dhs ch 12

deliriants Examples: atropine, scopolamine (hyoscine), diphenhydramine (Benadryl) Sativa

Deliriants are a class of psychoactive drugs that generally block the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from binding to receptors in the brain and central nervous system. Like recreational drugs, deliriants produce vivid and generally very unpleasant hallucinations in addition to potentially dangerous side-effects. While users of psychedelics and dissociatives often report having euphoric, spiritual experiences, users of deliriants almost universally report unpleasant effects and have no desire to use these drugs again.

dissociatives Examples: ibogaine, phencyclidine (PCP), ketamine, dextromethorphan (DXM)

Dissociative hallucinogens, including ibogaine, PCP, ketamine, and DXM (at dosages many times larger than its use as a cough suppressant), work as antagonists of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the brain. While many of these drugs produce perceptual alterations similar to the psychedelic drugs listed above, the distinguishing features of dissociatives are feelings of depersonalization or being disconnected from one's body. Derealization, or the sensation that one's surrounding environment is somehow "not real," is also a characteristic of these drugs.

Psychedelics Examples: cannabis (marijuana), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, ecstasy), lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin mushrooms

The category "psychedelic drug" is a blanket term for many chemical compounds with a variety of effects. The three sub-groups of psychedelics are cannabinoids, empathogens (also known as entactogens), and serotonergic. The underlying similarities between all three types of psychedelic drugs are that they produce changes in consciousness that are generally unfamiliar, while other classes of drugs such as stimulants or depressants give rise to familiar if greatly magnified, states of mind. Cannabinoid drugs, which work as antagonists of cannabinoid receptors in the brain, are named after the prototypical drug in this class, cannabis (also known as marijuana), which contains the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Effects of cannabinoids vary between dosages, users, and the types and amounts of particular compounds (different cannabis strains contain differing ratios of many different cannabinoid compounds). Users commonly report mild euphoria, senses of well-being, increased awareness of external sensations, increased hunger, and disruption of linear memory processes. Empathogens are a class of psychedelics that release serotonin in the brain and derive their name from one of their major effects: increased feelings of empathy. The best-known drug in this class is MDMA, although several similar compounds exist as well. Users generally report heightened feelings of love, openness, euphoria, and overall enhancement of sensory experiences. Serotonergic drugs are so named due to their activity as agonists of a specific serotonin receptor (5-HT2A) in the brain. Drugs in this class include LSD, DMT, psilocybin (the psychoactive compound in hallucinogenic mushrooms), and phenethylamines such as mescaline and 2C-B. Users of these drugs experience intense, fundamental alterations of perception, including synesthesia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and unusual thought patterns or emotional responses.

psychoactive drugs: hallucinogens

altered perception medical purposes

treatment

for ptsd detaches emotion and lets you understand what happened with out getting upset

three types of hallucinogens

psychedlics, dissociatives, deliriants

Ectsasy

stimulant side increases dopamine, serotonin increase blood pressure damage serotoin neurons hallucination side heightened sensations potential seeing things

marijuana

thc increase perceptual sensitivity decreases inhibition, motor coordination (real) perceptual skills disrupt memory THC stays into body for a week used to relive pain

lsd

x serotonin mostly visual pictures

Sensory and Psychological Effects of Hallucinogens

•Altered senses -Synesthesia •Loss of control -Flashbacks (disturbing, but unusual) •Self-reflection -"Make conscious the unconscious" •Loss of identity and cosmic merging -"Mystical-spiritual aspect of the drug experience"

Naturally Occurring Anticholinergic Hallucinogens

•Atropa Belladonna: The Deadly Nightshade •Mandragora Officinarum: The Mandrake •Hyoscyamus Niger: Henbane •Datura Stramonium: Jimsonweed

hallucinogens

•Hallucinogens are substances that alter sensory processing in the brain, causing perceptual disturbances, changes in thought processing, and depersonalization. •Sometimes described as causing a spiritual-like experience.

Traditional Hallucinogens: LSD Types of Agents

•LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline, psilocybin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), and myricitrin •These drugs cause predominantly psychedelic effects •Of high school seniors sampled:-1996: 9% had used LSD -2015: 2.9% had used LSD •Physical properties of LSD -In pure form: colorless, odorless, tasteless -Street names: acid, blotter acid, microdot, window panes • Mechanism of action -Likely due to effects on the serotonin system •Physiological effects: -Massive increase in neural activity in some brain regions ("electrical storm"). -Activates sympathetic nervous system (rise in body temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure). -Parasympathetic nervous system (increase in salivation and nausea). -Individuals do not become physically dependent, but psychological dependency can occur. •Effects of this hallucinogen begin 30-90 minutes after ingestion and can last up to 12 hours. •Tolerance to the effects of LSD develops very quickly. •Behavioral effects: -Creativity and insight -Adverse or "pleasurable" psychedelic effects -Perceptual effects

the nature of hallucinogens

•Many drugs can exert hallucinogenic effects: -Traditional hallucinogens (LSD-types) -Phenylethylamines (Ecstasy, amphetamines) -Anticholinergic agents (Jimsonweed and other natural products) -Cocaine-Steroids • Psychedelic • Psychotogenic • Psychotomimetic

other LSD types of agents

•Mescaline (Peyote) -Mescaline is the most active drug in peyote; it induces intensified perception of colors and euphoria. -Effects include dilation of the pupils, increase in body temperature, anxiety, visual hallucinations, alteration of body image, vomiting, muscular relaxation. -Street samples are rarely authentic. •Psilocybin -Principle source is the Psilocybin mexicana mushroom. -It is not very common on the street. -Hallucinogenic effects similar to LSD. -Cross-tolerance among psilocybin, LSD, and mescaline. -Stimulates autonomic nervous system, dilates the pupils, increases body temperature. •Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) -A short-acting hallucinogen. -Trace amounts are found in the body. -Found in seeds of certain leguminous trees and prepared synthetically. -It is inhaled and is similar in action to psilocybin. •Foxy -Relatively new hallucinogen -Lower doses: euphoria -Higher doses: similar to LSD •Nutmeg -Myristica oil responsible for physical effects -High doses can be quite intoxicating -Often causes unpleasant trips

other hallucinogens

•Phencyclidine (PCP) -Considered by many experts as the most dangerous of the hallucinogens although it has a host of other effects as well. -It was developed as an intravenous anesthetic but was found to have serious adverse side effects. •Phencyclidine (PCP) physiological effects -Hallucinogenic effects, stimulation, depression, anesthesia, analgesia -Large doses can cause coma, convulsions, and death •PCP psychological effects -Feelings of strength, power, invulnerability, perceptual distortions, paranoia, violence, and psychoses and users appear like schizophrenics •Ketamine (general anesthetic; PCP-like; may have some value as a rapid antidepressant) •Dextromethorphan (cough suppressant) -High doses cause PCP-like effects -Commonly abused by adolescents (3% high school seniors used in 2015) •Marijuana (discussed in another lecture) •Salvia divinorum -"Legal" hallucinogenic herb, used by 1.9% of high school seniors in 2015 -Can cause intense hallucinations and short-term memory loss

history of hallucinogens

•The Native American Church: -The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 •Timothy Leary and the League of Spiritual Discovery: -The Psychedelic Experience •Some mental health providers claim these drugs can assist with psychotherapy.

Anticholinergic Hallucinogens

•The anticholinergic hallucinogens include naturally occurring alkaloid substances that are present in plants and herbs. •The potato family of plants contains most of these mind-altering drugs. •Three potent anticholinergic compounds in these plants: -Scopolamine -Hyoscyamine -Atropine

Phenylethylamine Hallucinogens

•The phenylethylamine drugs are chemically related to amphetamines. •They have varying degrees of hallucinogenic and CNS stimulant effects. -LSD-like: predominantly release serotonin; dominated by their hallucinogenic action. -Cocaine-like: predominantly release dopamine; dominated by their stimulant effects. •Dimthoxymethylamphetamine (DOM or STP) •"Designer" amphetamines-3,4 -Methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) -Methylenedioxymethamphetamine -(MDMA, Ecstasy); referred to as an entactogen (in 2015 used by 3.6% of high school seniors)