1 addiction 2 Colombia 3 Drug Business 4 Drug Trafficking 5 Absinthe 6 AIDS and HIV history 7 Cactus, Mescaline 8 Cactus, Peyote 9 Coca Leaf 10 Cocaine hydrochloride 11 Codeine 12 Crack and Coke songs \1 addiction þPhysical Dependence: Pharm. property of opioids, occurance of withdrawl syndrome after abrupt discontinuation of drug or admin of antagonist (may be produced by very little opiate exposure & may persist well beyond drug cessation) þAddiction: implies psych state/behavior 1."behavioral pattern of drug use w/compulsive use, securing of its supply and high tendency to relapse after withdrawl. or .. 2."Compulsive use of substance resulting in physical, psychological, or social harm to user & continued use despite that harm (AMA task force) þDrug Abuse: 1.use of agent outside social or medical norm as approved by a given culture 2.Rx use resulting in physical, psych, economic, legal, or social harm to the individual or others þPseudoaddiction: in Cancer Pts w/addict behaviors due to iatrogenic underTx of pain Addiction in Chronic Pain Patient: a) Intense desire for drug & concern over its continued availability b) Evidence of compulsive drug use eg. unsanctioned dose increases & unapproved uses despite side FXTs c) One or more of assoc behaviors including manipulation to acquire the drug. BRAIN BUILDUP CAUSES ADDICTION by WILLIAM McCALL. Cocaine may be one of the toughest addictions to cure because it triggers a buildup of a protein that persists in the brain and stimulates genes that intensify the craving for the drug, new research suggests. Scientists at the Yale School of Medicine were able to isolate the long-lived protein, called Delta-FosB, and show that it triggered addiction when released to a specific area of the brains of genetically engineered mice. The protein (pronounced fawz-bee) isn't produced in the brain until addicts have used cocaine several times, or even for several years. But once the buildup begins, the need for the drug becomes overpowering and the user's behavior becomes increasingly compulsive. ``It's almost like a molecular switch,'' said Eric Nestler, who led the research. ``Once it's flipped on, it stays on, and doesn't go away easily.'' The study indicates genetics is less a factor in addiction than prolonged drug use, said Alan Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded part of the study. ``Your genes don't doom you to be an addict,'' Leshner said. ``They just make you more, or less, susceptible. We've never found one gene that keeps you from being an addict, or one that dictates you're going to be an addict.'' Nestler and his colleagues combined genetic and biochemical research to isolate the Delta-FosB protein and the area of the brain it affected, then did behavioral studies on the mice. Once the level of Delta-FosB accumulates, it begins to regulate genes that control a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens, an area involved in addictive behavior and pleasure responses. They speculated that Delta-FosB also activates other genes that produce biochemical compounds called glutamates, which carry messages in brain cells. Receptors in the brain cells become highly sensitive to glutamate, particularly in the nucleus accumbens. To test the theory, they inserted a gene associated with glutamate into the nucleus accumbens of experimental mice. Those mice showed a ``dramatic'' increase in cocaine sensitivity, they reported. This is a major advance in our understanding of addiction,'' said Francis White, chairman of cellular and molecular pharmacology at Finch University of Health Sciences in Chicago. Other researchers were more cautious, noting that addiction is a complex process in humans because it is linked to learning and multiple chemical pathways in the brain. It's not clear to me that there's a separate molecular pathway that's going to be assignable to drug abuse and not interfere with other learning,'' said Gary Aston-Jones of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The craving for cocaine can be so powerful, a recovered addict who has avoided the drug for years may start feeling his or her heart race just by seeing something associated with drug use, such as a $100 bill or a familiar street corner, Aston-Jones said. `You want to knock out the memory for the drug but you don't want to knock out the memory for the way home,'' he said. --- Steve Hyman, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, said the study also indicated the buildup of the Delta-FosB protein might be a factor with other drugs, including amphetamine, morphine, heroin and nicotine. ``This is an important stepping stone but there is a long road to travel,'' Hyman said. Alcohol/Booze, act as central nervous system depressant, so reduces anxiety, concentration impaired, reactions slowed. Long-term effects include liver disease, heart disease, inflammation of stomach. Alcoholics have above average chance of developing dementia. AmphetaminesUppers, speed, benniesPromote feelings of alertness, increase in speech and physical activity. Can produce toxic effects, mood swings, circulatory and cardiac disturbances, feelings of paranoia, hallucinations, convulsions. BarbituratesBarbs, reds, downersCalm the nerves, induce sleep, hypnotic effect. Highly addictive, overdose is lethal, can induce state of coma, often fatal if taken with alcohol. BenzodiazepinesTranquilizersReduce mental activity and anxiety, slow body's reaction, reduce alertness. Can cause dependency. Withdrawal symptoms occur on stopping the drug - anxiety, insomnia, panic attacks, headaches and palpitations. CocaineCoke, crack, ice, snowIncreased blood pressure, heart rate, breathing and body temperature, feelings of euphoria, illusions of increased sensory awareness and mental and physical strength, decrease in hunger, pain and nedd for sleep. Regular use can cause anxiety, insomnia, weight loss, increased paranoia and psychosis. Crack is highly addictive and has more intense effects than cocaine. Increased risk of abnormal heart rythms, high blood pressure, stroke and death. Long-term consequences include mental deterioration, personality changes, paranoia or violent behaviour. HeroinJunk, smackInduces euphoria, relieves pain and often induces sleep. Highly addictive, overdose can result in death, serum hepatitis is common, skin abscesses, inflammation of the veins, constipation, respiratory depression. Lysergic acid diethylamideLSD, acidHallucinations, vision alters, rise in temperature and heart beat, flashbacks. Long-term use causes anxiety and epression, impaired memory and attention span, difficulty with abstract thinking. MarijuanaGrass, pot, weed, dopeIncrease in heartbeat, heightens senses, feelings of euphoria and relaxation. Reduces the ability to perform tasks requiring concentration, slows reaction and impairs coordination. MDMAEcstasy, EMental relaxation, increased sensitivity to stimuli, sometimes hallucinations. High doses have amphetamine-like effects. Can produce severe or fatal reactions, sometimes after only one dose. MescalinePeyote, cactus buttonsInduces hallucinatinns, affects sensations and perceptions. Loss of control of normal thought processes; long-term depression and anxiety; can induce 'breaks from reality'. Nicotine Stimulates the nervous system, increases concentration, relieves tension and fatigue, increases heart rate and blood pressure. Taken regularly can cause increase in fatty acids in bloodstream, increases risk of heart disease and circulatory problems, can also increase risk of peptic ulcers. Increased risk of lung, throat and mouth cancers from tobacco smoke. NitritesPoppersGive the user a rapid high, felt as rush of energy. Heart rate increases, feelings of dizziness and nausea. High doses can cause fainting. Lasting physical damage, in the form of cardiac damage, can occur. PhencyclidinePCP, Angel dustFeeling of euphoria, floating sensation, numbness, change in user's perception of the body, visual disturbances. Can produce vilent behaviour against the user or others, schizophrenic-like psychosis which can last for days or weeks \2 Colombia Bad Advice From the Web! Are They Just Plain Stupid? Or Typical care-free Independent Travelers waiting for a tragedy? Listen NOT to a word they say! Subject: Buying and Using Drugs in Central America Jon Dreyer Wrote: Colombia is an intl destination for travellers into drugs. (duh!) I saw lots of discreet drug use in Cartegena, but then I was staying in a cheap (US$8) hotel in the old city. In Santa Marta, a hotel just down the street from mine was one of the "drug hostels" described in Beryl's message; guests spent the day hanging out in the lobby/atrium, staying completely stoned and ordering the occasional "jugo". Weed, cocaine and various opiates were commonly available. San Augustine, in the south, also had a large population of foreigners, many of whom are known to take a toke or two... The point is, there are many places in the world where an unspoken agreement exists with the local authorities, in which illicite behaviour may be ignored in exchange for the hard currency brought in by visitors. However, this "arrangement" can change overnight; all it takes is an "incident" of some ignorant foreigner indiscreetly offending the local religion, morals, or sense of modesty. Everyone is then rounded up, and if you're lucky, deported, or unlucky, jailed. Drug hostels make it easy for the authorities to grab everyone en masse. Behave yourself out there! -Jon Beryl wrote: I met a couple in Trujillo in their 40s, from Vermont. They both had jobs that left them free in the winter, and they spent 6 weeks every year making the drug circuit in CA and Colombia, along with many other "drug tourists." They went to specific lodgings, where dealers came in with heroin, coke, etc. etc. Food was served in these places and they would stay in a place for a week or two at a time without leaving the premises. Occasionally, someone would OD, they said, and folks would come in and cart the body out, which didn't faze anyone. So, if you want to waste a trip to this incredible part of the world by staying loaded, be sure to stay in the drug centers, where they cater specifi- cally to the trade. This does NOT include beachboys inviting you to get high in Mexican resorts where you will surely get busted. Beryl From LP's Thorn Tree. Subject: Safety in Colombia: Sincere Question - "I am intending to travel to Colombia later this year and would like to take the Popayan to San Augustin route via coach. Recently I have been told that this route can be dangerous (guerilla orgs). Has anyone had any experiences there and alternatively what mode of transport is better - the route is supposed to be very nice??" The Bad Advisor Says- I Am Blissfully Aware of The Dangers But... "We did it by bus (twice) this time last year without incident though you can see that it would be exposed if someone did decide to ambush the bus, but try to get some more up to date information locally. San Augustin's a great place to chill out - very friendly and beautiful - complete with an improbable English tea rm." The Bad Advisor Says- Its Beautiful, So You'll be safe! " Hello---Just wanted to let you know that I made that trip and it was wonderful and beautiful. Go, just be careful. I, a 50 year old female backpacker, was thrilled with the wonderful country and people. Popoyan was all that I ask for.Very clean and everything whitewashed. Its amazing what the people did after the big earthquake, restored everything. If you need any info just email me. Go, enjoy, and live life!!!!!!! The Bad Advisor Says - "Its All Your Own Fault" Two friends just returned from a couple of months touring Colombia, they had a few problems, got mugged a couple of times late at night (mostly their fault) but at the end of the day if you use your head, no problema. Subject: Safety in Chiapas, Mexico Good Advice: Someone smart wrote: "... My view, based mostly from reading the Mexican newspapers every day. Chiapas is a low-intensity war zone. Any foreigner who seems to be some kind of activist is being targeted, and some are expelled from the country. In short, there are better times to go to Chiapas. Chiapas is a great place, but I suggest that you visit it some other time. Perhaps after the next presidential election in the year 2000 things will improve, but I expect no improvement in the short term." The Bad Advisor Says - Read a Book and You'll be Safe - " There are some interesting stops on the "coast route" but not nearly as many as on the highland route. My advice is go to Chiapas as a tourist, see the sights and you'll wonder what all the safety fuss is about. Read about Mexico. Take a good book. The Bad Advisor Says - Diplomats What Do They Know?! - "Both the US State Department and the British Foreign Office warn that the highways connecting Tuxtla Gutierrez, San Cristobal and The Guatamala border are very dangerous!? I know they say that but the highways (or indeed the byways) are not very dangerous." The Winner!! Robbed at Gunpoint in Chiapas! "OK So we were robbed by Armed Guerillas but It was Cool With Me!" "I was there two summers ago (took the bus from Merida via Palenque) and thought it was great there. The travelling itself seemed very safe, but I did go on a horseback ride up to Chamula from (I think) San Cristobal and we got held up at gunpoint, but for some reason it didn't seem very scary and I only lost about $5 worth of pesos. At first I thought it was something political, cuz the guys had ski masks on, but they seemed rather frightened (there were 3 of them and we were a pretty large party, but they got us at a perfect place where we were single file and kind of in this valley) and their guns were just little automatics. Scary how guns look like toys and how I felt like an extra in a movie. Media desensitization." \3 Drug Business BUSINESS IS BLOOMING. Is Myanmar Asia's first narco- state? Compelling evidence points to that dubious distinction. By Anthony Davis and Bruce Hawke ASIAWEEK Jan 23,97 Vol 24 Nbr 3 --------------------------------------------------------- IN THE COOL, OPIUM-rich hills of Myanmar's northeast, the more things change the more they seem to stay the same. Back in the early 1970s, Lo Hsing-han was a celebrated figure in the Asian drug trade. From a fortified villa in the town of Lashio, the ethnic Chinese warlord ran a powerful government-backed militia force -- as well as convoys of opium from northern Shan state south to heroin refineries along the Thai border. Across the rugged swathe of the Golden Triangle and as far south as Bangkok, Lo Hsing-han was a name to reckon with. Twenty-five years on, it still is. Since his early days as an opium-running militia boss, Lo has had his ups and downs. He joined the Shan rebel opposition and turned his guns against the government; was captured in Thailand and extradited to Myanmar; and then served time in a Yangon jail. But at 63 he's back again, no less influential a figure in the tangled skein of business-politics in northern Myanmar. If anything, he's far more powerful, infinitely more wealthy, and these days positively respectable politically. From a gracious home in Myanmar's capital Yangon, Lo runs one of Myanmar's largest business conglomerates with interests in real estate, manufacturing, export-import and construction that includes key infrastructure projects. Serving as an adviser on ethnic affairs to the military junta's chief, Lt.-Gen. Khin Nyunt, his political connections go straight to the top. One recent afternoon back in that original villa on a hillside overlooking Lashio, an expansive Lo held forth on development plans for a 30,375-hectare stretch of hill country northwest of the town that is projected to involve new crops, roads and light industry. "Retired?" he growled in Mandarin thick with the accent of his native Kokang district. "I haven't retired! The older I get, the more there seems to do!" Lo Hsing-han's zest for life and enthusiasm for "agricultural development" does nothing to reassure foreign anti-narcotics officials monitoring Myanmar's booming opium crop and the tons of high-quality heroin refined from it each year. In 1996 the northeastern poppy-belt produced a potential crop of 2,560 tons of opium sap -- compared with a mere 400 tons when Lo first entered the fray in 1968. And these days the heroin refineries are no longer only on the Thai border but conveniently dotted across the hills along the Chinese frontier in the heart of opium country. "Lo Hsing-han is not the kind of guy you're going to give the benefit of the doubt to," says a Yangon-based foreign envoy. "We're very suspicious of him." Lo Hsing-han's past and present epitomize much of Myanmar's crisis of international legitimacy. Many of the shadowy figures long associated with the drug trade have insinuated themselves into the political and business fabric of the nation. Heroin production is close to an all-time high, while narco-profits flood the economy. Given the power and connections these people wield, Myanmar seems well on its way to becoming a narco-state -- a country where officialdom, if not directly involved in trafficking, is certainly providing drug lords tacit sanction. "Those guys were once beyond the reach of the central authorities," says an anti-narcotics official. "Now they are right downtown." A senior Thai drug-suppression official recently expressed what many have been saying in private -- that a nation with Myanmar's reputation for drug production should never have been allowed to join ASEAN. HOW THE POPPIES FLOURISHED In 1989, the Communist Party of Burma collapsed and set the stage for Myanmar's insurgents to forsake the hills for the boardrooms of Yangon. The government's toughest guerrilla foe since the late 1960s, the CPB splintered along ethnic lines -- Kokang Chinese, Wa and Shan -- around the country's rugged northeastern marches. Desperate to prevent a link-up between the insurgents and the Burman democratic opposition, the junta moved swiftly to neutralize the guerrillas. Enter Lo Hsing-han, who helped junta chief Khin Nyunt reach a swift ceasefire with the CPB's Kokang Chinese-dominated Northern Bureau. Overnight, the Kokang Chinese territory, wedged against the China border, was transformed into Myanmar's Special Region No. 1. Not long after, the militarily strongest portion of the CPB, the tribal Wa, concluded a similar deal, establishing Special Region No. 2 in the Wa hills to the south. Linking up with another ethnic Wa force on the Thai border, they set up the 15,000-strong United Wa State Army. In eastern Shan State, meanwhile, a third CPB component became Special Region No. 4 headed by two ex-Red Guards who joined the CPB during China's Cultural Revolution. The ceasefire deals soon were extended into agreements with a patchwork of 12 other ethnic insurgent groups scattered across the north and east. The agreements stipulated that the insurgents would halt their attacks on government positions. In exchange they were permitted to keep their weapons, administer their areas and move into business. It was an arrangement that suited both sides, particularly the ex-CPB guerrillas who promptly opened refineries producing No. 4 heroin. At the same time, they responded enthusiastically to the government's carte blanche invitation to participate in the country's newly liberalized but ramshackle economy. In 1989, the junta dropped a policy of confiscating bank deposits and foreign currency of dubious origin. Instead it opted for a "whitening tax" on questionable repatriated funds levied first at 40% and since reduced to 25%. Equally significant, in early 1993, de facto legalization of the black-market exchange rate took place and narco-funds previously held in Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong flooded back into Myanmar. Construction in Yangon and Mandalay boomed, most obviously in lavish, international hotels -- most of which now stand virtually empty. "It's clear it all started with dirty money," says a diplomat. Equally clear is that "legitimate" businesses in downtown Yangon also provided ideal conduits for laundering repatriated narco-funds -- and continue to do so. A retired Myanmar banker reckons "at least 60% of private business in Yangon is drugs-related." THE MONEY WASHING-MACHINE In this lush new business environment, it was not long before the United Wa State Army had evolved into what the U.S. State Department has described as the world's largest armed narcotics-trafficking organization. Vital international connections were provided by three China-born heroin traders based along the Thai border -- Wei Hsueh-long and brothers Hsueh-kang and Hsueh-yin. In 1992, We Hsueh-long moved north to Wa army headquarters at Panghsang on the Chinese frontier and set up heroin refineries. More recently, the Wa have moved into large-scale amphetamine production, targeted mainly at the Thai market. They also established in Yangon an impressively diversified line of businesses under a flagship company, the Myanmar Kyone Yeom Group. It has moved into construction, real estate, mining, tourism, transport, forestry products and finance -- though the profitability of many of its ventures remains murky. With branch offices around the globe, Kyone Yeom has also established significant reach. Group chairman is a mustachioed insurgent colonel of Chinese ancestry, Kyaw Myint -- or Michael Hu Hwa -- whose management style owes more to jungle boot camp than Harvard Business School. Described as arrogant and given to explosive outbursts of temper, the colonel has attended board meetings flanked by bodyguards with a pistol strapped to his hip. Uninitiated visitors to company headquarters on Botahtaung Pagoda Rd. have been startled to be received by the chairman in full uniform in an office with assault rifles hanging from the walls. Perhaps predictably, Kyaw Myint's transition to Yangon polite society has not been without setbacks. Efforts to secure a seat on the board of the Yangon International School where his son is enrolled were rebuffed by expatriate parents skeptical that their offspring's education would benefit from association with an organization that the U.S. State Department has put on its blacklist. Last year Kyaw Myint tried to railroad a job as chairman of Prime Commercial Bank, in which his company held a controlling stake. He showed up, pistol in hand, at the Central Bank to press his case. But his application was turned down, and, shortly after, authorities quietly closed Prime Commercial. Ventures into the murky world of Myanmar's fledgling finance industry have met with better success. Since late 1995, Kyone Yeom has established a nationwide financial operation widely viewed as a thinly disguised money-laundering vehicle. The scheme involves a subsidiary, the National Races Cooperative Society, offering a startling 7% interest per month -- or 84% per annum -- on term deposits, a rate that undercuts Chinatown's informal banking network by a full 2 percentage points. Good going in a country where finance companies have no legal standing and where only banks are permitted to offer interest, currently capped at 16% a year. But then as one Kyone Yeom employee cheerfully pointed out: "They're the Wa! They can do anything they want." PAINT, WHISKY AND HEROIN The headquarters of Peace Myanmar Group are housed in a gracious, if dilapidated, colonial mansion on Kaba Aye Pagoda Rd., where neither rifles nor military uniforms are in view. The company holds the Mitsubishi Electric franchise, runs a paint factory, a liquor distillery producing Myanmar Rum and Myanmar Dry Gin, as well as Myanmar Peace drinking water and several energy drinks. Its latest play is a joint venture bottling whisky under the brand name of Highland Pride for informal export to China. Founded in 1994, Peace Myanmar is owned by Yang Maoliang, head of Kokang's ruling Yang clan. In late 1992, a brief mini-war flared in Kokang; it was about neither liquor nor paint. Pitting the Yangs against the rival Peng clan, the fight was for control of the booming opium and heroin trade in an area where 23 refineries were set up between the 1989 ceasefire and 1991. A settlement brokered by junta chief Khin Nyunt and his adviser Lo Hsing-han restored an uneasy peace. Several refineries run by the Yangs in Kokang continued to operate, producing between 1,800 and 2,400 kg of No. 4 heroin annually and providing working capital for the rapid expansion of Peace Myanmar. The same year the company was founded, one of the three Yang brothers, Yang Maoxian, was arrested in China and executed for smuggling massive heroin shipments into the People's Republic. The Yangs were unmoved: In April 1996, Guangzhou police intercepted 598.85 kg of No. 4 heroin -- the biggest bust in China's history. Investigations later revealed that Chinese traffickers drove the shipment from Longtan village in Kokang -- not far from Yang Maoliang's military headquarters at Xi-ou and a nearby heroin refinery. Before crossing back into China on April 7, 1996, say Chinese sources pointedly, the convoy was waved through a Burmese military checkpoint, no questions asked. THE UNDISPUTED KING OF KOKANG The real godfather of Kokang, however, is undoubtedly Lo Hsing-han. "Lo is hugely influential and powerful," says a diplomat. "The government thinks he made a major contribution to their efforts to reach ceasefires with the insurgents and in exchange they have provided a variety of economic concessions and opportunities to him." In Jun92, Lo founded the family's flagship company Asia World with his Western-educated son, Steven Law (a.k.a. Htun Myint Naing) acting as managing director. Since then, Asia World and its subsidiaries have expanded from an import-export and trading base, into bus trans- port, housing and hotel construction, a supermarket chain, manufacturing and major infrastructure projects, notably Yangon port development and upgrading the highway between Mandalay and Muse on the Chinese border. One of the group's highest profile ventures is the Traders Hotel in downtown Yangon, in which the Los hold a 10% stake. Put up in expectation of a tourism and business boom that never happened, like all the other prestige inns built at the time, Traders is largely empty and running at a loss. The Lo family has an enduring connection with Singaporean business figures, and Steven Law is a frequent visitor to the island republic. But the welcome enjoyed by the Lo family in drugs-tough Singapore has not been extended by the international community as a whole. In 1996, Steven was added to the list of those refused visas to the U.S. for suspected involvement in narcotics trafficking. Now older and mellower, Lo Senior has apparently stepped back from hands-on involvement in the drug trade. Nonetheless, he maintains close links to his old stomping grounds in northern Shan state. Armed Kokang loyalists are still based at Salween Village, a militia headquarters near Nampawng, south of Lashio, which was set up by Lo with government assistance on his 1980 release from jail. Today the area presents a telling reflection of the armed stand-off prevailing across the northeast. In Nampawng an army garrison maintains a government presence in -- but not beyond -- its own compound. The Shan village itself is controlled byÊtroops of the Shan State Army; while Salween Village, four km away, is guarded by Lo followers. In the Kutkai region north of Lashio another insurgent group, the Kachin Defense Army, rules its own enclave in one of the richest opium-producing areas in the north. The KDA is assuming a growing prominence in the narcotics trade. Armed with government-issued "special permits," KDA trucks run consignments of opium and refined heroin on behalf of Kokang Chinese producers to the border of India's Manipur state -- an export route now preferred to the increasingly risky Chinese border. Heroin refineries also operate in the Indian border area. THE PRINCE OF DEATH'S PENSION PLAN One of the most notorious names associated with Myanmar's drug trade is that of Khun Sa. After surrendering to the government in January 1996, he also gave up the rigors of the jungle for a comfortable villa in Yangon, where he re-invented himself as something more than a "liberation-fighter." Khun Sa is far from retired, and up in opium country his armed loyalists still operate in his original Loi Maw fiefdom, as well as on the Thai border. Khun Sa's 39-year-old second son, Sam Heung, now oversees operations near his father's old Thai border base. Having arrived in Yangon with boxes of cash in various currencies, Khun Sa has not been short of start-up capital for new ventures. The man once dubbed the "Prince of Death" has bought up prime real estate in the capital's Sanchaung township, part of which is to be developed as an amusement park. But last year's eviciian of locals from the site and the bulldozing of Kyun Taw cemetery amused no one and threatened to spill over into communal rioting. Elsewhere, Khun Sa is involved in two casino projects, aimed at high-spending Thais -- one outside Tachilek overseen by Sam Heung, the other on an island opposite the Thai province of Ranong. Both are joint ventures with politically well-connected Thai businessmen. If Khun Sa and Lo Hsing-han represent the old breed of Myanmar businessmen, then Kyaw Win symbolizes a new, increasingly prominent class of entrepreneurs, who are flourishing in the liberalized economy. An ethnic Chinese educated in Mandalay, Kyaw Win has since the mid-1980s been closely associated with Thai timber tycoon Choon Tangkakarn, head of Pathumthani Sawmills and a man with a dubious reputation among law enforcers. In 1989, Choon and Kyaw Win cooperated in a logging venture in a government-approved concession near the Thai border. At the time, the area was controlled by Khun Sa's army. "There is no way they could have operated there without making a deal with Khun Sa," says a narcotics agent. Also in on the logging deal was Maj.-Gen. Maung Aye, who is now Myanmar's army commander and whose association with Kyaw Win continues. In 1990, Kyaw Win moved to Yangon, founding May Flower Trading Company in 1991 and Myanmar May Flower Bank in 1994. Two years ago, the bank was granted a foreign- exchange license, making it the only lender in Myanmar to earn such a privilege; Kyaw Win frankly attributes the honor to his influence in high places. Interestingly enough, since Khun Sa's surrender, the bank has enjoyed sudden and remarkable growth. Since near bankruptcy in late 1995, it has opened branches across the country. "May Flower was nothing just two years ago," says an intelligence source. "There has been incredible expansion in a short period of time." The latest acquisition in Kyaw Win's burgeoning business empire is Yangon Airways, one of two private, domestic carriers operating in Myanmar. Last year, he approached the airline's Thai shareholder, Adul Chayopas, with an offer to buy the loss-plagued airline. "What could possibly prompt an investor to invest in an airline when the tourist campaign has flopped?" asks a bemused narcotics agent. But Kyaw Win has both invested and added some improbably remote destinations to the airline's network, including Lashio and Mergui -- neither of which are noted tourist attractions. KICKING THE HABIT GETS HARDER There is only one charitable interpretation of why narco- barons and their associates are quietly taking over Burma's private sector: The govt is prepared to turn a blind eye to the process in the overriding interests of securing peace, integrating insurgent-held areas into the national mainstream and, at the same time, promoting economic development - if necessary with dirty money. "The regime feels it has the upper hand on the traffic- kers and can force them to use their money for the good of the country," says a veteran Western narco official. Those who are actually prepared to credit the junta with a long-term narcotics strategy say the government may hope that over time today's drug lords, attracted by the prospect of making real money legally, may mellow into legitimate tycoons. "Just as the government wants to deal with opium cultivators by showing them a different way to make a living, so it is trying to deal with leaders by showing them too there's a different way of making a living," says a diplomat in Yangon. "We'll let you go legit, if you stop your refining and trafficking." Both Asian and Western diplomats point to the junta's more muscular approach to narcotics interdiction in the field over the past year. Military units have attacked narcotics convoys and refineries, while drug seizures have risen -- albeit from a conspicuously low base. In 1996 one ton of opium and 500 kg of heroin were seized, while in the first eight months of 1997 six tons of opium and one ton of heroin were seized. "It's still spotty and not uniformly effective, but there's increasing military pressure against the whole area," concedes one diplomat. For its part, the regime -- to widespread incredulity -- has vowed to enforce "opium-free zones" in border areas by 2000. The notion that Yangon's corruption-riddled regime is able - or willing - to force a well-entrenched narco- mafia to become respectable businessmen is probably naive. The traffickers have evinced no interest in turning their backs on drugs in favor of legitimate business. In Jan91, Kokang warlord Peng Jia-sheng assured visiting U.N. officials of plans to end heroin production in Special Region No. 1 within one year and eradicate opium cultivation within seven. But the opium poppy still blooms in Kokang and heroin production in the region continued its relentless rise during the early 1990s. Indeed, the narco-traffickers themselves undoubtedly view their situation in Myanmar today rather differently from the junta. "They're building for the future, entrenching themselves and making investments," says the intelligence source. "They feel they have the generals in their pockets." Just how many generals is open to debate. But they certainly have quite a few colonels and majors. At unit level, military complicity in both narcotics production and transport has been long-standing, a situation aggravated by the collapse of the kyat and dire conditions in the field. There is no hard evidence that military involvement is orchestrated from Yangon as a matter of policy. However, the repatriation and laundering of narco-profits, as well as the impunity enjoyed by the traffickers has reached an institutionalized level. A diplomat, impatient over Yangon's conspicuous inaction over money-laundering, says: "There is no question that this government has a 'don't ask' policy over the source of funds or start-up capital used by these groups." Moreover, a recent anti-corruption purge does not appear to have hurt the operations of major narco-traffickers. "What they're going after is the personal squeeze typified by [purged ex-ministers] Kyaw Ba and Tun Kyi," says the intelligence source. "The drug barons aren't hurting. It's business as usual." Significantly, on Dec. 11, an article in the state-run Yangon press announced the blacklisting of the Kyone Yeom Group for "submitting false accounts." But after meetings between Wa leaders and junta chief Khin Nyunt, the minister responsible was abruptly shunted to an inactive post. Whether Myanmar can be said to constitute a "narco-state" remains for the most part a matter of semantics and opinion. Fact is, however, that narco-capitalists and their close associates are now involved in running ports, toll roads, airlines, banks and industries, often in joint ventures with the government. And the junta is increasingly dependent on narco-dollars to keep a floundering economy above water. The danger is that the wary but mutually beneficial relationship between Myanmar's military regime and drug barons becomes a habit that is ever more difficult to kick. For ultimately their survival may depend on it. Anthony Davis is an Asiaweek Special Correspondent. Bruce Hawke is a bus jrnlist specializing in Myanmar. \4 Drug Trafficking Briton faces death FROM ANDREW DRUMMOND IN BKK 5/00 A PSYCHIATRIC nurse from Stoke-on-Trent, who has been dubbed a "British journalist" by a hostile Malaysian press, will today try to persuade a court that he is not a drug trafficker. But if he fails to convince the judge at the High Court in Penang he will, like 560 people before him, be convicted and taken to the gallows in Kuala Lumpur where a mandatory death sentence for drug trafficking will be carried out. David Chell, 57, was arrested on Oct 7 1998, at Penang's international airport allegedly with 189 grams of heroin stuffed in condoms and hidden in his underpants. Also found on him was a press card with his picture in it and accrediting him to the Intl Press Assoc. No matter that no such org exists and that he bought the mocked-up card in a backpacker area of BKK, the Malaysian press has seized on it and describes him as a British journalist. Mr Chell is represented by Karpal Singh, the lawyer who has been defending Anwar Ibrahim, the former Deputy Prime Minister, against charges of abuse of power and sodomy. Mr Singh claims that the prosecution's case is haphazard and contradictory. Britain urged to save nurse who faces hangman BY ANDREW DRUMMOND AND TIM REID IN BKK 4/00. PRESSURE was mounting on the Govt last night to intervene in the case of a British psychiatric nurse who was sentenced to death in Malaysia yesterday for smuggling heroin. David Chell, 57, an academic who once wrote a paper on the misuse of drugs, was found guilty of trafficking 189 grams of heroin after a seven-month trial, and immediately sentenced to death by hanging. Two Britons have been hanged in Malaysia for drug trafficking in recent years. The father of two, from Stoke-on-Trent, has always fiercely denied the charge, saying that the heroin was planted on him in an interrogation room. He was arrested at Penang's Bayan Lepas Intl Airport in Oct 1998 by a security guard who says he found Chell with the class A drug as he boarded a flight to Australia. In a letter to a friend, Chell said that an airport guard asked him to a pay a £5,000 "bribe" in local currency to board the plane. But he refused and was arrested. As the sentence was read out yesterday at Penang High Court, Chell laughed sarcastically at the Malaysian judge. "This is a joke. Malaysian justice is a joke. I hope you never get another day's sleep in your life," he said. Turning to reporters he said: "This country is not just all nice beaches and tropical palms. Everything in this case pointed to a frame-up. The police lied and were time and time again caught lying by my counsel." Chell's lawyer, Karpal Singh, who filed an appeal, said during his closing speech that Malaysian police were guilty of "lies, lies, lies and cover-ups". He claimed that the police produced the heroin from under a cushion in the police office at the airport. Mr Singh said that 2 policemen, the arresting off, Lance Corporal Nithyanathan, and the investigating off, Abdul Rahman, had perjured themselves not only about where the drugs were found, but whether Chell was arrested on a tip-off. But, most significantly, a vital page in the police station's arrest log for the day that Chell was held had been ripped out, and a promised internal investigation had still not started, the lawyer said. The woman judge, Zaleha Binti Zahari, said there was no evidence of a cover-up. Chell, a qualified nurse, had been drifting around Asia for the past two years. In 1998 the British Embassy was called in to assist him out of Thailand and helped in a dispute with the Thai immigra- tion authorities about his overstaying his visa. But when they called to give him his tkt he disappeared in a crowd on the way to the airport. Two months earlier his name appeared on the files of several intl antinarcotics agencies after he had walked into a Nepalese police surveillance operation on two other Britons with whom he had booked into a htl in Kathmandu, though no arrests were made and no drugs were detected. Chell has denied ever having anything to do with drugs. His daughter, Sarah, said last night: "It is difficult to describe how I am feeling. I am urging the British Govt to do all it can to ensure justice is done." Amnesty Intl agreed that there were "numerous alleged inconsist- encies" in the prosecution, and the trial had proceeded without a jury. The Foreign Office said: "We oppose the death penalty, and if at the end of the legal process the sentence is upheld, then we will press for the Malaysian authorities to commute the sentence." If his appeal is rejected, Chell can appeal further to the Supreme Court and then to the Malaysian Royal Family. There are more than 100 inmates on death row in Penang. Only five have been executed in the past two years. The last Westerners to be arrested for heroin traffi- cking, Lorraine Cohen and her son, Aaron, from New Zealand, had their sentences commuted. Kevin Barlow, also from Stoke-on-Trent, but who settled in Malaysia, was hanged with an Australian friend in 1986. In 1990 Derrick Gregory from Isleworth, West London, was hanged in Pudu Prison, Kuala Lumpur, for trafficking in heroin. All were arrested boarding flights at Penang airport. \5 Absinthe The Green Fairy, invented in 18th cen by Dr Ordinaire then produced and populized in France by Henri-Louis Pernod in 1797. Banned by the French in 1915. Absinthe is legally produced and sold in the Czech Republic. Made from the wormwood plant and flavored with anise, angelica root, and other aromatics with 70% alcohol. It is being imported into London's Soho district (1999, $68/bottle) where it was never banned as it was elsewhere (U.S.). The Absinthe House on Boubon St. New Orleans still exists with its little trickle fountain. The aniseed flavored drink can be fatal. Toulouse Lautrek drank it from a hollowed walking stick. Degas immortalized it in his L'Absinthe. Van Gogh nursed a disturbed mind (and lop off his ear?) Manet's Absinthe Drinker 1859. Other notables: Oscar Wilde, Flavoured, distilled liquor, yellowish green in colour, turning to cloudy, opalescent white when mixed with water. Highly aromatic, this liqueur is dry and somewhat bitter in taste. Absinthe is made from a spirit high in alcohol, such as brandy, and marketed with alcoholic content of 68 percent by volume. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) is the chief flavouring ingredient; other aromatic ingredients include licorice (which usually predominates in the aroma), hyssop, fennel, angelica root, aniseed, and star aniseed. The beverage was first produced commercially in 1797 by Henry-Louis Pernod, who purchased the formula from a French exile living in Switzerland. Absinthe came to be considered dangerous to health because it appeared to cause convulsions, hallucinations, mental deterioration, and psychoses. These symptoms are evidently caused by thujone, a toxic chemical present in wormwood. Absinthe manufacture was prohibited in Switzerland in 1908, in France in 1915, and eventually in many other countries. In 1918 Pernod Fils established a factory in Tarragona, Spain, to manufacture both absinthe and a similar beverage, without wormwood, for export to those countries prohibiting true absinthe. Beverages developed as substitutes, similar in taste but lower in alcohol content and without wormwood, are known by such names as Pernod, anis (or anisette), pastis, ouzo, or raki. Absinthe is usually served diluted with water and ice and may be used to flavour mixed drinks. The classic absinthe drink, the absinthe drip, is served in a special drip glass, allowing water to slowly drip through a sugar cube into the liquor. Pastis also turns cloudy white when mixed with water, and anis turns to a cloudy, greenish-tinged white. ABSINTHE is an emerald green drink which is very bitter (due to the presence of absinthin) and is therefore traditionally poured over a perforated spoonful of sugar into a glass of water. The drink then turns into an opaque white as the essential oils precipitate out of the alcoholic solution. Absinthe was once popular among artists and writers and was used by Van Gogh, Baudelaire, and Verlaine, to name a few. It appears to have been believed to stimulate creativity. However, in the 1850's, there began to be concern about the results of chronic use. Chronic use of absinthe was believed to produce a syndrome, called absinthism, which was characterized by addiction, hyperexcitability, and hallucinations. This concern over the health effects of absinthe was amplified by the prevailing belief in Lamarckian theories of heredity. In other words, it was believed that any traits acquired by absinthists would be passed on to their children (1). Absinthe's association with the bohemian lifestyle also worked to compound fears about its effects, much as has happened with marijuana in America. Absinthe was subsequently banned in many countries in the beginning of the 1900's. WHAT IS THE ACTIVE COMPONENT IN ABSINTHE? This issue is not entirely resolved. Alcohol is definitely one main component. However, another candidate is the monoterpene, thujone, which which is considered a convulsant. Thujone's mechanism of action is not known, although structural similarities between thujone and tetrahydrocannabinol (the active component in marijuana) have led some to hypothesize that both substances have the same site of action in the brain. Thujone makes up 40 to 90% (by weight) of the essence of wormwood, from which absinthe is made (2). Thus, thujone would appear to be a good candidate for a second active component in absinthe. Indeed, thujone has long been considered to be the neurotoxic cause of absinthism. However, the direct evidence to support this idea is scant. Absinthe is 75% alcohol. Therefore, alcohol's effects will limit the amount of thujone one can ingest. Quite simply, you can only drink a moderate amount of absinthe before you become very drunk from the alcohol. Thujone would have to be active at a very low dose or be present in high quantities in order to have any appreciable effect. In the "This and That" column in _Trends in the Pharmacological Sciences_, "B. Max" made the following dose calculations: How much thujone was present in absinthe? Steam distillation of wormwood yields 0.27-0.40% of a bitter, dark-green oil (3) In a typical recipe for absinthe, 2.5 kg of wormwood were used in preparing 100 liters of absinthe (4). Typically, 1.5 oz was consumed (diluted with water) per tipple (5). This is equivalent to 4.4 mg wormwood oil per drink, or 2-4 mg thujone. This is far below the level at which acute pharmacological effects are observed. Even chronic administration of 10 mg/kg thujone to rats does not alter spontaneous activity of conditioned behavior (6). The literature on the pharmacology of thujone is, to put it bluntly, second rate, and conclusions as to its effects have been extrapolated far beyond the experimental base (7). Furthermore, the symptoms of absinthism do not appear to be that unlike those of alcoholism. Hallucinations, sleeplessness, tremors, paralysis, and convulsions can also be noted in cases of alcoholism. This suggests that the syndrome "absinthism" mayy well have been caused by alcohol. Because absinthe is no longer popular, little research has been done into its effects on health. Reports on thujone's/absinthe's toxicity seem to rely mostly on case reports from the beginning of the century or earlier. Lacking more recent research, it seems most reasonable to take reports of absinthe's toxicity with skepticism. Essentially, there is little good data to suggest that absinthe's active components were anything other than alcohol. (In fairness, I should mention that several individuals who have taken home-made absinthe or who have drunk it where it is legal have claimed to me that it produced an intoxication unlike that of alcohol.) In addition to alcohol and thujone, absinthe sometimes contained methanol (wood alcohol), which could have contributed to the symptoms of absinthism. Calamus (acorus calamus) and nutmeg (myristica fragrans) were also sometimes used in making absinthe. Both plants have reputations for being psyhhedelics, although to my best of knowledge only nutmeg's psychedelic properties have been well established. However, it seems unlikely that either plant would have been added in the quanitities necessary to produce psychoactive effects. WHAT MODERN ALCOHOLIC DRINKS ARE THERE WHICH ARE RELATED TO ABSINTHE? Pernod is basically absinthe without the wormwood. It is named after Henri-Louis Pernod, an individual who ran an absinthe factory in France in the early 1800s. As a substitute for wormwood, the modern drink Pernod uses increased amounts of aniseed. Ricard is the name of another modern wormwood-less absinthe. Also, vermouth, chartreuse, and benedictine all contain small amounts of thujone. In fact, vermouth, which is made using the flower heads from wormwood, takes its name from the german "wermuth" ("wormwood"). Absinthe (made with wormwood) is still available in Spain and reportedly in Denmark and Portugal as well. Wormwood is popular as a flavoring for vodka in Sweden. It is also possible to buy oil of wormwood (produced by steam distillation) from companies that sell essential oils. One such company is The Essential Oil Co., PO Box 206, Lake Oswego, OR, 97034. 503-697-5992; FAX 503-697-0615; Orders 1-800-729-5912. Catalog is free, but there is a $50 minimum order (orders under $50 are accepted but charged an additional $5 service charge). The company also sells other oils of interest to readers of this newsgroup. Caution should be exercised with these oils since they can contain significant amounts of pharmacologically active and/or toxic elements. WHAT PLANTS CONTAIN THUJONE? According to W. N. Arnold's _Scientific American_ article: Thujone occurs in a variety of plants, including tansy (Tanace-tum vulgare) and sage (salvia officinalis), as well as in all the trees of the arborvitae group, of which the thuja (Thuja occidentalis), or white cedar, is one. It is also characteristic of most species of Artemisia, a genus within the Compositae, or daisy, family. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and Roman wormwood (Artemisia pontica) were the main sources of the thujone in absinthe (4). HOW WAS/IS ABSINTHE MADE? _Simon and Schulter's Guide to Herbs and Spices_ tells us that Henri-Louis Pernod used aniseed, fennel, hyssop, and lemonbalm along with lesser amounts of angelica, star anise, dittany, juniper, nutmeg, and veronica. These ingredients were mascerated together with wormwood plants. After leaving the mixture to sit, water was added and the mixture was distilled. Dried herbs, including more wormwood, were added to the distillate, which was then diluted with alcohol to give a concentration of about 75% alcohol by volume (8). Different absinthe manufacturers used slightly different ingredients, sometimes using calamus, which has been purported to have psychoactive effects. In addition to these ingredients, manufacturers sometimes added other ingredients to produce the drink's emerald green color. Normally, this color was due to the presence of chlorophyll from the plants. However, in the event that the product was not properly colored, absinthe makers were known to add things like copper sulfate, indigo, turmeric, and aniline green. Antimony chloride was also used to help the drink become cloudy when added to water. Presumably modern makers of Pernod and absinthe use safer ingredients for their concoctions! From Arnold's article in _Scientific American_: An 1855 recipe from Pontarlier, France, gives the following instructions for making absinthe: Macerate 2.5 kilograms of dried wormwood, 5 kilograms of anise and 5 kilograms of fennel in 95 liters of 85 percent ethanol by volume. Let the mixture steep for at least 12 hours in the pot of a double boiler. Add 45 liters of water and apply heat; collect 95 liters of distillate. To 40 liters of the distillate, add 1 kilogram of Roman wormwood, 1 kilogram of hyssop and 500 grams of lemon balm, all of which have been dried and finely divided. Extract at a moderate temperature, then siphon off the liquor, filter, and reunite it with the remaining 55 liters of distillate. Dilute with water to produce approximately 100 liters of absinthe with a final alcohol concentration of 74 percent by volume (4). Abstract: Camphor, alpha-pinene (the major component of turpentine), and thujone (a constituent in the liqueur called absinthe) produced an increase in porphyrin production in primary cultures of chick embryo liver cells. In the presence of desferrioxamine (an iron chelator which inhibits heme synthesis and thereby mimics the effect of the block associated with acute porphyria), the terpenes enhanced porphyrin accumulation 5- to 20-fold. They also induced synthesis of the rate-controlling enzyme for the pathway, 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase, which was monitored both spectrophotometrically and immunochemically. These effects are shared by well-known porphyrogenic chemicals such as phenobarbital and glutethimide. Camphor and glutethimide alone led to the accumulation of mostly uro- and heptacarboxylporphyrins, whereas alpha-pinene and thujone resulted in lesser accumulations of porphyrins which were predominantly copro- and protoporphyrins. In the presence of desferrioxamine, plus any of the three erpenes, the major product that accumulated was protoporphyrin. The present results indicate that the terpenes tested are porphyrogenic and hazardous to patients with underlying defects in hepatic heme synthesis. There are also implications for the illness of Vincent van Gogh and the once popular, but now banned liqueur, called absinthe. 3.Arnold WN; Loftus LS. Xanthopsia and van Gogh's yellow palette. Eye, 1991, 5 ( Pt 5):503-10. (UI: 92175120) Pub type: Historical Article; Historical Biography; Journal Article. Abstract: A survey of van Gogh's work from 1886 to 1890 indicated that paintings with a yellow dominance were numerous, episodic, and multi-regional. His underlying illness, by his own admission, affected his life and work; furthermore, episodes of malnutrition, substance abuse, environmental exposure, and drug experimentation (all evident from correspondence) exacerbated his condition. Accordingly, we reviewed plausible agents that might have modified the artist's colour perception. Xanthopsia due to overdosage of digitalis or santonin is well documented elsewhere, but evidence of useage of either drug by van Gogh cannot be substantiated. It is unlikely that ageing of the human lens was an influence because of the artist's youth. Sunstroke is too restrictive to fit the multiplicity of regions and motifs. Hallucinations induced by absinthe, the popular liqueur of the period, may explain particular canvases but not the majority of 'high yellow' paintings. Van Gogh's proclivity for exaggerated colours and his embrance of yellow in particular are clear from his letters and, in contradistinction to chemical or physical insults modifying perception, artistic preference is the best working hypothesis to explain the yellow dominance in his palette. Vincent van Gogh and the thujone connection. Jama, 1988 Nov 25, 260(20):3042-4. Pub type: Historical Article; Historical Biography; Journal Article. Abstract: During his last two years Vincent van Gogh experienced fits with hallucinations that have been attributed to a congenital psychosis. But the artist admitted to episodes of heavy drinking that were amply confirmed by colleagues and there is good evidence to indicate that addiction to absinthe exacerbated his illness. Absinthe was distilled from an alcoholic steep of herbs. Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) was the most significant constituent because it contributed thujone. This terpene can cause excitation, convulsions that mimic epilepsy, and even permanent brain damage. Statements in van Gogh's letters and from his friends indicate that he had an affinity for substances with a chemical connection to thujone; the documented examples are camphor and pinene. Perhaps he developed an abnormal craving for terpenes, a sort of pica, that would explain his attempts to eat paints and so on, which were previously regarded as unrelated absurdities Absinthe was considered a vivifying elixir. When Madame de Coulanges, one of the leading ladies of the seventeenth-century French court, became ill, she was prescribed a preparation containing wormwood. When it calmed her stomach, she wrote to Madame de Sévigné, "My little absinthe is the remedy for all diseases." An old absinthe label. Ancient absinthe was different from the liquor that Verlaine and Picasso imbibed, generally being wormwood leaves soaked in wine or spirits. References to it appear in the Bible, in Egyptian papyri, and early Syrian texts. Most likely the word absinthe derives from the Greek word apsinthion, which means "undrinkable" (presumably because of its bitter taste). Pythagoras recommended wormwood soaked in wine to aid labor in childbirth. Hippocrates prescribed it for jaundice, rheumatism, anemia, and menstrual pains. The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder called it apsinthium in the first century A.D. and noted that it was customary for the champion in chariot races to drink a cup of absinthe leaves soaked in wine to remind him that even glory has its bitter side. He also recommended it as an elixir of youth and as a cure for bad breath... Hippocrates recommended absinthe for juandice and rheumatism. Over the centuries, however, wormwood drinks moved away from being just bitter medicine. Peter Morwyng, who published the Treasures of Evonymous, reported in 1559 that London apothecaries were no longer the sole distillers of wine for medicinal purposes. Independent distilleries were producing absinthe made from the dried leaves of wormwood steeped in equal parts of malmsey wine and "burning water thrice distilled." The "Purl" of Tudor England was compounded of ale or hot beer and wormwood, and although it was mainly popular with the working classes, Samuel Pepys reported in his famous diary that he had enjoyed several glasses of wormwood ale one night "in a little house...which doubtless was a bawdy house." These dusty tales convey something of the mystique surrounding absinthe; one imagines a flask of it sitting beside the alchemist's crocodile and the mandrake root. Absinthe incorporated Olympian legends of debauch and rather downhome peasant notions. Modern absinthe allegedly was invented in 1792 by an extraordinary French doctor called Pierre Ordinaire, who fled France's revolution to settle in Couvet, a small village in western Switzerland. On his periodic journeys by horseback, Dr. Ordinaire is said to have discovered the plant Artemisia absinthium growing wild in the hills of the Val-de-Travers region. Like most country doctors, he prepared his own remedies, and being acquainted with absinthe's use in ancient times, he began experimenting with it. Wormwood. Dr. Ordinaire's recipe probably included the following herbs: wormwood, anise (Pimpinella anisum), hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), dittany (Dictamnus albus), sweet flag (Acorus calamus), Melissa (a type of mint), and varying amounts of coriander, veronica, chamomile, parsley, and even spinach. The 136 proof elixir produced in his sixteen liter still became popular as a cure-all in town and early on was nicknamed La Fée Verte. On his death, he supposedly left his secret recipe to two Henriod sisters from Couvet, who then left it to a visiting Frenchman, Major Dubied, whose son-in-law was named Pernod, and the rest is history...Next: Absinthe in America Alcohol awareness campaigners were horrified to learn earlier this month that a British company plans to import and sell absinthe, the original version made with wormwood. There can hardly be an alcoholic drink with a worse reputation, even after nearly a century of prohibition in many countries. Two things made absinthe such a terror. It was about twice the strength of any other spirit (more than two-thirds alcohol). And the wormwood in it not only provided part of its green colour and a characteristic bitter taste, but also thujone, an hallucinogen that is a relative of the active ingredients in cannabis. No wonder it drove people mad and it was banned in many countries early this century. But the story of wormwood goes back much further than the absinthe manufactory set up by Henri-Louis Pernod in 1797. As a name for a native European species it originates in an old Germanic language, and it came into Old English as weremod or wermod. Its derivation is far from certain, but it may have been formed as a combination of wer, "man" (as in werewolf) and mut, "courage" (from which we get our mood). So it could be that its mood-altering properties were known from an early time. The name changed in medieval times, being thought by folk etymology to be a combination of worm and wood (the plant is rather a woody shrub), because it had been known since the time of the ancient Greeks to be an effective worming agent. Its other benefits were lauded by John Pechey in 1694: "It strengthens the Stomach and Liver, excites Appetite, opens Obstructions, and cures Diseases that are occasion'd by them; as, the Jaundice, Dropsie, and the like". That may sound like a snake-oil advertisement, but the plant was genuinely useful and was a regular part of the European herb garden. Pechey said it also keeps away clothes moths. It was known to have the same effect on fleas, so much so as to be celebrated in verse: Where chamber is sweeped, and wormwood is strowne, No flea for his life dare abide to be knowne. We know of the plant also from the Bible and Shakespeare, often as gall and wormwood, implying something acutely mortifying or vexing. The word has long been employed figuratively for something bitter or unpleasant to experience, reflecting its best known characteristic, its taste. It was commonly used to flavour both ale and wine, a practice that went back at least to Roman times, and in some rural areas it was used to flavour and preserve ale for many years after hops had been introduced to more prosperous places. Today we actually have two names for drinks derived from the same word in the English language, because the German name, which by then had become Wermut, was taken into French and used as the name for another drink that was at one time flavoured with wormwood, vermouth. (The name absinthe is from the French word for the plant, derived from its former Latin name, absinthium.) It seems the planned reintroduction of absinthe is only possible because Britain never got around to formally banning it - by the time we were thinking of doing so, it had already gone off the market. This time round, perhaps the authorities will act more quicklyþ \6 AIDS and HIV history AIDS and HIV history from sub saharan africa. A significant amount in S.E.asia following the opium trail into China and out through the old Silk Route. Debate around the origin of AIDS has sparked considerable interest and controversy since the beginning of the epidemic. However, in trying to identify where AIDS originated, there is a danger that people may try and use the debate to attribute blame for the disease to particular groups of individuals or certain lifestyles. The first cases of AIDS occurred in the USA in 1981, but they provide little information about the source of the disease. There is now clear evidence that the disease AIDS is caused by the virus HIV. So to find the source of AIDS we need to look for the origin of HIV. The issue of the origin of HIV could go beyond one of purely academic interest, as an understanding of where the virus originated and how it evolved could be crucial in developing a vaccine against HIV and more effective treatments in the future. Also, a knowledge of how the AIDS epidemic emerged could be important in both mapping the future course of the epidemic and developing effective education and prevention programme. What type of virus is HIV? HIV is part of a family or group of viruses called lentiviruses. Lentiviruses other than HIV have been found in a wide range of nonhuman primates. These other lentiviruses are known collectively as simian (monkey) viruses (SIV) where a subscript is used to denote their species of origin. So where did HIV come from? Did HIV come from an SIV? It is now generally accepted that HIV is a descendant of simian (monkey) immunodeficiency virus (SIV). Certain simian immunodeficiency viruses bear a very close resemblance to HIV-1 and HIV-2, the two types of HIV. For example, HIV-2 corresponds to a simian immunodeficiency virus found in the sooty mangabey monkey (SIVsm), sometimes known as the green monkey, which is indigenous to western Africa. The more virulent strain of HIV, namely HIV-1, was until very recently more difficult to place. Until 1999 the closest counterpart that had been identified was the simian (monkey) immunodeficiency virus that was known to infect chimpanzees (SIVcpz), but this virus had significant differences between it and HIV. So what happened in 1999? Are chimpanzees now known to be the source of HIV? In February 1999 it was announced1 that a group of researchers from the University of Alabama had studied frozen tissue from a chimpanzee and found that the simian virus it carried (SIVcpz) was almost identical to HIV-1. The chimpanzee came from a sub-group of chimpanzees known as Pan troglodytes troglodytes, which were once common in west-central Africa. It is claimed by the researchers that this shows that these chimpanzees were the source of HIV-1, and that the virus at some point crossed species from chimpanzees to human. However, it is not necessarily clear that chimpanzees are the original reservoir for HIV-1 because chimpanzees are only rarely infected with SIVcpz. It is therefore possible that both chimpanzees and humans have been infected from a third, as yet unidentified, primate species.2 In either case at least two separate transfers into the human population would have been required. How could HIV have crossed species? It has been known for a long time that certain viruses can pass from animals to humans, and this process is referred to as zoonosis. The researchers from the University of Alabama have suggested that HIV could have crossed over from chimpanzees as a result of a human killing a chimp and eating it for food. Some other rather controversial theories have contended that HIV was transferred iatrogenically i.e. via medical experiments. One particularly well publicised theory is that polio vaccines played a role in the transfer, as the vaccines were prepared using monkey kidneys. In Feb 2000 it was announced that the Wistar Inst in Philadelphia had discovered in its stores a phial of polio vaccine that had been used as part of a polio vaccination programme in the Belgian Congo in the 1950s.it was planned to test this vaccine for the presence of HIV. But crucial to the credibility of any of these alternative theories is the question of when the transfer took place. Is there any evidence of when the transfer took place? During the last few years it has become possible not only to determine whether HIV is present in a blood or plasma sample, but also to determine the particular subtype of the virus. Studying the subtype of virus of some of the earliest known instances of HIV infection can help to provide clues about the time of origin and the subsequent evolution of HIV in humans. Three of the earliest known instances of HIV infection are as follows: A plasma sample taken in 1959 from an adult male living in what is now the Rep of Congo HIV found in tissue samples from a black teenager who died in St Louis in 1969. HIV found in tissue samples from a Norwegian sailor who died around 1976. Analysis in 1998 of the plasma sample from 1959 was interpreted3 as suggesting that HIV-1 was introduced into humans around the 1940s or the early 1950s, which was earlier than had previously been suggested. Other scientists have suggested that it could have been even longer, perhaps around 100 years or more ago. In January 2000, the results of a new study presented at the 7th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, suggested that the first case of HIV infection occurred around 1930 in West Africa. The study was carried out by Dr Bette Korber of the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The estimate of 1930 (which does have a 20 year margin of error), is based on a complicated computer model of HIV's evolution. Is it known where the emergence of HIV in humans took place? Many people now assume that because HIV has apparently developed from a form of SIV found in a type of chimpanzee in West Africa, that is was actually in West Africa that HIV first emerged in humans. It is then presumed that HIV spread from there around the world. However, as discussed above, chimpanzees are not necessarily the original source of HIV and it is likely that the virus crossed over to humans on more than one occasion.2 So it is quite possible that HIV emerged at the same time in say both South America and Africa, or that it even emerged in the Americas before it emerged in Africa. We will probably never know exactly when and where the virus first emerged, but what is clear is that sometime in the middle of the 20th century, HIV infection in humans developed into the epidemic of disease around the world that we now refer to as AIDS. What caused the epidemic to spread so suddenly? There are a number of factors that may have contributed to the sudden spread including international travel, the blood industry, and widespread drug use. International Travel The role of international travel in the spread of HIV was highlighted by the case of 'Patient Zero'. Patient Zero was a Canadian flight attendant called Gaetan Dugas who travelled extensively worldwide. Analysis of several of the early cases of AIDS showed that the infected individuals were either direct or indirect sexual contacts of the flight attendant. These cases could be traced to several different American cities demonstrating the role of international travel in spreading the virus. It also suggested that the disease was probably the consequence of a single transmissible agent. The Blood Industry As blood transfusions became a routine part of medical practice, this led to a growth of an industry around meeting this increased demand for blood. In some countries such as the USA paid donors were used, including intravenous drug users. This blood was then sent worldwide. Also, in the late 1960's haemophiliacs began to benefit from the blood clotting properties of a product called Factor VIII. However, to produce the coagulant, blood from thousands of individual donors had to be pooled. Factor VIII was then distributed worldwide making it likely that haemophiliacs could become exposed to new infections. Drug Use The 1970s saw an increase in the availability of heroin following the Vietnam War and other conflicts in the Middle East, which helped stimulate a growth in intravenous drug use. This increased availability together with the development of disposable plastic syringes and the establishment of 'shooting galleries' where people could buy drugs and rent equipment provided another route through which the virus could be passed on. What other theories have there been about the origin of HIV? Other theories put forward about the origin of HIV include a number of conspiracy theories. Some people have suggested that HIV was manufactured by the CIA whilst others believe that HIV was genetically engineered. References F Gao, E Bailes, DL Robertson, Y Chen et al Origin of HIV-1 in the chimpanzee Pan troglodytes troglodytes Nature, 1999: 397: 436-441 P M Sharp, DL Robertson, F Gao, B Hahn Origins and diversity of human immunodeficiency viruses AIDS 1994, *: S27-S42 Zhu, Tuofu, Bette Korber, Andre J Nahinias An African HIV-1 Sequence from 1959 and Implications for the Origin of the Epidemic Nature, 1998: 391: 594-597 Authors Annabel Kanabus & Sarah Allen. These are some of the most important events that have occurred in the history of AIDS during period 1981-1986. 1981 History A drug technician at the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in the USA noticed an unusually high number of requests for the drug pentamidine used in the treatment of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP). This led to a scientific report of PCP occurring unusually in five Los Angeles gay men. The search began for the cause not only of the PCP in gay men in Los Angeles, but also of the Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) occurring in gay men in New York. The leading candidate as the cause was poppers or nitrate inhalants. The alternative explanation was that it was caused by an infectious agent. Later in the year the first cases of PCP appeared in drug addicts. 1982 History The syndrome, that is the collection of symptoms, was called GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) by some scientists and it started to be clearer that it was caused by an infectious agent, possibly a virus that could be spread through blood. The first article appeared in the Wall Street Journal about how GRID also now affected women and male heterosexual drug users. Haitian refugees in Miami were discovered to also be affected by the syndrome, as were haemophiliacs. The syndrome was renamed because it was clear that it did not just affect gay men. It was given the new name AIDS, standing for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It had become clear that it was an illness resulting from a failure, or deficiency, of the immune system to work properly. The word acquired was used because unlike other immune deficiency illnesses, it appeared that it was an illness that you acquired from someone else; as opposed to being something that happened to you, for example, the taking of immune suppressant drugs after an organ transplant. The first blood transfusion recipient was identified with AIDS in the USA, as were the first babies. AIDS had been reported in fourteen nations world-wide. 1983 History Doctors at the Institute Pasteur in France believed that they had isolated a new virus, which was the cause of AIDS. The virus was called lymphadenopathy-associated virus or LAV. It became clear that the disease appeared differently in different parts of the USA. For example, in New Jersey gay men represented a minority of cases, while IV drug users accounted for nearly half. This was very different to the epidemic among gay men in other parts of the USA. In Europe, there were also two AIDS epidemics, one linked to Africa, the other linked to gay men who had visited the USA. The first official report of AIDS in the UK was produced by the UK Department of Health. Three people in the UK had died. The first Australian death from AIDS was recorded in Melbourne. In May 1983 a report of AIDS occurring in children suggested quite incorrectly the possibility of casual household transmission, and this caused great fear in a number of countries. It became a major issue in the United States where some bus drivers in San Francisco reportedly wore face masks. Considerable public education was required before people were reassured that transmission only occurred in certain very specific ways, and that casual transmission did not occur. Later in the year the number of children with AIDS had increased, and it became accepted that the children had acquired the infection from their mothers in the womb or during birth. It also became clear that the virus which caused AIDS could be transmitted through blood transfusions. The first United States conference on AIDS was held in Denver. AIDS had been reported in 33 countries. 3000 Americans had now had AIDS, of whom 1283 had died. 1984 History The US Govt announced that Dr Robert Gallo, at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) had isolated the retrovirus which caused AIDS and that it has been named HTLV-III. Blood testing was started to detect antibodies to the virus. The death occurred of Gaetan Dugas, considered by some to be "patient zero", the person who "took" AIDS to North America. In San Francisco all the queer "bathhouses" were closed. The US Health and Human Services Secretary, Margaret Heckler, confidently predicted a brief epidemic and said "There will be a vaccine in a very few years and a cure for AIDS before 1990". By the end of 1984 7000 Americans had AIDS. 1985 History The Food And Drug Admin (FDA) in the US approved Gallo's AIDS diagnostic kit based on the Western blot technique. Soon after the first commercial kit for antibodies was licensed. Later in the year the Pasteur Institute filed a lawsuit against the NCI, claiming a share of the royalties from the NCI's patented AIDS blood test. Actor Rock Hudson died of AIDS. He was the first major public figure known to have died of AIDS. Also in the USA, Ryan White a 13 year old haemophiliac with AIDS, was barred from school. The first international conference on AIDS was held in Atlanta. Large numbers of people were now known to be infected in Central Africa. In Uganda AIDS was known locally as "slim disease", because of the wasting effect it caused. The initial definition of AIDS had been developed in the US in 1982, but this definition required laboratory facilities which were not available in most African countries. So in 1985 a new WHO clinical definition of AIDS in Africa was adopted in order that African countries could more accurately assess and report the number of people in their countries who had AIDS. By the end of the year, AIDS had been reported in 51 countries. 1986 History It had become clear that the viruses LAV and HTLV-III were actually the same. An intl committee ruled that both names should be dropped and replaced by the new name Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). At the second intl AIDS conference in Paris, there were preliminary reports of the use of the drug Zidovudine (AZT) for the treatment of AIDS. The World Health Org (WHO) launched its global AIDS strategy. At a WHO meeting on the spread of AIDS among drug abusers, it was recommended that providing sterile needles and syringes to drug abusers should be amongst the preventative action to be taken by individual countries to prevent the spread of AIDS. In the US the Surgeon General pub a major report on AIDS. The Ugandan Minister of health declared that his country had AIDS, and other African countries followed suit asking for WHO's assistance. The Zambian Ministry of Health launched a national AIDS education campaign, taking AIDS education into schools and the rural pop through dance, drama and song. In the UK the govt set up a Cabinet Committee on AIDS. These are only a few of the important events that happened during this period in the history of AIDS. AIDS 1984 As of Jan 30 1984: 3339 AIDS cases had been reported to the CDC, of whom 1452 had died. Of these cases, 38 occured in people whose only risk for contracting AIDS was that they had received a blood transfusion. As of Feb 21 1984: some 3515 Americans had been diagnosed with AIDS, of whom 1506 had died It was found that infection with LAV (lymphadenopathy- associated virus), preceded the onset of AIDS, eliminating suspicion that LAV was merely an opportunistic infection taking advantage of the AIDS patient's compromised immune system On Mar 30, 1984: Gaetan Dugas, Gaetan Dugas; A queer Air Canada flight attendant is nicknamed patient zero the first known westerner with HIV/AIDS died at the age of 32. He was having sex with 250+ other fagots a year after he was diagnosed with HIV positive spreading yhe shit all over the western world. In the first week of Apr, the number of AIDS cases in the US surpassed 4,000. The first AIDS death in New Zealand was reported from New Plymouth on Apr 4. A few weeks earlier, British health authorities reported the first AIDS death in Scotland. The epidemic had spread to 33 countries world-wide. By Apr 1984, isolates of the AIDS virus had been made at the Pasteur, NCI, CDC, and UCSF, all of which were discovered after substantially less than a year of research. As of Apr 23 1984: there were 4177 cases of AIDS in the US. Of these, 1101 had been reported in 1984. By this time the disease had spread to 45 states. About 20 new cases were reported on every working day. Thus far, 1807 AIDS deaths had been counted nationally. NYC reported nearly 1657 cases. April: Robert Gallo at the US National Cancer Institue announced that his laboratory had isolated the AIDS virus On May 31, 1984: the number of Americans killed in the AIDS epidemic surpassed 2,000. Sep: The first HIV infection in Thailand was found \7 Cactus, Mescaline EXTRACTING PURE MESCALINE FROM PEYOTE OR SAN PEDRO CACTUS The isolation of mescaline from cacti containing this alkaloid is not difficult to perform and is perhaps one of the most rewarding alchemical processes that one can attempt. The chemicals required for this process are readily available and their purchase arouses no suspicion or interest on the part of Government agencies. The equipment employed is not expensive or particularly complicated or can be constructed very easily from ordinary household items. The entire process can be carried out in any kitchen in the matter of hours by following the instructions below and in the final stages one can verify the success of the procedure by actually watching the crystals of mescaline precipitate in the solution. One kilo (2.2 lbs) of dried peyote buttons may yield between 10 and 60 grams of pure white needle crystals of mescaline depending on the potency of the plants used. On average the yield is about 20 grams. The usual underground price of a kilo of dried peyote ranges between $125 and $250 (25 to 50 cents per button). From indians in the southwestern USA the price is closer to $50 (10 cents per button). The street price for a gram of pure mescaline is $20 to $30 - if one is lucky enough to find it. One can obtain from a kilo of dried peyote $200 to $1200 worth of mescaline. If San Pedro is employed on may anticipate a yield of 3 to 12 grams of mescaline per kilo of dried cactus. One can legally purchase a kilo of dried San Pedro for $5 to $10 and from it extract $60 to $250 worth of pure mescaline. Grind a kilo of the dried cactus, place this in a large pressure cooker, cover with distilled water, and boil for 30 minutes. Strain the liquids and save them. Return the pulp to the pot, add more water and boil again for 30 minutes. Strain the liquids and combine them with the first strainings. Repeat this process about five times or until the pulp no longer has a bitter taste. Discard the pulp and reduce the volume of the combined strain- ings by boiling in an open pot. DO NOT USE ALUMINUM WARE. When the liquids have been concentrated to the thickness of cream (about one quart), stop the boiling and stir in 400 grams of sodium hydroxide (lye). This makes the mescaline more soluble in benzene and less in water. If a large separatory funnel is available pour the liquids into it and add 1600 ml of Benzene. Shake the funnel well for five minutes and let it stand for two hours. If a separatory funnel is not available the process can be carried out in a one gallon jug with a siphon attached. After standing for 2 hours the water layer will settle to the bottom and the benzene layer will float to the top. Between the two layers will be a thin emulsion layer of mixed water and benzene. Drain off the water and emulsion layers if you are using a separatory funnel or siphon off the benzene layer if you are using the makeshift jug-siphon apparatus. Be certain that neither the water or emulsion layers get into the benzene layer when separating. If any of these layers do get into the benzene during separation pour everything back into the separator, let it stand and repeat the separation more care- fully. It is better to leave some benzene layer in the water and emulsion than to get emulsion and water into the benzene. Nothing will be wasted. All of the benzene which contains the mescaline will eventually be salvaged. Sometimes the layers will fail to separate properly. If this is the case immerse the funnel or jug in a deep pot of hot water for two hours. This will break up the emulsion and bring about the separation. Prepare a solution of 2 parts sulfuric acid and one part water. (never add water to the acid or it will splatter; add the acid a little at a time to the water by pouring it down the inside of the graduate or measuring cup containing the water.) Add 25 drops of the acid solution one drop at a time to the benzene extracts. Stopper the jug and shake well for one minute. Then let stand for five minutes. White streaks of mescaline sulfates should begin to appear in the benzene. If these do not appear, shake the jug more vigor- ously for two to three minutes and let it settle for five more minutes. I have found that when extracting mescaline from San Pedro it is sometimes necessary to shake the mixture more thoroughly and for a longer time to get the mescaline streaks to form. This is probably because of the lower mescal- ine content in the plant. This would also apply to any peyote that does not have a high mescaline content. After the streaks appear add 25 more drops of the acid solution in the same manner, shake as before and let settle for ten minutes. More streaks will appear. Add 15 drops of acid, shake and wait 15 minutes for streaks to form. Add 10 drops, shake and wait about 30 minutes. Test the solution with wide range pH paper. It should show that the solution is between pH 7.5 and 8. Allow the mescaline sulfate crystals to completely precipitate. Siphon off as much of the benzene as possible without disturbing the crystals on the bottom of the jug. The next steps are to salvage any mescaline still in the water and emulsion layer. Combine the benzene siphonings with the water/emulsion layer, shake these well together for 5 minutes and let settle for two hours as before. Carefully remove the benzene layer, treat it again with acid, precipitate the crystals and siphon off the benzene as in the previous steps. Recombine the siphoned benzene with the watery layer and repeat this again and again until no more crystals precipitate. Siphon off as much benzene as possible without drawing crystals through the siphon. The next step involves removing the remaining benzene from the crystals. There are two methods to choose from. The first is the quickest, but requires ether, which is dangerous and often difficult to procure. Shake up the cryst- als with the remaining benzene and pour it into a funnel with filter paper. After the benzene has passed through the filter rinse the empty jug with 100 ml of ether to salvage any crystals in the jug and pour the ether over the crystals in the filter. After the ether has passed through the filter repeat the rinsing with another 100 ml of ether. Then let the crystals dry. If ether is not available or you do not wish to use such a highly combustible substance, the precipitate and residual benzene can be poured into a beaker. The jug should be rinsed several more times with a little benzene and added to the beaker so no crystals are left behind. The beaker is then placed in a heat bath until all of the benzene has been evaporated. The next step is to purify the mescaline sulfate crystals. Dissolve the dry crystals in 200 ml of near-boiling distilled water. Add a pinch of activated charcoal (Norite) and filter while still hot through number 2 filter paper. The hot water which contains the mescaline will pass through the filter. The Norite absorbes impurities from the mescaline. After the liquids have passed through the filter pour a little more hot water over the filter to rinse through any remaining mescaline which may have impregnated the filter paper. Add 10 percent ammonia solution a few drops at a time to the hot filtrates until the solution registers between pH 6.5 and 7. Place a boiling stone in the solution and reduce it's volume to 75 ml by boiling. Remove the boiling stone and allow the solution to cool to room temperature. Place the solution in a freezer or in a refrigerator set to the coldest possible temperature and allow the solution to cool to almost freezing. Tiny white needle-like crystals form around the bottom and sides of the beaker. Break up the cryst- als with a glass stirring rod while the solution is still ice cold and pour through a filter. Mescaline sulfate is insoluable in near freezing water and will not pass through the filter. Rinse the beaker with fresh ice water and pour this over the filter. The crystals will now be pure white and can be dried under a heat lamp or in an over at 250 degrees F. More mescaline can be salvaged from the water that has passed through the filter by boiling these liquids down to about 20 ml, adding Norite while hot, filtering through number 2 paper as before, chilling the filterate to near freezing as once before, filtering while cold, rinsing with ice water and drying the crystals. This repetition should obtain at least two more grams of mescaline sulfate. If large volume mescaline extraction is being conducted it would be worth- while to repeat this salvaging procedure several more times. MIXED ALKALOID EXTRACTIONS There are numerous methods for extracting a mixture of the alkaloids from cacti. Different methods may result in varying degrees of purity. For exam- ple, the dried, pulverized material can be defatted with petroleum ether or lighter fluid prior to extraction to remove lipid content; solvent combinations such as methanol/chloroform/ammonium hydroxide can be used for extracting; The extractions can be made acidic (pH 9.5) with 1-N hydrochloric acid, filtered and washed in a separatory funnel or improvised siphon-jug apparatus with diethyl ether, neutralized with ammonium hydroxide and evapor- ated to dryness. However, most of these solvents are difficult for the non- professional to obtain. Perhaps it is just as well since many of these solvents are either toxic or explosive if handled improperly. Also, we do not always know precisely what we are trying to extract. Some of the active principles may be non-alkaloidal. Too much purification might remove some of the active substances. The approach given here employs materials which may be purchased inexpensively at any supermarket and are safe to work with. This procedure extracts all of the alcohol and water-soluable alkaloids and non-alkaloidal materials and permits only the fibrous pulp to be discarded. Pulverize the dried cactus (tufts and spines need not be removed). Prepare a mixture of two parts isopropyl rubbing alcohol and one part clear, non- sudsing, unscented and untinted ammonia. Make the pulverized material soggy with this mixture and allow it to stand covered overnight. Do not use alum- inum or iron wares during any of these steps. After soaking, cover the mash with isopropyl alcohol and boil in a heat bath for six hours. Strain the liquids through muslin and press as much liquid as possible from the pulp. With fresh alcohol repeat the boiling and straining three more times. Combine the strained liquids. Evaporate this in a heat bath until only a tar remains. (When evaporating a solvent use and electric range or hot plate rather than a gas stove. Have adequate ventilation and avoid breathing the fumes.) The tar can be further dried by spreading it thinly on a baking tray and placing it in an oven set at the lowest possible heat. Remove the tray once every fifteen minutes to examine the material. When it appears to be almost dry place it back in the oven, shut the heat off, and let it stay there until the oven cools. DICTIONARY OF CACTUS ALKALOIDS Anhalidine: Tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid (2-methyl-6,7-dimeethoxy-8- hydroxy-1,2,3,4,-tetrahydroisoquinoline) Found in Lophophora and Pelecyphora. B-O-methylsynephrine: Phenolic B-phenethylamine found in citrus trees and some cacti. No data on pharmacology, but similar compound B-O-methylepin- ephrine produces considerable CNS stimulation. 3-dimethyltrichocereine: B-phenethylamine alkaloid (N,N-dimethyl-3-hydroxy- 4,5-dimethoxy-B-phenethylamine). Found in Pelecyphora and some Trichocereus species. Dolichotheline: Imidazole alkaloid properly known as N-isovalerylhistamine or 4(5)-[2-N-isovalerylaminoethyl]imidazole. Found only in Dolichothele and Gymnocactus species. Pharmacological action still unknown. Homoveratrilamine: a dimethoxy form of the mescaline molecule (3,4-dimeth- oxy-B-phenethylamine). It has no activity by itself, but may alter the mescaline experience slightly when taken in combination. It is found in San Pedro cactus and in the urine of certain types of schizophrenics. Hordenine: Phenolic B-phenethylamine found in barley roots and several cacti. Also known as anhaline (N,N-dimethyltyramine). Has mild sympatho- mimetic activity and antiseptic action. Macromerine: Nonphenolic B-phenethylamine (N,N-dimethyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B- hydroxy-B-phenethylamine. Found only in Coryphantha species. Reputed to possess 1/5 the potency of mescaline. Mescaline: Nonphenolic B-phenethylamine (3,4,5-trimethoxy-B-phenethylamine). main psychoactive component of Peyote, San Pedro, and several other tricho- cereus species. Also found in traces in Pelecyphorea. Metanephrine: Weak sympathomimetic found in Coryphantha species. 3-methoxytyramine: Pheneolic B-Phenethylamine found in the plant kingdom for the first time in San Pedro cacti. Also found in the urine of persons with certain types of brain disorders and cancer of the nervous system. N-methyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B-Phenethylamine: Found in Pelecyphora aselliformis, Coryphantha runyonii and Ariocarpus species, but not in peyote. Has slight activity in depletion of cardiac norepinephrine. N-methylphenethylamine: Nonphenolic B-phenethylamine alkaloid recently found in the Dolichothele species. Also found in Acacia species and other plants. Goats and sheeps in Texas sometimes eat Acacia berlandia and suffer a condition known as limberleg or Guajillo wobbles. Pressor action of this alkaloid has been shown experimentally to occur with low toxicity. Phenealanine and meth- ionine are it's biosynthetic precursors. N-methyltyramine: Phenolic B-phenethylamine found in some cacti, mutated barley roots and a few other plants. Probably an intermediate phytochemical step in the methylation of tyramine to form candicine. Has mild sympathomim- etic action and probable antibacterial properties. Normacromerine: Nonphenolic B-phenethylamine (N-dimethyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B- hydroxy-B-phenethylamine) found in Coryphantha species. Shows less effect on rats than macromerine. Pellotine: Tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid (1,2-dimethyl-6,7-dimethoxy-8- hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline) found in Lophophora and pelecyphora. Synephrine: Phenolic B-phenethylamine (N-methyl-4-hydroxy-B-phenethylamine) found in citrus plants, some cacti, and human urine. Well known sympathomim- etic agent. Probably an intermediary in phytosynthesis of macromerine. Tyramine: Phenolic B-phenethylamine found in several cacti. Mild sympatho- mimetic with some possible antiseptic activity. SUPPLIERS The following companies are established cactus dealers. They carry San Pedro and other cacti mentioned in this guide at reasonable prices. When ordering from them do not inquire about the psychoactive potency or in any way hint that you are using the plants for such purposes. Before ordering from them request their catalog. Enclose $1.00 to cover the cost of the catalog and mailing. If you wish to inquire about the availability of a species not listed, ask for it by it's Latin botanical name. Do not inquire about the availability of Lophophora williamsii or you will arouse suspicion. Cactus Gem Nursery, 10092 Mann Drive, Cupertino, California 95014 The Desert Plant, 2519 Durant Avenue, Berkeley, California 94704 Desert Plant Company, PO Box 880, Marfa, Texas 79843 A. Hugh Dial, 7587 Deer Trail, Yucca Valley, California 92284 \8 Cactus, Peyote PEYOTE AND OTHER PSYCHOACTIVE CACTI How to use them - How to extract them - What they contain - Where to obtain them - How to cultivate them and increase their potency 35 different species discussed INTRODUCTION For many years most of us have been aware of the psychoactive effects of Peyote. More recently in drug-oriented literature there have been numerous references to other cacti believed to have hallucinogenic properties. Among these are Donana from northern Mexico, San Pedro from the Andes, three related mescaline-bearing species from South America, and at least 15 species used by the Indians of Central Mexico as Peyote substitutes. Botanists and Chemists are now studying the constitutes of these cacti and are making some remarkable discoveries. In this guide we will consider each of these cacti and bring the reader up to date on what scientists have learn- ed about them. The various methods of using these cacti are also discussed. Directions are given for cultivating cacti and increasing the yield of mescaline and other alkaloids. There are instructions for extracting mesca- line from Peyote and San Pedro, and mixed alkaloids from Donana and other cacti. We also include a brief discussion of the legal aspects of these hallucinogenic cacti and give the names and addresses of legitimate suppliers from whom these plants can be obtained at reasonable prices. MESCALINE, PEYOTE AND THE LAW Both mescaline and Peyote are illegal under the statutes of the Federal Government and most States. Members of the Native American Church are permitted the ritual use of peyote because they established it as a religious sacrement long before these laws came into existence. Members are not permitted to use mescaline, however. Several other cacti such as San Pedro also contain mescaline. Technically it would be illegal to possess these, but because they are common ornamental plants it is permissable to use these cacti for normal horticultural purposes. If a person should attempt to use any of these plants for a psychedelic experience, prosecution is possible. If he were to extract the mescaline from these, the alkaloid would definitely be contraband material. It is important that this point be made clear because the mescaline extraction process is given in this guide. To extract the alkaloids from Donana and other non-mescaline bearing cacti is not illegal. The information in this guide is presented for the sake of furthering knowledge. The Author can assume no responsibility for how anyone may apply it. PEYOTE This spineless, tufted, blue-green, button-like cactus, known botanically as LOPHOPHORA WILLIAMSII, is the most famous of the hallucinogenic cacti. It grows wild from Central Mexico to Northern Texas. It's known history dates back to pre-Columbian times; possibly as early as 300 B.C. During the past two centuries the religious use of Peyote has spread northward into the United States and Canada among many of the Plains Indian Tribes such as the Navajo, Comanche, Sioux, and Kiowa. This cactus eventually came to replace the hallucinogenic but dangerous red mescal bean (SOPHORA SECUNDIFLORA) as a ceremonial sacrement. During the 1800's the North American Peyote ritual was standardized. By 1920 the ceremonial practices of most tribes were identical with only minor variations. (Note: In Mexico there is a popular liquor called mescal. Many people believe that it is made from the Peyote cactus. Actually it is fermented from the Maguey plant, a large succulent of the Amaryllis family with sword-like leaves. This plant does not contain mescaline or related alkaloids.) It was in 1896 that Arthur Heffter extracted mescaline from Peyote and tested it upon himself. This was the first hallucinogenic compound isolated by man. About 350 mg of mescaline is required for a psychotropic experience, although definite effects can be felt from as little as 100 mg. Mescaline may comprise as much as six percent of the weight of the dried button, but is more often closer to one percent. An average dried button the diameter of a quarter weighs about 2 grams. it usually takes 6-10 of these buttons to gain the desired effect. It has been noted that the peyote experience is quantitatively somewhat different than that of pure mescaline, the former being more physical than the latter. This is due to several of the other alkaloids present in the cactus. These include: HORDENINE, N-METHYLMESCALINE, N-ACETYLMESCALINE, PELLOTINE, ANHALININE, ANHALONINE, ANHALIDNINE, ANHALONIDINE, ANHALAMINE, O-METHYLANHALONIDINE, TYRAMINE, and LOPHOPHORINE. Not all of these substances have psychopharmacological activity when administered singly. Some of them in combination apparently potentiate the effects of the mescaline and definitely alter some of the characteristics of the experience. Two of these alkaloids - Hordenine and Tyramine - have been found to possess antibacterial activity, presumably because of their phenolic function. For ages the Huichol Indians have rubbed the juices of fresh peyote into wounds to prevent infection and to promote healing. The Tarahumara Indians consume small amounts of peyote to combat hunger, thirst and exhaustion especially while hunting. They have been known to run for days after a Deer with no food, water or rest. Peyote has many uses in folkloric medicine including the treatment of arthritis, consumption, influenza, intestinal disorders, diabetes, snake and scorpion bites and datura poisoning. The Huichol and other tribes recognize two forms of peyote. One is larger, more potent and more bitter than the other. They call it TZINOURITEHUA-HIKURI (peyote of the Gods). The smaller, more palatable, but milder buttons are called RHAITOUMUANITARI-HIKURI (peyote of the goddesses). The difference between the two forms may be due solely to how old the plants are. Alkaloids tend to accumulate in these cacti with age. It is possible, however, that the goddess peyote is a different species. Until recently botanists believed that the genus LOPHOPHORA consisted of a single but highly varible species. But in 1967 H.H. Bravo found near Queretaro in south-central Mexico another species which he named LOPHOPHORA DIFFUSA. This plant is yellow-green, soft, ribless and contains a somewhat different alkaloid mixture with far less mescaline that L. williamsi. THE EXPERIENCE About half an hour after ingesting the buttons the first effects are felt. There is a feeling of strange intoxication and shifting consciousness with minor perceptual changes. There may also be strong physical effects, including respiratory pressure, muscle tension (especially face and neck muscles), and queasiness or possible nausea. Any unpleasant sensations should disappear within an hour. After this the state of altered consci- ousness begins to manifest itself. The experience may vary with the individual, but among the possible occurences are feelings of inner tran- quillity, oneness with life, heightened awareness, and rapid thought flow. During the next several hours these effects will deepen and become more visual. Colors may become more intense. Halos and auras may appear about things. Objects may seem larger, smaller , closer or more distant than they actually are. Often persons will notice little or no changes in visual perception while beholding the world about them, but upon closing their eyes they will see on their mind-screen wildly colorful and constant changing patterns. After several more hours the intensity of the exper- ience gradually relaxes. Thought becomes less rapid and diffuse and more ordered. In the Navajo peyote ritual this change of thought flow is used wisely. During the first part of the ceremony the participants submit to the feeling and let the peyote teach them. During the latter part of the ritual the mind turns to thoughtful contemplation and understanding with the conscious intellect what the peyote has taught the subconscious mind. The entire experience may last from 6 to 12 hours depending upon the individual and the amount of the plant consumed. After all the peyote effects have passed there is no comedown. One is likely to feel pleasantly relaxed and much a peace with the world. Although there is usually no desire for food during the experience one would probably have a wholesome appetite afterwards. METHODS OF USE The most common method of use is simply to chew up and swallow the fresh or dried buttons after removing the tufts and sand. This is the way it is almost always done at Indian ceremonies. Most people find the taste of this cactus unbearably bitter. The Indians, however, feel if ones heart is pure, the bitterness will not be tasted. Many have found that by not cringing from the taste, but rather letting ones senses plunge directly to the center of the bitterness, a sort of seperation from the offensive flavor is exper- ienced. One is aware of the bitterness, but it no longer disturbs him. This is similar to the practice of bringing ones consciousness to the center of pain so that detachment may occur. It is not a difficult trick, but it takes some mental discipline. People who cannot endure the bitterness of peyote often go to various extremes to get it into the system without having to taste it. One fairly effective method is to drink unsweetened grapefruit juice while chewing it. The acids in the juice somewhat neutralize some of the bitter bases. Another method is to grind the dried buttons in a pepper grinder and pack the pulverised material into OOO capsules which are washed down with warm water. This is an effective method but it can take 20 capsules or more to get a 350mg dose of mescaline. Often people will boil the buttons in water for several hours to make a concentrated tea. A cup of this decoction can be swallowed in a few hasty gulps. Another preparation that is occasionally used is a jello-type dessert made with the fresh or dried plant. If spoonfulls are swallowed whole the gelatine serves as a sort of shield protecting the tastebuds from contact with the bitter material. It also slows down the the absorption of the drug in the digestive tract. This can be of value. It is generally recommended that anyone consuming peyote or mescaline ingest it gradually during a period of an hour or take two half doses 45 minutes apart. This is done to reduce the shock of the alkaloid to the system. Nausea or queasiness is sometimes experienced half an hour or so after taking peyote or mescaline. This usually passes in less than an hour. A sip of grapefruit juice will sometimes dispel the sick feeling. During the peyote ceremony Indians encourage vomiting rather than restraint if the urge presents itself. Throwing up, they believe, is apurging of both physical and spiritual ills. Most tribes fast for at least a day before taking peyote. This can also help to minimize gastric distress. One should not have eaten for at least 6 hours before taking either mescaline or peyote. A method which avoids both the bitterness and the nausea is the rectal infusion. 8-16 grams of dried peyote is ground into a fine powder and boiled in a pint of water for 30 minutes. It is then strained and further boiled to reduce it's volume to one half pint. After cooling, this is taken as an enema using a small bulb syringe and retained for at least two hours. If there is any fecal matter in the lower bowel, a small cleansing enema should be taken and thoroughly expelled before having the peyote infusion. Otherwise much of the drug will be taken up by the feces and later voided. FINDING AND PICKING PEYOTE The peyote cactus may be found in many areas throughout the Chihuahuan Desert from central Mexico to southern Texas. When a site is found where peyote grows it usually does so in abundance. Sometimes it grows in open sunlit places, but more often it is found in clusters under fairly large shrubs, among mesquite or creosote bushes or in the shade of large succu- lents. The best time to harvest any cactus is after a long dry spell. The worst time is during or after a rainy period. The plants build up alkaloids during dry seasons and draw upon them for growth when the rains come. If the plants are harvested during or after a wet spell, the alkaloid content may have dropped below 50 percent. If you have a soil test kit, you can get a good indication of the potency of cacti growing wild. If the soil is rich in nitrogen, the plants are likely to be rich in alkaloids. When harvesting peyote, many people uproot the entire plant. This is unnecessary and wasteful. The roots contain no mescaline. Some of these plants have taken a long time to reach their size. A cactus three inches in diameter may be more than 20 years old. To collect peyote properly the button should be cleanly decapitated slightly above ground level. When the roots are left intact new buds will form where the old was removed. These will eventually develop into full-size buttons which may be harvested as before. Faulty harvesting method have seriously depleted populations of this cactus. Because of the presence of several phenolic alkaloids peyote cacti do not spoil easily and may be kept in their fresh form for several weeks after harvesting. If they are to be kept longer than this they must be refrigerated, frozen, or dried. The enzymes which cause the harvested plant to eventually decompose also destroy the mescaline and other alkaloids. To dry peyote buttons lay them out in the hot sun or in an oven at 250 degrees F until completely devoid of moisture. OTHER PEYOTE-TYPE CACTI OF CENTRAL MEXICO There are several cacti which are used by the Tarahumares and other tribes of central Mexico as substitutes for peyote. Many of these cacti are now under investigation for their alkaloidal content and psychopharmacological activity. Progress is somewhat retarded in the studies of the effects of these plants because almost all experimentation has been conducted on laboratory animals rather than humans. Some of these cacti have been found to contain mescaline and other related alkaloids with known sympathomimetic properties. Much further research is needed on these plants and their activity. However, we will attempt to bring the reader up to date on what is known about them at this time. PEYOTILLO: This small cactus is botanically called PELECYPHORA ASELLIFORMIS. It is also known sometimes as the hatchet cactus because of its oddly flattened tubercules. It is often found growing in the state of San Louis Potosi in central Mexico. The plant contains traces of mescaline too minute to have any effect. It also contains small amounts of anhalidine, anhaladine, hordenine, N-methylmescaline, pellotine, 3-demethyltrichocereine, B-phenethylamine, N-methyl-B-phenethylamine, 3,4-dimethoxy-B-pheneththyl- amine, N-methyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B-phenethylamine, and 4-methoxy-B-phenethy- lamine. Most of these are found in peyote but in much larger quantities. TSUWIRI: The botanical name of this cactus is ARIOCARPUS RETUSUS. The Huichol name tsuwiri means False Peyote. These people make long pilgrimages to the sacred places where peyote grows in search of that sacrement. They believe that if a person is has not been properly purified the spirits will lead him to the False Peyote and if he partakes of it, he will suffer madness or at least a bad trip. The plant is known among some tribes as Chautle or Chaute. These names are also used for other Ariocarpus species. This cactus contains hordenine, N-methyltryamine in fairly small amounts (about 0.02 percent) and traces of N-methyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B-phenethylamine, and N-methyl-4-B- phenethylamine. Aside from these alkaloids it also contains a flavone called retusin (3,3',4',7-tetramethoxy-5-hydroxyflavone). Although alkaloid content may very some at different seasons or stages of growth, from the scientific point of view the amounts present in this plant appear insufficient to pro- duce any psychopharmacological response. SUNAMI: This plant, ARIOCARPUS FISSURATUS, has been used in folkoric medicine of Mexico and southwestern USA. It is believed to be more potent than peyote and is used in the same manner as that cactus or made into an intoxicating drink. Among some tribes it is known as Chaute (a generic term for Ariocarp- us species), living rock, or dry whiskey. The latter name, however, is often used for peyote and other psychoactive cacti. There are two varieties of A. fissuratus: var. lloydii and var. fissuratus. Both have about the same phytochemical makeup. The plant contains mostly hordenine, less N-methyl- tyramine and some N-methyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B-phenethylamine. Two other species, A. kotschoubeyanus also known as Pata De Venado or Pezuna De Venado, and A. trigonus also contain these alkaloids. DONANA: This small cactus, CORYPHANTHA MACROMERIS, from northern Mexico has been found to contain macromerine, a phenethylamine drug reputed to have about 1/5 the potency of mescaline. It also contains normacromerine, N-formylnor- macromerin, tyramine, N-methyltramine, hordenine, N-methyl-3,4-dimethoxy-B- phenethylamine, metanephrine, and synephrine (a macromerine precursor). Other coryphantha species which contain macromerine with most of these other alkaloids include: C. pectinada, C. elephantideus, C. runyonii and C. corn- ifera var. echinus. Most of these alkaloids with the exception of macromerine have also been found in other varieties of C. conifera and in C. durangensis, C. ottonis, C. poselgeriana and C. ramillosa. Considering that there is usually no more than 0.1 percent macromerine in Donana and that a gram or more of this alkaloid may be needed to produce a psychotropic effect, one would have to consume more than a kilo of the dried cactus or 20 pounds of the fresh plant. Clearly this is not possible for most humans. If one wishes to experiment with the hallucinogenic properties of Donana, is is necessary first to make an extraction of the mixed alkaloids. Methods for this are given latter in this guide. DOLICHOTHELE: Several tribes occasionally use any one of several species of Dolichothele as a peyote-like sacrament. These include D. baumii, D. longimamma, D. melalenca, D. sphaerica. D. surculosa, and D. uberiforma. Recent investig- ations have revealed in these the presence of small amounts of the alkaloids N-methylphenethylamine, B-O-methylsynephrine, N-methyltryamine, synephrine, hordenine, and dolichotheline (N-isovalerylhistamine). MISCELLANEOUS: Several other cacti have been used by the Tarahumares as peyote substitutes. Among these are Obregonia denegrii, Aztekium ritterii, Astrophytum asterias, A. capricorne, A. myriostigma (Bishops cap), and Solisia pectinata. The Tarahumares also consume a cactus which they call Mulato (Mammillaria micro- meris) and claim that it prolongs life, gives speed to runners, and clarifies vison for mystical insights. Another cactus similarly employed is known as Rosapara (Epitheliantha micromeris) is believed by many botanists to be the same species as Mulato, but at a later vegetative stage. The large cactus Pachycereus pecten-aboriginum, known locally as Cawe, has occasionally been used as a narcotic. What little studies have been carried out on these cacti have revealed the presence of alkaloids most of the other species we have discussed, but no mescaline or macromerine. Many of these alkaloids have some psychopharma- calogical properties, but nothing to compare with those two drugs. Further- more, the amounts of these alkaloids are usually so small as to be insignif- icant. For example, the species Obregonia denegrii contains tyramine 0.003 percent, hordenine 0.002 percent, and N-methyltyramin 0.0002 percent. These are all known sympathomimetics, but the percentages are far too minute to have any value. Several publications in recent years have mentioned the sacramental use of these cacti. As a result thousands of people have obtained these plants from cactus dealers and ingested them, usually with disappointing (and sometimes nauseating) results. Sadly many of these cacti are quite rare. If too many people destroy them experimentally, they may become a seriously endangered species. The most suitable cacti for a true psychedelic experience are peyote, which is for the most part illegal, and several species of Tri- chocereus (such as San Pedro), which are still legal. SAN PEDRO: This cactus has gained considerable fame in the past five years after numerous reports that it is hallucinogenic, contains mescaline, and is readily available from cactus nurseries. This plant known botanically as Trichocereus pachanoi, is native to the Andes of Peru and Equador. Unlike the small peyote cactus, San Pedro is large and multi-branched. In it's natural enviorment, it often grows to heights of 10 or 15 feet. It's mescaline content is less than that of peyote (0.3 - 1.2 percent), but because of it's great size and rapid growth, it may provide a more econom- ical source of mescaline than peyote. One plant may easily yield several pounds of pure mescaline upon extraction. San Pedro also contains tyramine, hordenine, 3-methoxytyramine, anhalaninine, anhalonidine, 3,4-dimethoxyphen- ethylamine, 3,4-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-B-phenethylamine, and 3,5-dimethoxy-4- hydroxy-B-phenethylamine. Some of these are known sympathomimetics. Others have no apparent effects when ingested by themselves. It is possible, how- ever, that in combination with the mescaline and other active compounds they may have a synergistic influence upon one another and subtly alter the qual- itive aspects of the experience. It is also possible that any compounds in the plant which act a mild MAO inhibitors will render a person vulnerable to some of the above mentioned amines which would ordinarily be metabolized before they could take effect. The effects of San Pedro are in many ways more pleasant than those of peyote. To begin with, it's taste is only slightly bitter and the initial nausea is not as likely to occur. When the full psychotropic experience takes hold it is less overwhelming, more tranquil and not nearly as physical as that from peyote. San Pedro may be eaten fresh or dried and taken in any of the manners describ- ed for peyote. Cuttings of San Pedro sold in the USA are usually about three feet long by four inches diameter. A piece 4-8 inches long will usually bring about the desired effect. The skin and spines must be removed. The skin should not be thrown away, however. The green tissue close to the skin con- tains a high concentration of mescaline. Some people chew the skin until all the juices are extracted. If you don't what to do this, the skins can be boiled in water for several hours to make a potent tea. The woody core of the cactus cannot be eaten. One can eat around it like a corn cob. The core does not have much alkaloid content, but can be mashed and boiled as a tea for what little is there. To dry San Pedro slice the cactus into disks (actually stars) 1/2 inch thick and dry thoroughly in the sun or in an oven at 250 degrees F. The spines must be removed either before drying or before chewing. Also one must be careful of the splinters from the woody core. If a tea is made from fresh San Pedro, the cactus must be either sliced, chopped or crushed before boiling. San Pedro is a hardy cactus and endures cold climates quite well. It grows at altiudes from sea level to 9000 feet high in the Andes where it is most freq- uently found on western slopes. The soil in this region is very rich in humus and various minerals. This helps in the production of mescaline and other alkaloids. There are several cacti which look much like San Pedro and have even been mistaken for it by trained botanists. In 1960 when Turner and Heyman disc- overed that San Pedro contained mescaline they erroneously identified the plant as Opunita cylindtica. A few other South American species of Tricho- cereus also contain mescaline with related alkaloids. These include: T. BRIDGESII, T. MACROGONUS, T.TERSCHECKII, and T. WERDERMANNIANUS. There is evidence that the ritualistic use of San Pedro dates back to 1000 BC. Even today it is used by Curanderos (medicine men) of northern Peru. They prepare a drink called CIMORA from it and take this in a ceremonial setting to diagnose the spiritual or subconscious basis of a patient's illness. CULTIVATION OF PSYCHOACTIVE CACTI Any cactus can be grown from either seed or cutting. Seed grown plants can take many years to develop to a usable size, but should ultimately provide strong, healthy stock from which cuttings may be taken. Plants have to grow through the lengthy seedling stage. A San Pedro plant started from seed may be no more than 1/2 inch high after it's first year and perhaps an inch high after it's second; It's diameter being 1/8-1/4 during this time. A cutting of San Pedro may be 2 feet high by 4 inches diameter when planted. After 6 months it might easily gain 4-6 inches in height, send forth one or two branches 6-8 inches long by 2 inches diameter, and have sprouted several branch buds which will do the same within the next six months. When these offshoots are 6 inches or more long they may be broken off and planted following the instructions below. Or they may be allowed another 6 months growth until they deepen from pale to dark-green to give them time to accum- ulate alkaloids and then consumed. Live plants of any of the species mentioned in this guide - with the excep- tion perhaps of peyote - can be purchased from suppliers named at the end of this chapter. Freshly harvested peyote cuttings are frequently available on the underground market for 50 cents to one dollar per button. When select- ing peyote cuttings for planting choose ones which are firm and unbruised with at least 1/2 inch of taproot below the top. If the bottom of the tap- root is still delicate where it has been cut, the button should be placed bottoms up in partial shade for a day or two until the severed area has a dry corky texture. If this is not done, the plant will be prone to rot. The best soil mix can be prepared from 3 parts coarse sand, 1 part loam and 1 part leaf mold. Bake this mixture in an oven at 400 degrees F for an hour to kill fungus, bacteria, weed seeds and insect eggs. After the soil mix has cooled it is ready to use. The taproot of the plant may be dipped in a rooting mixture, such as ROOTONE, before planting. This enhances root development and hinders decay. Place the bottom just deep enough so that the soil does not quite touch the green part of the plant. The soil should be kept slightly moist and evenly so. If you are planting a tall cactus like San Pedro, the cutting should be placed deeply enough in the soil that it will have sufficient support to stand. San Pedro type cacti can also be laid upon the ground and will send down roots from their sides while the buds grow upwards. San Pedro can grow well in almost any soil as long as there is decent drainage. Cacti tend to grow mostly during spring and autumn, to send down roots in the summer, and to rest through winter. Although cactus cuttings may be planted anytime of the year they stand the best chance if planted in the late spring. They should be watered thoroughly once or twice a week depending upon how rapidly moisture is lost. The soil an inch below the surface should always contain some moisture. Watering can be cut back to less than half during the winter. INCREASING THE POTENCY OF PSYCHOACTIVE CACTI There are several factors which influence production of mescaline and related alkaloids in cacti. Presence of a wide variety of trace minerals is import- ant. Occasional watering with Hoagland A-Z trace mineral concentrate provides these minerals. Combine 1 part concentrate with 9 parts water and water cacti with this once every two months. Experiments conducted by Rosenberg, Mclaughlin and Paul at the University of of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1966 demonstrated that dopamine is a precursor of mescaline in the peyote cactus. Tyramine and dopa were also found to be mescaline precursors, but not as immediate and efficient as dopamine. It appears that in the plant tyosine breaks down to become tyramine and dopa. These then recombine to form dopamine which is converted to nor-mescaline and finally to mescaline. One can take advantage to this sequence by inject- ing each peyote plant with dopamine 4 weeks prior to harvesting. Much of the dopamine will convert to mescaline during this time, giving a considerable increase in the alkaloid of the plant. Prepare a saturated solution of free base dopamine in a .05 N solution of hydrochloric acid and inject 1-2 cc into the root of each plant and the same amount into the green portion above the root. Let the needle penetrate to the center of the plant, inject slowly and allow the needle to remain in place a few seconds after injection. It is best to deprive the plant of water for 1-2 weeks before injection. This makes the plant tissues take up the injection fluids more readily. If dopamine is not available, a mixture of tyramine and dopa can be used instead 6 weeks before harvesting for comparable results. San Pedro and other mescaline- bearing cacti can be similarly treated for increased mescaline production. Inject at the base of the plant and again every 3-4 inches following a spiral pattern up the length of the plant. A series of booster injections can be given to any of these cacti every 6-8 weeks and once again 4 weeks before harvesting for greater mescaline accumulation. It is also possible to increase the macromerine and nor-macromerine content of Donana cacti using tyramine or DL-norepinephrine as precursors. Injections should be given 20-25 days before harvesting. Series of injections can be given 45 days apart for higher alkaloid accumulation. EXTRACTING PURE MESCALINE FROM PEYOTE OR SAN PEDRO CACTUS The isolation of mescaline from cacti containing this alkaloid is not difficult to perform and is perhaps one of the most rewarding alchemical processes that one can attempt. The chemicals required for this process are readily available and their purchase arouses no suspicion or interest on the part of Government agencies. The equipment employed is not expensive or particularly complicated or can be constructed very easily from ordinary household items. The entire process can be carried out in any kitchen in the matter of hours by following the instructions below and in the final stages \9 Coca Leaf Coca is a densely-leafed plant native to the eastern slopes of the Andes. Erythroxylon coca is widely cultivated in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. It is also widely cultivated in Columbia, currently the source of some 80 percent of the world's cocaine. According to ex-New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, "Colombia has probably the best cocaine, the best heroin, and the best marijuana in the world. And the best coffee". Evolutionary selection pressure has favoured the natural synthesis of the cocaine alkaloid. This is because it serves the coca plant as a pesticide. Cocaine powerfully inhibits the neuronal reuptake of dopamine; but cocaine is an even more potent re-uptake inhibitor of the insect-specific neurotransmitter octopamine. Insects that feed on coca are liable to overdose on their own octopamine. Typically, coca thrives in warm, moist valleys between 1500 and 6000 metres above sea level. The plant grows to a height of up to eight feet. The leaves are rich in vitamins, protein, calcium, iron and fiber. The cocaine content of the leaves ranges from O.1% to 0.9%; like the user, it tends to get higher with altitude. Diurnal fluctuations of cocaine within the coca leaf occur during a 24 hour cycle. Chewing coca also counters the symptoms of 'mountain sickness' and oxygen-deprivation. The daily dose of the average coquero is around 200mg. Chewing coca leaves with a dash of powdered lime is a nutritious and energising way to induce healthy mood without causing an unsustainable high. Unfortunately, it is not very good for one's teeth. Stictly speaking, the leaves aren't actually chewed. Typically, the dried coca leaf is moistened with saliva. The wad is placed between the gum and cheek and it is gently sucked. The invigorating juices are swallowed. Lime-rich materials such as burnt seashells or a cereal are used to promote the separation of the leaf's active alkaloid. Shamans from some traditional Indian tribes still smoke coca leaves for magical purposes. Inhaling the sacred vapors induces a trance-like state. Coca enables a shaman to cross 'the bridge of smoke', enter the world of spirits, and activate his magical powers. Alas the leaves don't travel well; and this ancient usage is uncommon in the urban industrial West. Erythroxylum Cataractarum In its native habitat, the coca plant is resistant to drought and disease, and it doesn't need irrigation. The introduction of coca to England was pioneered early in the nineteenth century by the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. However, the coca plant has yet to find a place in orthodox Western horticulture. In the 1980s, millions of drug-naive Americans were introduced to 'decocainised' coca tea imported from South America. In Peru, the legitimate cultivation of coca, and the production of all cocaine licensed for pharmaceutical export, was controlled by the government's own National Enterprise Of Coca. In a bid to expand and diversify its product range, the National Enterprise Of Coca promoted the benefits of coca in the form of a wholesome traditional beverage. This state-sponsored export-drive was successful: overseas demand proved brisk. From 1983, 'Inca Health Tea' sold especially well in the North American market. Lemongrass and other flavours were added to cater to American palates. Soon mate de coca could be bought in tea-shops and grocery stores in US cities. Mate de coca is indeed an agreeable and invigorating mood-brightener. It is also extremely benign: patients at the San Francisco National Addiction Research Foundation, for instance, were encouraged in the 1980s to drink as much mate de coca as they desired to help wean themselves off cocaine. When consumed in generous quantities, coca tea is remarkably good at easing drug-cravings. One may speculate that this is because the average "decocainized" tea-bag contains 5 milligrams of cocaine. Flower Erythroxylon Coca Coca leaves have been chewed by South American Indians for many thousands of years to induce a mild and long-lasting euphoria. The Incas venerated coca. They used it in magical ceremonies and initiation rites. In the Inca period, the sacred leaf was regarded as far too good for ordinary Indians. The invading Spanish conquistadores were more practical - and cynical. They were impressed at coca's efficacy as a stimulant: 'The herb is so nutritious and invigorating that the Indians labour whole days without anything else.' The Spanish also needed native labour in their silver-mines. Work in the mines was extremely arduous; and taking coca reduces appetite and increases physical stamina. Hence there was a great surge in coca-use and the number of coqueros (coca-chewers). Coca In Bloom There are around 200 species of erythroxylon plants. At least 17 produce cocaine. Only two of them, erythroxylon coca and erythroxylon novogranatense, typically yield enough cocaine to justify commercial cultivation. Chewing leaves of coca normally induces a pleasant and subtle sense of well-being. Other routes of administration may exert a more dramatic impact on the user; and pose substantially greater risks to health. Yet sensitivity to coca-extract varies. Paola Mantegazza (1831-1910), an Italian physician working in northern Argentina in the 1850s, seems to have been unusually receptive to its properties: "...I sneered at the poor mortals condemned to live in this valley of tears while I, carried on the wings of two leaves of coca, went flying through the spaces of 77, 438 words, each more splendid than the one before...An hour later, I was sufficiently calm to write these words in a steady hand: God is unjust because he made man incapable of sustaining the effect of coca all life long. I would rather have a life span of ten years with coca than one of 10 000 000..(and here I has inserted a line of zeros) centuries without coca." The capacity 'of sustaining the effect of coca all life long' will indeed not come from God - nor from godliness. Nor will it come from wholesome living and clean thoughts. This is because we are born with a 'hedonic-treadmill' of mood-regulating negative-feedback mechanisms in the CNS. The hedonic treadmill is vicious. It prevents us from subverting our gene-driven 'set-point' of emotional well/ill-being by cosmetic lifestyle-adjustments. Fortunately, the application of designer-drugs, nanotechnology and gene-therapy will eventually get rid of suffering and malaise altogether. If we choose to abolish them, then the metabolic pathways of unpleasantness can be edited out of existence. Better still, our genetically-enriched successors will be able to enjoy a life-long bliss far richer than anything a drug or plant-extract can induce at present. The well-being of our descendants will be deeper, more diverse, more intense and more empathetic than anything physiologically accessible to drug-naive mortals today. Genetic disorders such as ageing and a capacity for aversive experience are destined to disappear into the evolutionary past. For tomorrow's paradise-engineers will rewrite the human genome to serve our own interests rather than selfish DNA. But large-scale genetic-rewrites take time. The use of biotechnology to abolish suffering throughout the living world - and a Post-Darwinian Transition to paradise-engineering - will take many centuries, perhaps even millennia. And on the whole, we want to be happy right now. Unfortunately, recreational drugs like cocaine offer only a deadly short-cut to nirvana. Erythroxylon Coca Farmer Coca can be harvested four times a year. Traditionally, chewing the sacred leaf promotes contact with the spirit world. Chewing or smoking coca leaves invigorates the user, allowing him to absorb the plant's magical powers and protect body and spirit alike. Ancient Peruvians used coca as a local anaesthetic before trepanning - the hazardous surgical technique of drilling a hole in the skull to relieve various physical and psychic woes. In traditional Indian cultures, Mama Coca was accounted a benevolent deity. She was regarded as a sacred goddess who could bless humans with her power. Before the coca harvest, the harvester would sleep with a woman to ensure that Mama Coca would be in a favourable mood. Typically, a decoction of coca and saliva was rubbed onto the male organ to prolong erotic ecstasy. A Spoonful of Sugar? The coca leaf doesn't travel well. By the time leaves sent by early colonists in South America reached Europe, they had lost much of their potency. So for centuries the plant remained litte more than a curiosity of interest only to obscure European botanists. The active alkaloid of the coca plant, cocaine, was first isolated by Albert Niemann of Gottingen University in 1859. He was awarded a PhD and died a year later in mysterious circumstances. The commercial production of purified cocaine gained momentum in the mid-1880s. Its greatest medical value was in ophthalmology. Eye-surgery stood in desperate need of a good local anaesthetic. It was often essential for a conscious patient to move his eye as a surgeon directed - without flinching. Viennese ophthalmologist Karl Koller doscovered that cocaine was ideal for the task. From 1884, news of his successful experiments travelled round the world. The military took an interest as well. In 1883, German physician Theodor Aschenbrandt administered cocaine to members of the Bavarian army. It was found that the drug enhanced their endurance on manoeurvres. Aschenbrandt's study was published in a German medical journal. The report was read by a young Viennese neurologist, Sigmund Freud. Freud was to play a significant role in the development of the Western cocaine-industry. "I take very small doses of it regularly and against depression and against indigestion, and with the most brilliant success", he observed. Drug giants Merck and Parke Davies both paid Freud to endorse their rival brands. Freud wrote several enthusiastic papers on cocaine, notably Uber Coca (1884). He talks of "the most gorgeous excitement" animals display after receieving injection of a cocaine "offering". And in humans, cocaine induces... "...exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person...You perceive an increase of self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work....In other words, you are simply normal, and it is soon hard to believe you are under the influence of any drug....Long intensive physical work is performed without any fatigue...This result is enjoyed without any of the unpleasant after-effects that follow exhilaration brought about by alcohol....Absolutely no craving for the further use of cocaine appears after the first, or even after repeated taking of the drug..." Freud concluded Uber Coca by recommending seven conditions for which cocaine pharmacotherapy might prove valuable: as a mental stimulant as a possible treatment for digestive disorders as an appetite stimulant in case of wasting diseases as a treatment for morphine and alcohol addiction as a treatment for asthma as an aphrodisiac as a local anaesthetic It was Freud's fourth recommendation that caused the most controversy. Cocaine is no longer prescribed as an antidote to morphine addiction. Taken in an oral solution as Freud had envisaged, cocaine was indeed less likely to be addictive than when administered by the intravenous route. The euphoria induced is delayed; and it may be less intense. This is because a lot of the cocaine is broken down in the liver before it reaches the brain. However, hypodermic needles were starting to become widely available in the 1880s. Morphine addicts soon discovered that subcutaneous injections of cocaine yielded a quick, potent and addictive high. Before long, many users became hooked on cocktails including both. http://www.cocaine.org \10 Cocaine hydrochloride Cocaine is a very effective pain-killer. As a surface anaesthetic for numbing mucous membranes of the nose, eyes and throat, its efficacy is arguably unsurpassed. Its popularity in non-medical contexts, however, means cocaine is no longer a staple of orthodox dentistry. Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill enjoyed coca-based products. Stimulants such as Coca-Bola chewing gum - "a powerful tonic to the muscular and nervous system, enabling the chewer to perform additional labour and relieving fatigue and exhaustion" - were popular with consumers. Today, some experts cautiously advocate the use of cocaine in low-potency lozenges or gum. In common with coca leaves, cocaine-lozenges may be chewed as a less addictive alternative to the refined drug. Grain Of Coke In A Dollar Bill Cocaine hydrochloride is very stable. It binds closely to the ink in in paper currency. Hence most Americans handle cocaine every day of their lives. Cocaine is an integral part of the world economy. Its street price reflects the competitive pressures of today's global marketplace. In recent years, cocaine has become a significant export-earner for many poor South Amercian countries. South America now exports some 1000 tons of refined cocaine per year. Smugglers can be quite ingenious. In recent years, US federal narcotics officials have seized $450,000 worth of cocaine moulded into dog kennels; and a consignment of sickly boa constrictors stuffed with cocaine-filled condoms. This century, coca has been grown commercially in Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Malaysia and Japan. The first cocaine cartel was formed, not in Columbia, but in Amsterdam. Founded in 1910, the Cocaine Manufacturers Syndicate included pharmaceutical giants Merck, Sandoz and Hoffman-LaRoche. At present, however, most production occurs in clandestine laboratories in South America. The cocaine trade continues to spawn eyebrow-raising alliances. Declassified documents now available at the CIA web site disclose that in the 1980s CIA operatives teamed up with cocaine dealers in the fight against Communism. Often cut with a laxative as mannitol to dilute and increse bulk. Half life of about one hour. Intranasal (snorting) active drug 3-15mg in 10-50% pure coke line. 30-40 lines from 1gram. Symptoms: "Queer" feelings, restlessness, incoherent speech; purposeless movements of extremities; dryness of throat, with feeling of constriction and choking, difficulty in swallowing; tingling in hands and feet, staggering gait; pupils usually dilated, severe headache with burning sensation and difficult respiration. Treatment: Lavage of stomach with tannin in the water; recumbency heat to the extremities: stimulants, hot strong coffee, strychnine in failure of respiration, artificial respiration and oxygen, inhalation of amyl nitrite; morphine and atropine hypodermically. In 1979, the people of the small Central American country of Nicaragua overthrew the US-backed Samoza dictatorship. To the dismay of US policy-makers, the Nicaraguans then elected a left-wing government. Investigative journalist Richard Webb [ Dark Alliance: the CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion; June 1998] first revealed how profits from cocaine sold in Los Angeles and Miami were used by the CIA to fund - and buy guns for - the anti-Communist contra rebels. Suitcases stuffed with coke-tainted US dollars were dispatched to Nicaragua to foment insurrection and civil war. According to Internic records (1998), contact details for the domain cocaine.com still belonged to the CIA. Processing Cocaine is the world's most powerful stimulant of natural origin. South American Indians have used cocaine as it occurs in the leaves of Erythroxylon coca for at least 5000 years. Traditionally, the leaves have been chewed for social, mystical, medicinal and religious purposes. Coca has even been used to provide a measure of time and distance. Native travellers sometimes described a journey in terms of the number of mouthfuls of coca typically chewed in making the trip. This was a "cocada" - the time or distance and man could walk before a coca pellet was exhausted. Physical constraints ensure that even the most ardent coquero can get only a modest amount of cocaine into his bloodstream. Coca-induced heart-attacks and strokes are thus extremely rare among traditional users. In recent decades, however, there have been changes in cocaine's route of administration, patterns of use, the technology of cocaine production, and typical dosages. There are four basic routes to coca intoxication: chewing the leaves. Coca consumption was originally the prerogative of the Inca elite. Today, most of the natives indulge as well. Coca is also consumed as the highly esteemed coca de maté. Drinking coca-tea tends to soothe the stomach; so it's good for digestive problems. Coca de maté is less likely to induce jitteriness than coffee. It is a rather more effective mood-brightener too. Cocaine sulphate - pasta, basuco, basa, pitillo, paste. This is the low-grade stuff that reaches the urban slums of South America. The sulphate is the intermediate stage between the coca leaf and the finished cocaine hydrochloride crystal. Coca leaves are stripped from the plant. They are put into plastic pit with a solution of water and sulphuric acid. A bare-footed man will climb into the pit; step on the mess; and shove it around with his hands. Cocaine hydrochloride - an odourless, white crystalline powder. It has a bitter, numbing taste. Making cocaine hydrochloride is quite complicated. The pasta is first washed in kerosene. It is then chilled. The kerosene is removed. Gas crystals of crude cocaine are left at the bottom of the tank. Typically, the crystals are dissolved in methyl alcohol. They are then recrystallised and dissolved once more in sulphuric acid. Further washing, oxidation and separation procedures involve potassium permanganate, benzole, and sodium carbonate. freebase/crack cocaine. Freebase/crack is derived from cocaine hydrochloride which has been chemically treated with ammonia or baking-powder to free the potent base material from the salt. Free-base was originally produced by a dangerous four-or-five step process in which the hydrochloride salt was heated with water and a volatile liquid such as ether. Base cocaine in the form of 'crack' is safer to produce; but it is no less addictive. Crack/free-base itself is indissoluble in water, so it can't easily be injected or sniffed. Instead, it is usually smoked from pipes; burnt on a piece of tin foil; or mixed with tobacco and perhaps cannabis in a smokable joint. The euphoric rush comes within a few seconds - even faster than from intravenous cocaine hydrochloride. Initially, the user may experience a profound sense of power, mastery, cleverness and uninhibited desire. Orgasm is intensified. Extravagant hyper-sexuality and rampant promiscuity are common. The exhilaration usually starts to fade within a few minutes. Soon, the crackhead desperately craves another hit. Profound depression may occur. Descent into the abyss has begun. During crack-cocaine binges, addicts may become utterly drug-obsessed. The obsession is so all-consuming that food, money, sleep, loved ones, morality, any sense of responsibility, and even survival-instincts may be eclipsed. Users may smoke crack at fifteen-minute intervals for some 72 hours without pause for sleeping or eating. A "crash" inevitably follows; and a profound melancholy. Thus crack-cocaine is not a wise choice of long-term mood-brightener. 2-beta-carbomethoxy-3-beta-benoxytropane Cocaine can be manufactured by converting tropinone into 2-carbomethoxytropinone, reducing this to ecgonine, and then converting the ecgonine to cocaine. This isn't as easy as it sounds. C17H21NO4 Cocaine is habit-forming. It is potentially dangerous when indulged in excess. If rats or monkeys are hooked up to an intravenous source of heroin, they will happily self-administer it indefinitely; but they still find time to sleep and eat. If rats or monkeys can self-administer cocaine, however, they will do virtually nothing else. They continue to push their drug-delivery lever for as long as they are physically capable of doing so. Within weeks, if not days, they will lose a substantial portion of their body weight - up to 40%. Within a month, they will be dead. http://www.cocaine.org -- Often cut with a laxative as mannitol to dilute and increse bulk. Half life of about one hour. Intranasal (snorting) active drug 3-15mg in 10-50% pure coke line. 30-40 lines from 1gram. Symptoms: "Queer" feelings, restlessness, incoherent speech; purposeless movements of extremities; dryness of throat, with feeling of constriction and choking, difficulty in swallowing; tingling in hands and feet, staggering gait; pupils usually dilated, severe headache with burning sensation and difficult respiration. Treatment: Lavage of stomach with tannin in the water; recumbency heat to the extremities: stimulants, hot strong coffee, strychnine in failure of respiration, artificial respiration and oxygen, inhalation of amyl nitrite; morphine and atropine hypodermically. -- Drug Information - Cocaine/Crack Cocaine is a drug extracted from the leaves of the coca plant. It is a potent brain stimulant and one of the most powerfully addictive drugs. Cocaine is distributed on the street in two main forms: cocaine hydrochloride is a white crystalline powder that can be snorted or dissolved in water and injected; and "crack" is cocaine hydrochloride that has been processed with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and water into a freebase cocaine. These chips, chunks, or rocks can be smoked. Cocaine may be used occasionally, daily, or in a variety of compulsive, repeated-use "binges". Regardless of how it is used, cocaine is highly addictive. Crack cocaine and injected cocaine reach the brain quickly and bring an intense and immediate high. Snorted cocaine produces a high more slowly. Cocaine can produce a surge in energy, a feeling of intense pleasure, and increased confidence. The high from snorting may last 15 to 30 minutes, while that from smoking may last 5 to 10 minutes. Heavy use of cocaine may produce paranoia, aggression, insomnia, and depression associated with withdrawal. Cocaine's effects are short lived, and once the drug leaves the brain, the user experiences a "coke crash" that includes depression, irritability, and fatigue ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ BRIEF HISTORY OF COCAINE, Steven B. Karch. CRC, 1998. COCAINE Arnold M.Washton Mark Gold. Guilford Press, 87. COCAINE Flynn, John C. Carol Publishing, 1993. COCAINE (Drugs of Abuse Vol 3) Gold, M.S. Plenum, 93. COCAINE White Gold Rush in Peru. Edmundo Morales 1989. COCAINE Weiss & Mirin, Ballantine 87. COCAINE Weiss, Mirin, & Bartel. American Psy, 1994. COCAINE Rev ed, Rosen Publishing, 94. COCAINE CHANGES. Waldolf, D. Temple Univ, 91. COCAINE FIENDS AND REEFER MADNESS. Starks, Michael. 82. COCAINE IN THE BRAIN. Volkow/Swann ed. Rutgers 90. COCAINE: AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE FACTS. Flynn, J.C. 91. COCAINE: 2nd ed. Weiss et al. American Psy Press, 94 \11 Codeine Codeine (paveral) is another alkaloid analgesic occurring naturally in opium. It is most often found in cough medicines. Acts in 15+ min for 4-6 hours. Codeine is a member of the drug class opiates. Opiates include all naturally occurring drugs with morphine-like effects such as codeine and all semi and fully synthetic drugs with morphine-like effects such as heroin and meperidine (Demerol). Codeine was first discovered as a natural constituent of opium in very small concentrations, in the range of 0.7% - 2.5% by weight. Most codeine found in pharmaceutical products today is synthetically produced via the methylation of morphine. EFFECTS AND USES Codeine is mainly used as a pain reliever, but is also used for the relief of a non-productive cough, and as a anti-diarrheal agent. 120mg of codeine administered SC (subcutaneously, injected under the skin) provides pain relief equal to 10mg of morphine administered by the same route. Doses used to relieve cough or diarrhea range from 5mg to 30mg. Codeine is absorbed quickly from the GI tract and it's first pass through the liver results in very little loss of the drug. This contrasts with morphine in which over 90% of the drug is metabolized in the first pass through the liver resulting in a considerable loss of potency when administered orally. This is why codeine is a common opiate in the relief of pain, the ease of oral administration. Codeine can be administered by many routes, this includes, SC, IM (intramuscularly), as an enema, and orally. Note, codeine can't be administered safely by IV (intravenously) injection as it can result in pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs), facial swelling and other life threatening complications. Codeine is converted to morphine in the brain. This of course will result in a positive result in a drug test for the opiates. It is not known whether or not the drugs heroin, morphine or codeine can be separately determined on a drug test. In other words it isn't likely that the drug tester can determine which of the three above drugs you have taken, he just knows you've taken one or more of them. Note! Addiction to codeine can occur. Tolerance is also seen with chronic use. Although the withdrawal is minimal with codeine, it is not a fun time. Please be cautious in your use of the drug. Some common side effects from codeine include drowsiness, light-headedness, dry mouth, urinary retention (difficulty in urination), constipation and of course, euphoria. Adverse effects can include itchiness (common), confusion, nausea and vomiting. The nausea experienced with codeine is less common and less intense than that experienced with the stronger opiates such as morphine. A tip to all those using opiates, lying down does wonders to the nausea. If you ever experience nausea on opiates it is different than the commonly experienced nausea as it is more of a light-headed nausea. Lying down will almost always relieve the nausea in a couple minutes, which after you can attempt to stand up again. Codeine is a _excellent_ opiate to start experimenting with. Although the euphoria is not as intense as that experienced with the stronger opiates, the euphoria can still be quite intense. It also must be noted that like most other drugs, some experience is required before the full effects can be noticed and enjoyed. The best dose to start at is the 30mg - 60mg dosage. That way you won't experience many adverse effects and you can continue to take this small amount until you feel the desired effects, after that you can increase the dosage as you please. Most people settle around the 250mg mark for the best euphoria, with the least side effects. The best idea is to take in a situation where you won't become distracted. You can get yourself into a comfortable position and relax because you will become _quite_ relaxed. It may take 5 to 20 times before you can appreciate the effects. The effects are subtle like marijuana and it takes some time before you come to recognize them all. The LD50 (lethal dose for %50) is 800mg in the average person. Death from codeine, unlike most opiates, includes restlessness, seizures and eventually death from respiratory arrest. --------------------------------------------------------- USING CODEINE Again a good dose to start using codeine at is in the 30mg to 60mg range. At this dosage range the adverse effects tend to be minimal, and the pleasurable effects quite noticeable. It is usually a good idea to take the drug on a empty stomach, and if nausea is experienced or you get hungry (not likely) you can have something to eat. On an empty stomach the effects will become noticeable within 15 min depending on the dose. With higher doses the effects can begin in as little as 7 min. The effects peak at around 1 hr with the experience nearing it's end at around the 3 - 4 hr point. Again with higher doses effects may last 4 - 6 hours. The effects will usually begin with a slight sedation, and a feeling of warmth coming over you body. Muscular relaxation is also quite noticeable. The subjective effects are quite hard to describe beyond the word euphoria. The sedation associated with codeine is quite a lot less than that experienced with morphine or other stronger opiates. A strong feeling of contentment is usually also experienced. Most people enter a phase where you become quite content and tend to lose interest in their surroundings. A heavy feeling in the limbs also becomes quite noticeable. This will peak at 1hr with the effects slowly tapering off after 2hr. Codeine FAQ 4/28/96 Codeine is a member of the drug class opiates. Opiates include all naturally occurring drugs with morphine-like effects such as codeine and all semi and fully synthetic drugs with morphine-like effects such as heroin and meperidine (Demerol). Codeine was first discovered as a natural constituent of opium in very small concentrations, in the range of 0.7% - 2.5% by wt. Most codeine found in pharmaceutical products today is synthetically produced via the methylation of morphine. Codeine is available by prescription only in most areas of the US. Exceptions are seen in some states where codeine can be purchased over-the-counter (OTC) in products containing a small dose of codeine. Also in Canada, some codeine containing products are available OTC in most if not all provinces. With the codeine available in the US OTC, release forms may have to be signed, including your name and address, in order to keep track of how much codeine you are buying. [In Canada you will have no difficulty buying codeine. Not only are there no forms to sign, but no questions are usually asked. In the US some paternalistic pharmacists will not sell if they don't like your looks.] The amount of codeine allowable by law in OTC products is 8mg per unit dose of a drug. A example is 325mg of acetaminophen (a unit dose of acetaminophen) and 8mg codeine per tablet. This law is used to prevent the excessive use of codeine as one would have to take doses reaching toxicity of acetaminophen before any real problems with the codeine administration would occur. It's the same situation with aspirin. With OTC cough medications, the highest amount of codeine allowed is 3.3mg/ml. This concentration is _so_ low that this FAQ will not be discussing cough syrups as a source of recreational codeine. The tablet form of OTC codeine products usually also includes 15mg of caffeine in each standard dose. [In Canada the law dictates that all codeine OTC products must contain at least two other active ingredients. This usually translates into caffeine and acetominophen/APAP.] Prescription codeine containing products are usually not available without another drug included such as acetaminophen. Rx (prescription) products include the Tylenol w/ codeine series (#1,2,3,4) containing respectively 8mg, 15mg, 30mg, 60mg of codeine. Each tablet also contains caffeine in doses of 15mg, 30mg, 30mg and 0mg respectively. Thus Tylenol #4 w/ codeine (the most desired one) contains 325mg of acetaminophen, 60mg of codeine and no caffeine. Another Rx product is the 222, 292, 293, 294 series. They are identical to the Tylenol w/ codeine series, except aspirin replaces the acetaminophen. The Rx products are good sources of codeine for recreational use except most of us don't have sources that can obtain these drugs, therefore this FAQ contains a procedure so that one can easily obtain large amount of codeine from OTC products. Effects And Uses Codeine is mainly used as a pain reliever, but is also used for the relief of a non-productive cough, and as a anti-diarrheal agent. 120mg of codeine administered SC (subcutaneously, injected under the skin) provides pain relief equal to 10mg of morphine administered by the same route. Doses used to relieve cough or diarrhea range from 5mg to 30mg. Codeine is absorbed quickly from the GI tract and it's first pass through the liver results in very little loss of the drug. This contrasts with morphine in which over 90% of the drug is metabolized in the first pass through the liver resulting in a considerable loss of potency when administered orally. This is why codeine is a common opiate in the relief of pain, the ease of oral administration. Codeine can be administered by many routes, this includes, SC, IM (intramuscularly), as an enema, and orally. Note, codeine can't be administered safely by IV (intravenously) injection as it can result in pulmonary edema (fluid in lungs), facial swelling and other life threatening complications. Codeine is converted to morphine in the brain. This of course will result in a positive result in a drug test for the opiates. It is not known whether or not the drugs heroin, morphine or codeine can be separately determined on a drug test. In other words it isn't likely that the drug tester can determine which of the three above drugs you have taken, he just knows you've taken one or more of them. Note! Addiction to codeine can occur. Tolerance is also seen with chronic use. Although the withdrawal is minimal with codeine, it is not a fun time. Please be cautious in your use of the drug. Some common side effects from codeine include drowsiness, light-headedness, dry mouth, urinary retention (difficulty in urination), constipation and of course, euphoria. Adverse effects can include itchiness (common), confusion, nausea and vomiting. The nausea experienced with codeine is less common and less intense than that experienced with the stronger opiates such as morphine. A tip to all those using opiates, lying down does wonders to the nausea. If you ever experience nausea on opiates it is different than the commonly experienced nausea as it is more of a light-headed nausea. Lying down will almost always relieve the nausea in a couple minutes, which after you can attempt to stand up again. Codeine is a _excellent_ opiate to start experimenting with. Although the euphoria is not as intense as that experienced with the stronger opiates, the euphoria can still be quite intense. It also must be noted that like most other drugs, some experience is required before the full effects can be noticed and enjoyed. The best dose to start at is the 30mg - 60mg dosage. That way you won't experience many adverse effects and you can continue to take this small amount until you feel the desired effects, after that you can increase the dosage as you please. Most people settle around the 250mg mark for the best euphoria, with the least side effects. The best idea is to take in a situation where you won't become distracted. You can get yourself into a comfortable position and relax because you will become _quite_ relaxed. It may take 5 to 20 times before you can appreciate the effects. The effects are subtle like marijuana and it takes some time before you come to recognize them all. The LD50 (lethal dose for %50) is 800mg in the average person. Death from codeine, unlike most opiates, includes restlessness, seizures and eventually death from respiratory arrest. [Some sources indicate that the lower-end LD50 may be around 500mg, so doses above 450mg are in the red zone.] Using Codeine Again a good dose to start using codeine at is in the 30mg to 60mg range. At this dosage range the adverse effects tend to be minimal, and the pleasurable effects quite noticeable. [I have never noticed any euphoria below 100mg, so don't give up just because two 3s don't give you a high. *However, some unfortunate individuals are allergic to codeine, and, if you have never used it before, first try a dose of around 30-60mg and see what will happen. It is dangerous to start off in the high dose range.*] It is usually a good idea to take the drug on an empty stomach, and if nausea is experienced or you get hungry (not likely) you can have something to eat. On an empty stomach the effects will become noticeable within 15 min depending on the dose. With higher doses the effects can begin in as little as 7 min. The effects peak at around 1 hr with the experience nearing it's end at around the 3 - 4 hr point. Again with higher doses effects may last 4 - 6 hours. The effects will usually begin with a slight sedation, and a feeling of warmth coming over you body. Muscular relaxation is also quite noticeable. The subjective effects are quite hard to describe beyond the word euphoria. The sedation associated with codeine is quite a lot less than that experienced with morphine or other stronger opiates. A strong feeling of contentment is usually also experienced. Most people enter a phase where you become quite content and tend to lose interest in their surroundings. A heavy feeling in the limbs also becomes quite noticeable. This will peak at 1hr with the effects slowly tapering off after 2hr. Codeine Extraction Technique Due to the difficulty in obtaining Rx drugs containing enough codeine to be used recreationally, I have included a procedure that allows one to extract the codeine from OTC products to obtain enough of the drug to use recreationally. This extraction can *only* be used on OTC products containing either acetaminophen or aspirin in addition to the codeine. There is one exception to this rule. Products containing caffeine can be used with the knowledge that the most of the caffeine contained in the OTC product, *will* be found in the finished product. This should not matter to most people, but to those with problems in taking caffeine, *you have been warned*! [I have found that it is better to use products containing asprin, as opposed to tylenol, because the filtering process goes more smoothly and, if one is not allergic to salicilates, aspirin is safer (easier on the liver, etc). Given its solubility, you will also end up with far less aspirin than acetominophen per volume of the product.] The idea behind the following extraction is that acetaminophen and aspirin (I'll use A/A from now on) are very _insoluble_ in cold water. Codeine phosphate (the most common salt of codeine) is very _soluble_ in water including cold water. The following table explains: |Codeine Type| Solubility (31C water)|Solubility (21C water)| Aspirin 1g / 100 ml1g / 300ml Acetaminophen 1g / 70 ml 1g / 150 ml Codeine 1g / 2.3 ml1g / 0.7 ml Phosphate?g / ? ml ?g / ? ml So as you can see, both A/A aren't very soluble in 21C water, so if you cool the water to around 10C, the solubility will drop even further. That way you can dissolve 20 tablets in 50ml of hot water, cool the water down to 10C, filter the solution and end up with the same amount of codeine as the tablets contained but only a fraction of the original amount of A/A. It must be noted that because most of the caffeine will also be in the finished product, using large amount of tablets in the following procedure will result in large amount of caffeine in the finished product. For example the use of 20 tablets will result in about 300mg of caffeine in the finished product (15mg/tablets * 20 tablets). I personally haven't experienced any adverse reactions due to this amount of caffeine. Because of codeine's sedative effects the "jitters" and other adverse effects of large amount of caffeine are not experienced. The Procedure 1. Obtain a quantity of tablets containing codeine, check to see if they contain anything other than codeine, caffeine, acetaminophen or aspirin. If they do, and you don't know whether or not it will be a problem, your best bet is not to use them. Measure out your desired amount of codeine (ex. 64 mg = 8 tablets * 8mg/tablet). You may want to add 2 extra tablets as it is quite likely you will lose some codeine in the procedure. As you get more experience with the procedure you will be able to get approx. 95% of the codeine extracted. 2. Measure out some nice hot water, use approx. 40ml / 20 tablets or more if needed. I would suggest you don't go over 50ml for 20 tablets. I don't know if the use of boiling water would destroy any of the codeine but your best bet is not to use it. Use hot water but not boiling. Make sure the tablets dissolve completely. Some dissolve on contact with water while others need some help dissolving by crushing them. Note : not all of the tablet will dissolve, there are water-insoluble fillers in the tablet and not all of the A/A will dissolve either(which is what we want). [Most sources recommend that codeine not be stored at temperatures in excess of 40C (104F), so its probably better to use warm, but not hot, water. I find that it is best to crash the tablets completely in a container, and then dissolve them in a glass with water.] 3. Place the solution in a cold bath, I just use some ice cubes in a container of water. Stir the mixture occasionally until the solution drops to about 15C or lower. You won't need a thermometer to measure the temperature, just make sure it's "cold". This will take about 30 min. If you wish to speed this up, you can use less water to dissolve the tablets, and add ice chips to cool the mixture faster. Just make sure you don't add so much ice that you drastically increase the volume of the mixture. 4. Filter the solution using whatever you have. Coffee filters work well, but lab filters work the best. Just make sure you don't end up with obvious solids in the filtered solution. This will take about 1 hr. You may also want to rinse the solids left over in the filter with some ice-water to extract any remaining codeine. [With aspirin this will take only about 20-30 minutes.] 5. Drink and enjoy! The solution will be _very_ bitter, so I mix a little Kool-aid powder into the solution. The taste isn't really bad but it's similar to sucking on a lemon. [One gets used to the taste after a while.:)] 6. Sit back and wait for the effects. Because the codeine is already in solution it only needs to be absorbed, while codeine in the tablet form must dissolve before being absorbed. Because of this, the effects will probably become noticeable within 15min. Note : I don't suggest you evaporate the mixture unless you are willing to wait a while. The Merck index warns that codeine is sensitive to heat and light. For that reason if you wish to evaporate the mixture, do it without heat, and shield the solution from light. Pharmacology and Drug Interactions In order to take full advantage of codeine, it is helpful to be familiar with some relevant pharmacology: *CYP2D6 The body converts codeine into morphine (~10%) by using the so called P450 cytochrome pathway, especially cytochrome 2d6 (cyp2d6). Unfortunately, cyp2d6 is missing in about 7% of the white population, and its manifestation is quite variable in the rest. Individuals who inherited a cyp2d6 deficiency will get many of the adverse effects associated with codeine but little euphoria. If codeine just doesn't work for you, this may be why. Some drugs also interfere with cyp2d6. Prime among these are the SSRIs, with the exception of Zoloft (if I remember correctly). The most potent inhibitor is paroxetine (paxil), followed by fluoxetine (prozac). If you are taking an SSRI, you will probably experience a markedly decreased euphoria when using codeine. (Paxil has a half life of only 24hrs, so not taking it for a few days will do miracles; the half life of prozac is 7 days.) Finally, codeine itself is a cyp2d6 inhibitor. This means that taking the whole dose as quickly as possible will probably give you the biggest high (ie. its a waste to redose in 30 mins). *GLUTHETHIMIDE A combination of codeine and gluthethimide (a sleeping agent) has been used in some places as a heroin substitute. Gluthethimide is an enzyme-inducer, and it allows the body to convert more than 10% of codeine into morphine. Note that this combination increases the addiction potential of codeine.] \12 Crack Coke songs First mentioned in the NYT Mo 11/17/85 by Donna Boundy. Less than a year later there were more than 1000 stories. In Search Of The Big Bang. What is Crack Cocaine? Cocaine is an alkaloid found in leaves of the South American shrub Erythroxylon coca. It is a powerfully reinforcing psychostimulant. The drug induces a sense of exhilaration in the user primarily by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the midbrain. If the predictions of The Hedonistic Imperative are vindicated, then future millennia will witness what Robert Anton Wilson once called "hedonic engineering". Mature enhancements of currently drug-induced states of euphoria will become an absolute presupposition of sentient existence. Life-long happiness will be genetically pre-programmed. "Peak experiences" will become a natural part of everyday mental health. Cocaine, alas, offers only a tragically delusive short-cut. In pre-Columbian times, the coca leaf was reserved for Inca royalty. The natives subsequently used it for mystical, religious, social, nutritional and medicinal purposes. They exploited its stimulant properties to ward off fatigue and hunger, enhance endurance, and to promote a benign sense of well-being. It was initially banned by the Spanish. But the invaders discovered that without the Incan "gift of the gods", the natives could barely work the fields - or mine gold. So it came to be cultivated by the Catholic Church. Coca leaves were distributed three or four times a day to the workers during brief rest-breaks. Returning Spanish conquistadores introduced it to Europe. Coca was touted as "an elixir of life". In 1814, an editorial in Gentleman's Magazine urged researchers to begin experimentation so that coca could be used as "a substitute for food, so that people could live a month, now and then, without eating..." The active ingredient of the coca plant was first isolated in the West around 1860. Freud described cocaine as a magical drug. He wrote a song of praise in its honour and practised extensive self-experimentation. To Sherlock Holmes, cocaine was "so transcendentally stimulating and clarifying to the mind that its secondary action is a matter of small moment". Doctors dispensed cocaine as an antidote to morphine addiction. Unfortunately, some patients made a habit of combining both. Cocaine was soon sold over-the-counter. Until 1916, one could buy it at Harrods. It was widely used in tonics, toothache cures and patent medicines; and in chocolate cocaine tablets. Prospective buyers were advised - in the words of pharmaceutical firm Parke-Davis - that cocaine "could make the coward brave, the silent eloquent, and render the sufferer insensitive to pain". When combined with alcohol, cocaine yields a further potently reinforcing compound, cocaethylene. Thus cocaine was a popular ingredient in wines, notably Vin Mariani. Coca wine received endorsement from royalty, Prime Ministers and even the Pope. Coca-cola was introduced in 1886 as "a valuable brain-tonic and cure for all nervous afflictions". It was promoted as a temperance drink "offering the virtues of coca without the vices of alcohol". The new beverage was invigorating and popular. Until 1903, a typical serving contained around 60mg of cocaine. Sold today, it still contains an extract of coca-leaves. Coca Cola imports eight tons from South America each year. Nowadays the leaves are used only for flavouring. Their psychoactive alkaloid is first removed. A coca leaf typically contains contains between 0.1 and 0.9 percent cocaine. If chewed in such form, it rarely presents the user with any social or medical problems. When the leaves are soaked and mashed, however, cocaine is extracted as a coca-paste. The paste is 60 to 80 per cent pure. It is usually exported in the form of the salt, cocaine hydrochloride. This is the powdered cocaine most common, until recently, in the West. Drug testing for cocaine aims to detect the presence of its major metabolite, the inactive benzoylecgonine. Benzoylecgonine can be detected for up to five days in casual users. In chronic users, urinary detection is possible for as long as three weeks. Yet old-fashioned cocaine hydrochloride still wasn't good enough. Sensation-hungry thrill-seekers have long sought the ultimate high from the ultimate "rush". They haven't been satisfied with the enhanced mood, sexual interest, self-confidence, conversational prowess and intensified consciousness to be derived from just snorting cocaine. Normally, only the intravenous route of administration could be expected to deliver the more potent and rapid hit they have been seeking. Yet there are very strong cultural prejudices against injecting recreational drugs. So a smokeable form was developed. Since the hydrochloride salt decomposes at the temperature required to vaporise it, cocaine is instead converted to the liberated base form. Initially, "free-base" cocaine was typically produced using volatile solvents, usually ether. Unfortunately, this technique is physically dangerous. The solvent tends to ignite. Hence a more convenient method of producing smokeable free-base became popular. Its product is crack. To obtain crack-cocaine, ordinary cocaine hydrochloride is concentrated by heating the drug in a solution of baking soda until the water evaporates. This type of base-cocaine makes a cracking sound when heated; hence the name "crack". Base-cocaine vaporises at a low temperature, so it can be easily inhaled via a heated pipe. Crack-cocaine delivers an intensity of pleasure completely beyond the normal range of human experience. It offers the most wonderful state of consciousness, and the most intense sense of being alive, that the user will ever enjoy. (S)he will access heightened states of being whose modes are unknown to chemically-naïve contemporaries. Groping for adequate words, crack-takers sometimes speak of the rush in terms of a "whole-body orgasm". Drug-naive virgins - slightly shop-soiled or otherwise - cannot be confident (unless in thrall to ill-conceived logical behaviorist theories of meaning) that they have grasped the significance of such an expression. For to do so, it would be necessary to take the drug via its distinctive delivery-mechanism oneself. This is at best very imprudent. Ultimately, the emotional baseline, and affective analogue of Absolute Zero, characteristic of post-humanity in its hedonically enriched modes of awareness, may be richer than anything we can now grasp. It may be higher than the rapturous transports of the most euphoric coke-binge in paleo-human history. In the meantime, a drug which induces a secular parody of Heaven commonly leads the user into a biological counterpart of Hell. --------------------------------------------------------- When Is It Best To Take Crack Cocaine? As a rule of thumb, it is profoundly unwise to take crack-cocaine. The brain has evolved a truly vicious set of negative feedback mechanisms. Their functional effect is to stop us from being really happy for long. The initial short-lived euphoria of a reinforcer as powerful as crack will be followed by a "crash". This involves anxiety, depression, irritability, extreme fatigue and possibly paranoia. Physical health may deteriorate. An intense craving for more cocaine develops. In heavy users, stereotyped compulsive and repetitive patterns of behaviour may occur. So may tactile hallucinations of insects crawling underneath the skin ("formication"). Severe depressive conditions may follow; agitated delirium; and also a syndrome sometimes known as toxic paranoid psychosis. The social consequences of heavy cocaine use can be equally unpleasant. Non-recreational users are likely eventually to alienate family and friends. They tend to become isolated and suspicious. Most of their money and time is spent thinking about how to get more of the drug. The compulsion may become utterly obsessive. The illusion of free-will is likely to disappear. During a "mission", essentially a 3-4 day crack-binge, users may consume up to 50 rocks a day. Whereas "empathogens" such as ecstasy - which trigger the release of far more serotonin than dopamine - will typically promote empathy, trust, compassionate love and sociability, mainly dopaminergic drugs, if taken on their own and to excess, can easily have the reverse effect. Simplistically, cocaine tends to be a "selfish" drug. There is perhaps a single predictable time of life when taking crack-cocaine is sensible, harmless and both emotionally and intellectually satisfying. Indeed, for such an occasion it may be commended. Certain estimable English doctors were once in the habit of administering to terminally-ill cancer patients an elixir known as the "Brompton cocktail". This was a judiciously-blended mixture of cocaine, heroin and alcohol. The results were gratifying not just to the recipient. Relatives of the stricken patient were pleased, too, at the new-found look of spiritual peace and happiness suffusing the features of a loved one as (s)he prepared to meet his or her Maker. Drawing life to a close with a transcendentally orgasmic bang, and not a pathetic and god-forsaken whimper, can turn dying into the culmination of one's existence rather than its present messy and protracted anti-climax. There is another good reason to finish life on a high note. In a predominantly secular society, adopting a hedonistic death-style is much more responsible from an ethical utilitarian perspective. For it promises to spare friends and relations the miseries of vicarious suffering and distress they are otherwise liable to undergo as they witness one's decline. A few generations hence, the elimination of primitive evolutionary holdovers such as the ageing process and aversive experience will make the social institutionalisation of the hedonistic death advocated here redundant. In the meanwhile, one is conceived in pleasure and may reasonably hope to die in it. E-mail info@cocaine.org Crack Cocaine Cocaine is a powerful constrictor of blood vessels and a local anaesthetic. It is also a potent psychostimulant. Its effects include excitement, alertness, tachycardia, pupillary dilatation, raised body-temperature, hypertension, brochodilation, enhanced glucose availability, and increased motor activity - a part of the fight/flight syndrome. Taking cocaine also also gets you high. Its half-life in the plasma, however, is only 50 minutes; and the euphoria soon fades. Crack users desire more far sooner. The rewarding properties of cocaine derive mainly from its effects on the neurotransmitter dopamine. The dopamine system is involved in the control of mood, motivation, cognition, locomotion, sexuality and endocrine function. There are only some 30-40 thousand dopamine neurons in the brain, but both the axons and dentrites of the dopamine neurons are unusually well arborised - with as many as 100,000 synapses for each dopaminergic neuron. Their distinctive morphology reflects dopamine's role in the "encephalisation of emotion". Cocaine induces elation primarily by blocking the dopamine transporter. The blockade increases the availability of free dopamine in the mesolimbic pleasure-centres of the brain. Degree of transporter occupancy is correlated with the intensity of euphoria. Higher doses and faster routes of administration create vivid memories and intense cravings. Unlike most clinically-approved mood-brighteners, cocaine is a pro-sexual drug. Taken before sex, it can induce prolonged and intense orgasm. Cocaine-induced lovemaking, however, is not especially warm or empathetic. The Vials Of Crack Crack is actually a less pure sort of free-base cocaine. Unlike old-fashioned free-base, however, its production doesn't involve any flammable solvents. Crack is usually made by mixing two parts of cocaine hydrochyloride with one part baking soda in about 20 ml of water. The solution is then heated gently until white precipitates form. Heating is halted when precipitation stops. The precipitate is filtered and retained. The precipitate may then be washed with water; this procedure is usually omitted in the street product. The product may then be dried for 24 hours under a heat-lamp. Crack is then cut or broken into small 'rocks' weighing a few tenths of a gram. The traditional method of taking cocaine in the West involves snorting the hydrochloride salt. But absorption through the nasal mucosa is relatively modest. This is because their surface-area is small and cocaine is vasoconstrictive. Freebase, on the other hand, is smoked and inhaled directly into the lungs. Therefore much higher doses are possible. Inhalation is followed by an intense euphoric rush. The euphoria doesn't last long. The user becomes irritable and craves more of the drug. Chronic cocaine-use causes a decrease in the production of enkephalin, one of the brain's natural opioids. This in turn causes a compensatory increase in the number of mu-receptors. The number of unoccupied mu-receptors may be associated with the craving and abstinence syndrome. After chronic exposure to cocaine, the number of post-synaptic dopamine receptors in the CNS is reduced. The amount of dopamine transporter protein is increased. Tolerance to cocaine's effects does exist over prolonged use; but the extent of this physiological adaptation is relatively modest. The cocaine-user still gets high; but in the absence of cocaine, his pre-synaptic neurons sequester dopamine in the synaptic cleft with greater efficiency. This may induce depression, and sometimes profound despair. No one ever feels contented after taking cocaine. They just want more. Hard Rock Millions of years of evolution by natural selection has endowed the brain with a cruel web of negative-feedback mechanisms to regulate our moods, emotions and degree of well-being. Taking refined 'recreational' euphoriants, notably cocaine or the amphetamines, sends a signal to the brain that indicates, falsely, the impending arrival of an immense evolutionary benefit. After the drug-fuelled high comes the crash. Cocaine-withdrawal causes a protracted biochemical abstinence-syndrome marked by craving and anhedonia. Neuronal release of dopamine declines. So does the number of mesolimbic dopamine transporters. The spontaneous firing of dopamine cells decreases. Chronic cocaine dependence may cause long-lasting functional deficits in the frontal cortex as well. The hedonic treadmill punishes naive attempts to get high. CRACK COCAINE - A once-in-a-lifetime experience? The high from crack cocaine is intensely rewarding. So it's reckless to try the drug at all - at least until one's death-bed - because it's extraordinarily hard to forget. If one succumbs to curiosity, then other things in life can easily pall in comparison. Tragically, family and loved ones may suffer almost as much as the addict. So is a fallen crackhead inescapably doomed? Or are there ways (s)he can escape from the abyss? Perhaps. Most of the GIs who got hooked on unmistakably physically addictive heroin in Vietnam kicked the habit when they returned to the USA. They quit, often without undue difficulty, because most of the "conditioned cues and reinforcers" associated with drug-use in South-East Asia were missing back home. Thus a complete change of environment, especially in the company of supportive family and (drug-free) friends, can help break a user's self-destructive cycle of coke-binges. Good food, particularly an idealised stone-age diet [fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, wholemeal bread, pasta, rice etc] should help too. Regular vigorous exercise is useful as well [and probably Faith In Jesus, though this isn't always a realistic option] Some drug-pundits recommend Total Abstinence: "Just Say No." The ex-addict is encouraged to renounce "unnatural" chemical highs altogether. This course of action may indeed be prudent. Unfortunately, godliness, virtue and clean living aren't always the recipe for a happy life either. For many cocaine-users have a pre-existing psychiatric disorder - even by today's dismally impoverished conception of mental health. In effect, they are self-medicating, even if they ostensibly take coke "for kicks". So in place of cocaine, clinically useful mood-brighteners (e.g. desipramine, a noradrenaline reuptake blocker; or more daringly, amineptine, a dopamine reuptake blocker) and/or anti-anxiety agents may be considered instead. Alternatively, if the user wishes to Say No To Drugs completely, then a "natural", gentle mood-brightener and anti-anxiety agent, hypericum (St John's wort), may be taken indefinitely. Unfortunately, this traditional herbal remedy is not a dependable cure for deep melancholic depression - coke-induced or otherwise. Inevitably, today's ordinary mood-brighteners, whether herbal or clinical, won't stand comparison with tomorrow's designer-drugs. Nor will they deliver the rapturous but addictive rush of a fast-acting euphoriant. And they yield desperately little joy compared to the lifetime of genetically pre-programmed superhealth on offer to our descendants. But often dirty stopgaps are better than nothing at all. For our genes didn't design us to be happy. Crack-cocaine delivers an intensity of pleasure beyond the bounds of normal human experience. Unfortunately, it delivers suffering beyond the bounds of normal human experience too. The pleasure it yields is brief. The suffering that follows may be prolonged. The brain's hedonic treadmill isn't easily cheated. For all drug-taking - whether recreational, clinical, or even the customised and site-specific designer-drugs of the next century - is little more than glorified glue-sniffing - at least in comparison to the gene-therapies, systematic germ-line re-writes and nano-scale hedonic-engineering of centuries to come. Yet kneejerk doom-mongering is wrong. The future will be inconceivably better than we imagine. Crack-cocaine offers only a hellish parody of what lies ahead. My name is Cocaine - (anon) My name is Cocaine - call me Coke for short. I entered this country without a passport. Ever since then I've made lots of scum rich. Some have been murdered and found in a ditch. I'm more valued than diamonds, more treasured than gold. Use me just once and you too will be sold. I'll make a schoolboy forget his books. I'll make a beauty queen forget her looks. I'll take renowned speaker and make a bore. I'll take a mother and make here a whore. I'll make a schoolteacher forget how to teach. I'll make a preacher not want to preach. I'll take all your rent money and you'll get evicted. I'll murder your babies or they'll be born addicted. I'll make you rob and steal and kill. When you're under my power you have no will. Remember my friend my name is " Big C ". If you try me just one time you may never be free. I've destroyed actors, politicians and many a hero. I've decreased bank accounts from millions to zero. I make shooting and stabbing a common affair. Once I take charge you won't have a prayer. Now that you know me what will you do ? You'll have to decide, It's all up to you. The day you agree to sit in my saddle. The decision is one that no one can straddle. Listen to me, and please listen well. When you ride with cocaine you are headed for hell !!! http://www.cocaine.org