On-line drug markets flourish and consumers have high expectations of on-line quality and drug value. The aim of this study was to (i) describe on-line drug purchases and (ii) compare on-line with off-line purchased drugs regarding purity, adulteration and price. Comparison of laboratory analyses of 32 663 drug consumer samples (stimulants and hallucinogens) purchased between January 2013 and...
Terreau de la découverte du LSD et de la synthèse de la psilocybine, la Suisse saura-t-elle jouer un rôle dans la redécouverte du potentiel thérapeutique des substances psychédéliques?Réémergence de la médecine psychédélique
Ayahuasca is a hallucinogen brew traditionally used for ritual and therapeutic purposes in Northwestern Amazon. It is rich in the tryptamine hallucinogens dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which acts as a serotonin 5-HT 2A agonist. This mechanism of action is similar to other compounds such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and psilocybin. The controlled use of LSD and psilocybin in experimental...
Much of the drama of A Culture’s Catalyst revolves around ‘The Night in the Tipi’, a legendary night on the Red Pheasant Reserve in the autumn of 1956 when Abram Hoffer, Humphry Osmond, Duncan Blewett and Teddy Weckowicz, accompanied by two other white men, Doug Skagi, a journalist, and Gordon Skogland, a photographer, both from the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, participated in and documented a...
Wacker et al. report the crystal structure of LSD in complex with one of its major targets in the brain, the 5-HT2B receptor, the first such structure for any psychedelic drug. The results shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying its ability to induce hallucinations with greater duration and potency than closely related compounds.
Data suggest psychedelics such as psilocybin and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) may hold therapeutic potential in the treatment of addictions, including tobacco dependence. This retrospective cross-sectional anonymous online survey characterized 358 individuals (52 females) who reported having quit or reduced smoking after ingesting a psychedelic in a non-laboratory setting ⩾1 year ago. On...
Pharmacological assays carried out in transfected cells have been very useful for describing the mechanism of action of cathinone new psychoactive substances (NPS). These in vitro characterizations provide fast and reliable information on psychoactive substances soon after they emerge for recreational use. Well-investigated comparator compounds, such as methamphetamine,...
Citation: Thompson WE (2017) In Summary: A High by Any Other Name: Exploring the Motivations for Consumption of ‘Legal Highs’. J Drug Abuse. Vol. 3 No. 2:10 A large number of legal, semi-legal, synthetic, and organic drugs are sold online and through commercial vendors as novelties, often bearing the label “not for human consumption.” This qualitative field study was based on extensive...
An eighteen-year-old female patient of the Caucasian ethnicity from Australasia presented with a persistently dilated pupil causing her discomfort and occasional burning sensation when she is outdoors due to oversensitivity to sunlight. However, her pupillary reaction to light (pupillary light reflex) was intact. The patient is a known user of psychedelic substances (entheogens) including LSD,...
Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic, psychoactive drugs that are generally not under international regulatory control. NPS are frequently sold as alternatives to classic “street drugs” such as ecstasy or LSD. However, little is known about their pharmacology and toxicity and they therefore pose unknown health risks. Further, risk for harms are elevated because users often do not...