6
votes
Accepted
Could a nerve agent be used recreationally?
Okay, this is the closest you're going to get to a "military grade" nerve agent that elevates your mood: using botox as an antidepressant.
Botulinum toxin A (botox) is a nerve agent. In fact, it's ...
- 775
6
votes
Could a nerve agent be used recreationally?
"Recreational drugs" have "psychotropic effects," which means they affect the mood and perception of stimuli in the brain. Both alcohol and heroin are psychotropic drugs. Alcohol acts mainly on the ...
- 15.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Is there an interaction between methamphetamine and dental anesthetic?
Catecholamines
This interaction relates to a broad family of hormones called catecholamines. There are many examples and they share a common structure.
Dopamine
Adrenaline (epinephrine)
Notice the ...
- 3,158
5
votes
Accepted
Appearance of heroin addicts
What in the world is going on? Are they injecting themselves in the middle of their cheek or forehead? That sounds unlikely. Or what would be an explanation... Perhaps a disease of some kind, not the ...
- 775
5
votes
Is amyl nitrite used for sex?
Amyl Nitrite
Treats and prevents chest pain (angina pectoris).
And more pertinent for the question:
On the street, this medicine and others like it are sometimes called
"poppers." They have ...
- 2,975
4
votes
Accepted
Do the derivatives of cannabis have the same effect on the brain?
Hemp has a highly heterogenous chemical composition. ∆9Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is just one of many active substances. Although THC is the most psychotropic 'ingredient' in cannabis it is by far not ...
- 6,887
4
votes
Accepted
Why some people experience no side effects from a drug?
Most drugs have wanted (main) and unwanted (side) effects, but neither of them are guaranteed. For example, aspirin may or may not relieve your headache and may or may not upset your stomach.
The ...
- 15.8k
4
votes
Accepted
If meditating lowers brain activity and low brain activity is good then how come when you see low brain activities in (brain) PET scans its bad?
Lowered brain activity in a PET scan isn't necessarily bad. It depends on what part of the brain is less active than usually and whether this is a permanent or transient state. Our brains are less ...
- 6,982
4
votes
What are the risks LSD microdosing?
Here are the sources you can use:
The main issue is that due to government controls on substances like LSD, very little research ends up being conducted with/about them due to the difficulties and ...
4
votes
Quantify third-hand smoke exposure risk
The following are studies which indicate cancer risks from third hand tobacco smoke which to me seems non-ambiguous.
Sleiman, M., Logue, J. M., Luo, W., Pankow, J. F., Gundel, L. A., & ...
- 6,164
4
votes
What is the cause of the vaping-related outbreak of lung injuries?
There are some data about possible causes of vaping-related lung damage, the type of the damage and symptoms, but not about the changes in medical history questionnaires, vaping habits or e-cigarette ...
- 15.8k
4
votes
Accepted
How does a blind person react to hallucinogenic drugs
I guess the best way would be to convince a blind person to take some psilocybin mushrooms or LSD. Perhaps they would actually see some fractals and stuff, since those visions are generated in the ...
- 226
3
votes
Is ethanol toxic to liver, in the absence of ethanol metabolites resulting from inhibiting alcohol dehydrogenase(ADH) enzyme?
Seems like you answered your own question. Lowering the threshold for intoxication lowers the threshold for toxicity. The likelihood of acute ethanol poisoning is increased by coadministering these ...
- 410
3
votes
Early signs of cocaine addiction
Some signs of addiction are enlarged pupils, increased alertness and energy, loss of interest in food and sleep, increased talkativeness, rapid mood changes, increased heart rate, nasal congestion. ...
- 186
3
votes
Could drug abuse possibly make eyes smaller?
Yes
What you are taking is somewhat 25-times the recommended amount for medication. You are probably experiencing a fairly strong addiction to the drug. Yes, addiction can do many things to your body,...
- 6,772
3
votes
Are there tables that compare deadly effects of various psychoactive drugs?
These tables you wish for are not quite exactly in the format you would seem to like them and as far as I know not available for a "global every substance we know" analysis. It is also quite difficult ...
- 6,887
3
votes
Accepted
How long does it take for heroin withdrawal to begin?
Early symptoms around 6 to 12 hours, more severe symptoms at around one to three days. All depending on how much the individual was using previously and what you interpret as "serious".
According to ...
- 6,982
2
votes
Bleomycin and Cannabis
If you are concerned about your lungs you could try to use edibles. They will not have any effect on your lungs.
However you should be careful because the onset of edibles takes longer (generally ...
2
votes
What are the risks LSD microdosing?
The 2022-02-10 study {1} didn't find any risks for LSD microdosing:
We conclude that within the context of a controlled setting and a limited number of administrations, repeated low doses of LSD are ...
- 10.3k
2
votes
Why some people experience no side effects from a drug?
One of the major things about heroin is that it is metabolized by the body as morphine and, if this person in the throes of heroin withdrawal were given medication like methadone, it couldn't be done ...
- 47
2
votes
Accepted
What is the cause of the vaping-related outbreak of lung injuries?
While it could still be a mixture of acute reasons: metals, dust, plainly unknown toxins; the underlying reason seems not to be that plant matter is vaped, nor that liquids are vaped.
It also seems ...
- 6,887
2
votes
When does cocaine begin to induce negative health effects?
To add to Chris' answer, if you consider heart attack and sudden cardiac arrest to be negative health effects, then the answer is almost any dose at any frequency.
Cocaine is a powerful ...
- 9,743
2
votes
When does cocaine begin to induce negative health effects?
Cocaine is highly addictive and an astonishing waste of money. You also come across as attempting to normalize or explain what is probably already an addiction. I have heard the same lines from dozens ...
- 121
2
votes
Accepted
Is non-smoked nicotine a smoking cessation-aid?
Yes, nicotine replacement therapy is used in multiple forms, including a skin patch and oral dosing with gums and lozenges.
The purpose is to help avoid the side effects of nicotine withdrawal, while ...
- 13.7k
2
votes
Could a nerve agent be used recreationally?
Contra to Jan's answer, "so they do not have psychotropic effects"... actually they do. First, acetylcholine is a CNS neurotransmitter as well. Second, nerve agents aren't that selective (like many ...
- 5,968
1
vote
Why is it that psychoactive drugs tend to be dangerous?
the illicit drug supply chain has an incentive to make drugs addictive but safe, as a dead client is a bad client
Theoretically yes, however, safety is a cost factor. Everything from packaging to ...
- 151
1
vote
Why is it that psychoactive drugs tend to be dangerous?
Question: Why is it that psychoactive ("feel good") drugs tend to be dangerous?
The question implies that psychoactive drugs are 1) dangerous and that 2) the reason is in their low therapeutic ...
- 15.8k
1
vote
Drug abuse and hair loss
Some amphetamines can cause hair loss. The mechanism how this happens does not appear to be known.
Also some anabolic steroids (AAS) can cause it, presumably through conversion to DHT. The situation ...
- 5,968
1
vote
What are the side effects of habitual cocaine usage, particularly the visually noticeable ones?
Cocaine is a highly addictive substance. What starts off as seemingly harmless experimentation can quickly develop into a potentially life-threatening addiction with devastating personal, professional,...
1
vote
How does a blind person react to hallucinogenic drugs
There are TONS of trip reports on various sites—namely Reddit, Erowid, and DMT-Nexus. And while much of this is anecdotal evidence, one could do a lit review of these as a first step toward a more ...
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