A review was performed of the marihuana and driving literature, both epidemiological and experimental. It was noted that epidemiological studies face considerable difficulties in obtaining estimates of risks involved for drivers utilizing marihuana due to the rapid decline in blood levels of tetrahydrocannabinol. On the other hand, experimental studies examining the relationship between...
Before white man brought his alcohol to the South Pacific, the indigenes were using many wild plants possessing psychoactive properties. The most prominent were betel in much of Melanesia, kava in much of Polynesia, and pituri in much of Australia. The use of each of these three drugs was widespread, institutionalised as a ritual and the occasion for extensive trade. Each was valued for its...
Part one of the paper discusses ethnobotanical, chemical and general pharmacological aspects of intoxicating snuff rituals in the western hemisphere. Four categories of ritual snuff ingredients arise from this multidisciplinary approach: It is well established that the plant contains one or more psychoactive principles and the Indian use of the plant as a ritual snuff ingredient is confirmed or...
State manifestations of the trait of absorption--a trait associated with differential responsivity to hypnosis, meditation, marijuana intoxification, and electromyograph (EMG) biofeedback--were assessed to determine (a) if absorption correlates with various (sub)dimensions of phenomenological experience, and (b) if individuals of differing absorption ability experience different states of...
The acute actions of five prototype hallucinogens administered SC on food consumption in 23 hr food deprived dogs were compared with the anorexic effect of d-amphetamine and the hyperphagic effect of sodium pentobarbital. Comparisons were made on the basis of dose-response relationships. Among the hallucinogens decreasing food intake, both LSD and atropine produced substantial anorexia, but the...
Cannabinoids (or presumed synonyms such as cannabinols or cannabis-like agents) have been variously defined in botanical, chemical, or pharmacological terms, with unfortunate consequences. Botanical definitions include inactive substances such as cannabigerol, as well as alkaloids and other secondary constituents of Cannabis sativa, but exclude synthetics such as levonantradol and nabilone....
This paper is concerned with the processes of conversion-commitment to a new religious forro and how it is actually accomplished by the individual. Physiological consequences of meditative practices are seen as neglected by sociologists and as important for shedding light on how one becomes in this case a Zen practitioner. Becker's analysis of the learning involved in becoming a marijuana user...
Pigeons (N=4) were trained to discriminate between the effects induced by intramuscular (IM) injections of d-LSD and saline using a discrete-trial discrimination paradigm (choice between left and right hand key) in a conventional operant box. The solutions were administered IM 15 min prior to the sessions. A FR 15 schedule was in operation to produce food. Which of the two keys was correct on a...
More than 200 species and/or varieties of higher plants, as well as numerous species of basidiomycetes, are reported in the literature to have been used for their hallucinatory and/or euphoriant effects.Due to a paucity of research, only a few of these have been confirmed as definitely hallucinogenic in man or animals.This article reviews all of those plants now known to have a scientific basis...
Three hallucinogens (d-lysergicacid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, psilocybin) and two cannabinoid derivatives (tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), synhexyl) were tested for their long-term effects on the EEG of the cat. The drug-induced alterations in the EEG frequency spectrum were "drug-specific" in the sense that they would be statistically unlikely to occur during sleep-waking behavior. The two...