12, 2021
Wayne Hall, Michael Farrell
8 citations
The history of research on the use of psychedelic drugs to treat alcohol dependence in the 1950s and 1960s suggests the need for caution in their proposed clinical use. Since 2006 there has been a revival of interest in using psychedelics to treat depression and post-traumatic stress disorders [1] and the addictions [2]. What lessons may we glean from research in the 1950s and 1960s on the use...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
December 9, 2003
Gary F. Egan, Tim Silk, Frank Zamarripa et al.
Thirst was induced by rapid i.v. infusion of hypertonic saline (0.51 M at 13.4 ml/min). Ten humans were neuroimaged by positron-emission tomography (PET) and four by functional MRI (fMRI). PET images were made 25 min after beginning infusion, when the sensation of thirst began to enter the stream of consciousness. The fMRI images were made when the maximum rate of increase of thirst occurred....