Club drugs and "other" abusable substances are briefly overviewed as a reminder about the wide variety of known and unknown substances used by adolescents, the high potential for direct and interactive substance use effects to manifest acutely and chronically, and the vigilance needed to anticipate and recognize the new effects and drug-drug interactions arising as novel substances continue to...
In the early 2010s, a new group of illicit psychedelic phenethylamines was reported by the law enforcement agencies, namely the NBOMe hallucinogens. The latter seem to be sold on the black market as an alternative to LSD, due to their powerful psychoactive effects. The goal of this study was to develop an optimized Artificial Neural Network (ANN) able to classify NBOMe hallucinogens based on...
Abstract Background Psychedelic microdosing is the trending practice of using tiny repeated doses of psychedelic substances to facilitate a range of supposed benefits. With only a few published studies to date, the subject is still under-researched, and more knowledge is warranted. Social media and internet discussion forums have played a vital role in the growing visibility of the microdosing...
BackgroundIn recent years there has been growing media attention on microdosing psychedelics (e.g., LSD, psilocybin). This refers to people routinely taking small doses of psychedelic substances to improve mental health and wellbeing, or to enhance cognitive performance. Research evidence is currently limited. This paper examines microdosing motivations, dosing practices, perceived short-term...
Classic or serotonergic hallucinogens comprise the third largest number of reported new psychoactive substances (NPS), according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. While being structurally very divergent, they share activation of the serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR), a G protein-coupled receptor, as their main pharmacological mechanism. Here, we report on the development of a...
Synthetic hallucinogen trafficking is a global illicit trade. It represents one of the main dangers to public health worldwide. NBOMe is a new class of synthetic hallucinogenic drugs of abuse, which is sold through illicit channels as alternative to LSD. The most representative member of the NBOMe class is 25I-NBOMe, a derivative of 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenetylamine (2C-I). In this study we are...
Depression and anxiety are prevalent psychiatric disorders that carry significant morbidity. Pharmacological and psychosocial interventions are used to manage these conditions, but their efficacy is limited. Recent interest into the use of psychedelic-assisted therapy using ayahuasca, psilocybin or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) may be a promising alternative for patients unresponsive to...
N-Benzylphenethylamines, commonly known as NBOMes, are synthetic psychedelic compounds derived from the phenethylamine class of psychedelics (2C-X compounds), which originally have been derived from the naturally occurring alkaloid mescaline. Analogously to their parent compounds and other classical psychedelics, such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), NBOMes are believed to...
Psychedelics can induce eyes-closed imagery in which various visions can be experienced. These visions vary from simple geometrical patterns, to more complex imagery, to full immersion within “other realms”. Past studies suggest that the visual cortex is involved in processing these visions, yet these studies were limited into investigation of activity. In this thesis, the aim was to expand on...
Background: Health professional students frequently use alcohol and narcotics. The potential impact on academic performance and professional behaviour is concerning.Aim: This study aimed to determine self-reported use of alcohol, illicit substances (e.g. cannabis, lysergic acid diethylamide [LSD], magic mushroom, cocaine, crack, ecstasy, methamphetamine and heroin), prescription medication and...