The debate over whether or not cocaine is addictive is ongoing and complicated. The majority of mental health professionals take the view that regular cocaine users cannot voluntarily stop taking the drug. In this sense, cocaine meets the definition of an addictive drug. Moreover, these experts believe that cocaine use leads to physical changes [...]

Methamphetamine is one of many stimulants (e.g., amphetamine, cocaine, caffeine, nicotine) with a wide variety of molecular structures and chemical mechanisms. What the various stimulants have in common are effects that mimic those of the sympathetic nervous system, both peripheral and central nervous system components, to produce arousing effects similar to epinephrine. The peripheral nervous [...]

The December sessions heard arguments in support of strict control of habit-forming drugs, and several members of the drug trades favorably inclined toward the Foster bill appeared at the hearings. After the Christmas recess the opposition was heard. A week before hearings were resumed, Wright came to New York to conciliate doubtful medical and pharmaceutical [...]

Before 1800, opium was available in America in its crude form as an ingredient of multidrug prescriptions, or in such extracts as laudanum, containing alcohol, or “black drop,” containing no alcohol. Valued for its calming and soporific effects, opium was also a specific against symptoms of gastrointestinal illnesses such as cholera, food [...]

Lay reformers took a vigorous and uncomplicated stand on narcotics. In general, two problems enflamed them: corporate disregard of public welfare and individual immorality. This dichotomy is artificial but it helps to identify the objects of the reformers’ zeal and it made a difference in the kinds of laws proposed. Reformers like Samuel Hopkins Adams, [...]

Since it had repeatedly been observed that extremely small doses of LSD were sufficient to produce changes in perception and behavior that resembled symptoms of schizophrenia, researchers concluded that the brain, under certain circumstances, might produce small quantities of a substance identical or very similar to LSD, and that this could be [...]

Methamphetamine is a synthetic psychostimulant that physicians have legally prescribed as a treatment for attention deficit disorder under the brand name Desoxyn. The drug can be made easily in clandestine labs with over-the-counter ingredients. For addicts, it is relatively inexpensive to purchase and has desired effects that last for hours. The desired effects of meth [...]

Cerebral Injury and Death from Methamphetamine Use The cerebral damage caused by methamphetamine intoxication can be formidable. Prolonged use is associated with injury to the dopamine system. Essentially, continued methamphetamine use likely leads to axonic degeneration of the dopamine axon terminals in the striatum, frontal [...]

Methamphetamine can either exist as a “left-handed” molecule named l-methamphetamine or a “right-handed” molecule called d-methamphetamine. The left and right meth molecules are mirror images of one another. Mirror [...]

PMA and PMMA: Composition, Therapeutic use, Usage trends. Treatment and rehabilitation. PMA and PMMA effects. Reactions with other drugs.