Drug Americana

As per the title of this blog, I feel compelled to write a medically enlightening thread once in awhile. Recently I've been studying central nervous system pharmacology. In the syllabus there a multitude of prescription meds, some OTC concoctions, and a few illicit substances. I, like many others, harbor a certain degree of suppressed curiosity about chemical compounds that cause altered mental states, a goal many CNS drugs achieve.

Why the curiosity? One idea is that these drugs are like keys to a secret room where reality is pliable, where what you see isn't necessarily true. These are the drugs that mess with consciousness and perception and emotion at their basic, very concrete, very molecular levels. This is dangerous knowledge because it means that, ultimately, reality and emotions are encountered chemically. What? Yes. Your consciousness and ability to think and feel are dependent on coordinated electrical and chemical interactions. If you don't believe that, try taking an IV bolus of thiopental. Thiopental is an anesthetic that rather pleasantly ends consciousness and memory during times you'd really rather not remember, such as your appendix being sliced out. (Anesthesia is very different than sleep, in which your cortical neurons continue firing and consciousness can be regained by exceeding a stimulus threshold). Note: I'm not saying reality is chemical, and I'm not saying the meaning of your thoughts and feelings are merely chemical impulses. I am saying is that electrical/chemical means are requisite to encounter these things.

So, enough intro. Let's talk about some drugs. But first...
a quick disclaimer: My immediate goal here is informative, and secondarily to make you think.
Please do not take this as specific medical advice; I'm not yet a doctor, nor do I think it prudent to dispense personalized medical instruction over the internet.

A lot of commonly used drugs are misunderstood, so I want to set the record straight. I'll group things by class, and give a few details about them.

Opiates - derived from the poppy Papaver somniferum

• Morphine: high power; causes euphoria, sedation, decreased breathing, and small pupils
• No apparent maximal dose, but tolerance develops within 2 weeks
• Methodone: longer acting than morphine; used for breaking opiate addictions
• Demerol: as effective as morphine, but can cause seizures
• Fentanyl: 100x more potent than morphine; anesthesiologists had high addiction rates
• Codeine: low power opiate
• Hydrocodone and Oxycontin: medium power, and high abuse potential
• Heroin: semi-synthetic opioid with no legal uses.

Stimulants - used to increase wakefulness and physical performance

• d-Amphetamine: Adderall, used in ADHD; improves concentration and reaction times
• Methylphenidate: Ritalin, similar to Adderall, but different mechanism of action
  
• Caffeine: 80 - 100 cups of coffee in a row will kill you. On the other hand, 60 cups of coffee per day will prevent male pattern baldness (don't try this, but you can try the topical caffeine treatment). Some studies have shown that caffeinated individuals performed better on memory tasks than uncaffeinated ones.
  
• Ephedrine: causes release of epinephrine. Banned by FDA in 2004 b/c it potentially causes sudden cardiac death and stroke. Vikings lineman Korey Stringer is believed to have been taking Ephedra when he died of heatstroke
• Cocaine: causes euphoric happiness and much increased energy. Sigmund Freud and Ulysses S Grant were addicts. Ppl who OD on Coke die of heart pump failure or stroke.
• Methamphetamine: more pronounced CNS effects and less peripheral side effects than d-amphetamine, thus higher abuse potential.
  
• Methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA): aka Ecstacy, has some psychedelic activity, can cause jaw-clenching, very fast heart rate, and muscle aches. OD causes death by over-heating, knowledge of which has lead many E users to overhydrate themselves and die by water-intoxication (their electrolytes get diluted to the point where their heart stops beating).

I gotta wrap this up...maybe I'll add to it later.