Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England)
March 1, 2022
Malin Vedøy Uthaug, Alan K. Davis, Trevor Forrest Haas et al.
64 citations
Mescaline, a naturally occurring psychoactive compound found in cacti such as Peyote and San Pedro, is used infrequently (once a year or less) by most English-speaking adults, primarily for spiritual exploration or connection with nature (74%). In a web-based survey of 452 respondents, very few reported drug craving (9%), legal problems (1%), or psychological problems (1%), and none sought medical attention. Acute mystical-type effects were rated as moderate, ego-dissolution and insight as slight, and challenging effects as very slight. About half of the sample had a psychiatric condition, and most (over 67%) reported improvements in these conditions after their most memorable mescaline experience. The findings suggest that mescaline may produce a psychedelic experience with spiritual significance and mental health benefits and has low abuse potential.
Behav Pharmacol
August 1, 2017
Michael B. Gatch, Sean B. Dolan, Michael J. Forster
36 citations
Four novel synthetic hallucinogens (25B-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, 25I-NBOMe, and 5-MeO-DALT) were tested in rats and mice for their behavioral effects. 25B-NBOMe, 25C-NBOMe, and 25I-NBOMe reduced locomotor activity in mice, while 5-MeO-DALT increased activity at 10 mg/kg but suppressed it at 25 mg/kg. In rats trained to discriminate the hallucinogen DOM or the entactogen MDMA, 25B-NBOMe fully substituted for both drugs at 0.5 mg/kg, but higher doses reduced drug-appropriate responding. 25C-NBOMe fully substituted for DOM but only partially for MDMA. 5-MeO-DALT fully substituted for DOM but not MDMA. 25I-NBOMe failed to fully substitute for either, likely due to its strong rate-depressant effects. The compounds appear attractive for hallucinogenic use but less so as MDMA substitutes, and their abuse potential matches that of scheduled compounds.
Behavioural Pharmacology
June 1, 2020
Michael B. Gatch, Sean B. Dolan, Michael J. Forster
6 citations
Most synthetic cathinones tested produce effects similar to the club drug MDMA in rats, but not all. In rats trained to distinguish MDMA from a placebo, six of seven cathinones—4-fluoromethcathinone, 4-methylmethcathinone, 4-methylethcathinone, 3-fluoromethcathinone, pentedrone, and ethylone—fully substituted for MDMA's discriminative stimulus effects. Methcathinone produced at most 43% MDMA-like responding, and higher doses suppressed responding. The potency of MDMA-like versus psychostimulant-like effects varied substantially among compounds, indicating that some synthetic cathinones are more MDMA-like than psychostimulant-like. This variability suggests that cathinones with MDMA-like effects may be more likely used as club drugs.
Neuropharmacology
January 31, 2018
Sean B. Dolan, Zhenglan Chen, Renqi Huang et al.
Three synthetic cathinone analogs of MDMA—methylone, butylone, and pentylone—act as substrates at the serotonin transporter, producing inward currents there while having little effect at the dopamine transporter. In rats, all three compounds fully substituted for the discriminative stimulus effects of methamphetamine. Methylone and butylone fully substituted for MDMA and partially for DOM, whereas pentylone only partially substituted for MDMA and failed to substitute for DOM. The dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 fully blocked methamphetamine-like effects but had minimal effect on MDMA-like effects. All compounds were robustly self-administered, with pentylone producing the greatest self-administration. These findings suggest that Ecstasy formulations adulterated with synthetic cathinones may drive more compulsive use than MDMA alone.