alt.drugs FAQ and monthly posting Last Modified: Sat, 26 Sep 92 FAQ Topics: Introduction : Introduction to the newsgroup alt.drugs Networking : FTP sites, E-Mail FTP/Posting/Anonymous Posting, NNTP Common FAQs : Answers to common FAQs MDMA/Ecstasy : Section on MDMA (effects, chemistry, neurotoxicity) Drug Myths : Common misconceptions about drugs Drug Testing : A quick section on how to beat drug tests Organizations : A list of Anti-War on Drugs organizations Administrativa: READ THE WHOLE LIST NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T BEFORE DAMMIT! Subjects can easily be skipped to with ^G in 'rn', or by breaking them up into a digest with "G%" in 'nn'. The "Date: " field associated with a subject is actually its last modified date. [09-26-91] Overhauled the section on net resources ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Apr 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Introduction Welcome to alt.drugs. This is a forum for the discussion generally of recreational drugs. To a large extent the traffic on this group deals with both currently legal and illegal recreational drugs. Discussions commonly are concerned with both the psychological and chemical effects of drugs, along with the social aspects of drug use. The following newsgroups may be more appropriate for certain posts: sci.med: medicinal use of prescription or OTC drugs. alt.psychoactives: nootropics or "smart drugs". talk.politics.drugs: political and legal aspects of drug use. alt.consciousness: discussions on consciousness and altered states. alt.rave: the underground dance scene that MDMA is related to. alt.drugs.usenet: this is for people who are addicted to USENET please do not cross-post to this group. The discussion about illegal drug use is frequently very controversial. One item should be immediately cleared up: It is *NOT* a commonly espoused theme that irresponsible illegal drug use should be *ENCOURAGED*, and the purpose of this list is not to encourage irresponsible illegal (or legal) drug use. The majority of people who read alt.drugs, however, do generally condone legal or illegal drug use provided it is done *RESPONSIBLY* and that means knowledgably. Part of the purpose of this list is to provide accurate information about drugs. In particular there are many myths about legal and illegal drug use, and there is quite a large amount of disinformation also. For the most part I have tried to insure that this list contains accurate information. If you think something is in error, please e-mail me. This list is not, however, meant to be all-encompassing (that would make for an incredibly large list and I don't have *THAT* much free time). There are also FAQ lists on the following topics, all of which are available at several FTP sites (Directions for uucp users to acquire copies of the FAQs are included in the FTP list). FAQ-Bibliography : Extensive references to books and articles about drugs FAQ-Ecstasy : Information about Ecstasy (aka MDMA, MDM, Adam) FAQ-Everclear : The Everclear list from rec.food.drink FAQ-LSD : Information about LSD FAQ-Misc : YOU'RE READING IT! FAQ-MJ-Consumption : Information on methods of social marijuana consumption FAQ-Natural-High : Info on mind-altering botanicals -- some legal THE IMPORTANT BIT: Frequently Asked Questions Also, this list was created with another purpose in mind. alt.drugs tends to get bogged down in traffic that is continuously repeated. In particular threads on the FTP sites, how to beat drug testing, and the infamous LSD and strychnine thread have been hashed and rehashed =) more times than many people can remember. Before posting something to the net, net.etiquette requires you to read this list first. If you don't find an answer in here, please first check the single-topic FAQs and the archives at ftp.u.washington.edu. If you stil cannot find an answer the a posting to alt.drugs is welcomed. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 26 Sep 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Networking FTP SITES --------- The following is list of Internet sites which have FTP access to files related to alt.drugs. To use them login via FTP as 'anonymous': ftp.u.washington.edu [128.95.136.1] (lamont@hyperreal.com) /public/alt.drugs: misc alt.drugs related material, FAQs rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de [129.69.1.12] /soft/kommunikation/news/spool/news/alt/drugs: last few days news pit-manager.mit.edu [18.72.1.58] /pub/activism: has constitution of US, Bill of Rights, etc ftp.eff.org [192.88.144.3] /pub/academic/civics: Government addresses, constitution, Senate fax#, etc think.com [131.239.2.1] /pub/libernet: Libertarian Party and Fully Informed Jury Amendment GETTING FILES VIA E-MAIL ------------------------ If you don't have access to FTP because you are on a uucp/Fidonet/etc network there is an e-mail gateway at ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com that can retrieve the files for you and another one at bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu. To get instrutions on how to use the FTP gateway send a blank message to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com or bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu with one line containing the work 'help'. This is a sample message of how to retrieve some files from the alt.drugs archives at ftp.u.washington.edu using ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com: > % mail ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com > Subject: > reply @ > connect ftp.u.washington.edu anonymous > dir /public/alt.drugs > get /public/alt.drugs/000-readme > get /public/alt.drugs/000-index > uuencode /* note: this command is optional and the default is btoa */ > binary > get /public/alt.drugs/marijuana-myths.Z > quit This is a sample message of how to retrieve some files from the alt.drugs archives at ftp.u.washington.edu using bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu: > % mail bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu > Subject: > ftp ftp.u.washington.edu UUENCODE > user anonymous > cd /public/alt.drugs > dir > ascii > get 000-readme > get 000-index > binary > get marijuana-myths.Z > quit Both examples would retrieve a directory of the archive, the two printable ascii files 000-readme and 000-index, and the compressed file marijuana-myths.Z. To recieve files with a '.Z' extension, you must set the server to "binary" mode because all the files are compressed. Those compressed files are then either sent out uuencoded or btoa'd. So, you must obtain copies of the programs 'uudecode' (or 'atob') and 'uncompress' to unpack the files that you will recieve. ftpmail gives you a choice of atob'd or uuencoded files -- bitftp will only allow you to use uuencoded files. If you don't have a clue how to do this, please ask your systems administrator or local computer nerd... GZIPed .z FILES ---------------- The alt.drugs archive at ftp.u.washington.edu stores all files ending in the .z extension as "zipped" files. This is not the same as the PKZIP format. To extrat them you must obtain a copy of GZIP from any of the GNU distribution archives (i.e. prep.ai.mit.edu). GZIP runs on unix, vms, os/2, amiga and msdos. see the file 000-README-ZIP for more information and short notes on compiling it (which is very, very easy thanks to GNU's autoconfiguration utility). MS-DOS users can get a compiled binary executable from hal.gnu.ai.mit.edu:/tmp/gzip*.exe. Also, as noted above, if you are retrieving the files vi e-mail you will need either "uudecode" or "atob" in order to make the files readible. POSTING VIA E-MAIL ----------------- You can post to alt.drugs by sending e-mail to: alt-drugs@ucbvax.berkeley.edu alt-drugs@cs.utexas.edu ANONYMOUS POSTING ----------------- There is an alt.drugs anonymous posting service that you can use by sending mail to ap.4151@cupid.sai.com. Signatures beginning with a line containing "--" will be stripped. You must have at least *some* kind of text on the subject line and some kind of body text or the message will be discarded. Posted messages will appear to originate from an account at the University of Washington -- this is a "feature" that cannot be changed, unfortunately. There will also be a posted anonymous address where other USENET users can reply to you without either of you revealing your identities to the other. There is absolutely no guarantee of security via this service. In theory all anyone has to do is hack into the cupid.sai.com machine and retrieve the master list of mailing addresses<->anonymous addresses. This is what is meant by the term "these messages are not secure". However, if all you are concerned about is (for example) co-workers learning about posts to alt.drugs, then this service should produce the necessary degree of privacy by hiding your name. USING NNTP TO POST/READ NEWS ---------------------------- You can use NNTP at the following sites. As far as I know entering the command "setenv NNTPSERVER " and firing up your favorite newsprogram is the way to use any of these -- for more information contact your local systems adimistrator or computer nerd. news.cs.indiana.edu (read-only) usenet.coe.montana.ede (read-only) news.uni-paderborn.de (read-only) Also you can use NNTP at the following sites by telnetting to them... telnet uwn.edu 119 telnet 129.89.2.1 119 telnet sol.ctr.columbia.edu 119 telnet 128.59.64.40 119 telnet rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de 119 telnet 129.69.1.12 telnet news.fu-berlin.de 119 telnet 130.133.3.250 119 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Oct 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Common FAQs 1) Asking to buy illegal drugs over the network. 2) Hallucinogenic banana peels and peanut shells. 3) LSD and strychnine. 4) Making LSD [including warnings about The Anarchist Cookbook]. 5) Commonly used acronyms on alt.drugs. You can skip to a specific FAQ by searching for the regular expression '^x' where x is the number of the question you want to read. 1) Asking to buy illegal drugs over the network. Don't. The network is scanned by authorities -- see the file posting-risks at the ftp.u.washington.edu archive. If you'd like to set something up with somebody across the net privately in e-mail I would also highly suggest that you use the PGP (pretty good privacy) Public Key Encryption software so that the details of your e-mail cannot be intercepted. 2) Hallucinogenic banana peels and peanut shells. Utterly Bogus. From Jay Stevens, "Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream" (pg 336): "...Perhaps the best put-on, the grandest, was the Great Banana Conspiracy, which first broke in the Berkeley _Barb_ that [1967] March. A new psychedelic had been discovered, the _Barb_ reported, one anyone could obtain, since the only ingredient was dried banana peel. Dry the peel, scrape off the inner portion, and smoke it. The high, according to cognoscenti quoted in the _Barb_, was comparable to opium, with some nice psilocybin shadings. From the _Barb_ the banana hoax bounced to the wire services and thence across the country. Students held banana smoke-ins and grocery stores experienced a repeat of the run on morning glory seeds a few years earlier, as scraggly young kids began appearing at the checkout counters with carts full of bananas. Was America going to have to ban the banana? Or require licenses before people could buy them? A congressman from New Jersey jokingly introduced two new acts to Congress: the Banana Labeling Act of 1967 and the Banana and Other Odd Fruit Disclosure and Reporting Act of 1967. But not everyone was laughing. United Fruit was more than a little alarmed. They asked Sidney Cohen to find out whether bananas really were hallucinogenic, a question that the FDA also was taking very seriously. And after a lengthy and sober evaluation, it was announced that bananas were good sources of potassium and fiber, and definitely not hallucinogenic." The Anarchist Cookbook on page 55 mentions essentially the same recipie for extracting "Musa Sapientum bananadine". The recipie is utter complete bullshit. The Book as a whole isn't much better. A few pages later is a recipie for smoking Peanuts... bullshit again. If you have the Anarchist Cookbook and are actually dumb enough to follow it without doing some more research, you are likely to become a classic example of evolution in action. 3) LSD and strychnine. Your chances of getting strychnine contaminated _blotter_ LSD, are probably about the same as your chances of getting hit by a piece of the wing sheared off of a passing 747. Strychnine is not the cause of tracers, cramps, nausea, or amphetamine-like LSD-effects. Strychnine is not needed to bond the LSD to blotter paper. Pure LSD tartrate/maleate gets absorbed on blotter quite efficiently all by itself. Any chemist competent enough to manufacture LSD would know that strychnine is not needed to produce LSD, therefore there is no strychnine "added" in the process of manufacture. "Cutting" LSD with strychnine would be utterly ludicrous due to the expense of strychnine, and the ease of "cutting" LSD with the solvent of your choice, before depositing it on the paper. Its much more likely that if someone is going to try and rip someone off, that they'll just pass off blank blotter paper -- its *so* much easier than trying to lace LSD with strychnine. There have been several other theories to explain the existance of Strychnine in LSD. They all, however, fall short in one very critical test. There are no reports that can be found of Strychnine poisoning due to the ingestion of laced LSD. If strychnine was on LSD, and given strychnine's high toxicity, and given the number of people who take rather insane (>100 hits) of LSD, there should be acid-heads dropping like flies from strychnine poisoning. This has not been reported, therefore the likelyhood of strychnine laced LSD being sold on the illegal market is small. And, finally, there have been analysis of street drugs samples which have never turned up a sample of strychnine laced LSD. The only reports are a few anecdotal ones, and the report in _LSD: My Problem Child_. It should be noted that in _LSD:MPC_ the "LSD" was being sold as a "white powder". The lesson is to only buy blotter LSD -- its very, very hard to fit enough adulterants onto a small square of blotter to effect a person. LSD can only be distributed in this manner because its effective dose is in the 50-200 microgram range. Its possible that poorly synthesized LSD might have other ergot derivatives in it. This *MAY* be the cause of the various adverse effects that people report on LSD. Its also possible that LSD itself simply causes adverse physical effects, particularly muscle cramping, in persons suceptible to it. And its quite likely that the "strychnine" reactions to LSD are entirely psychosomatic. Both Leary ("The Psychedelic Experience") and Lilly ("Programming and Metaprogramming...", "Center of the Cyclone") have each observed this reaction in people who cannot handle the surge of emotion associated with a trip. Advice would be to avoid methylxanthines (caffiene, theophylline in tea, etc) prior to dosing. There may be a synergistic effect between them and LSD causing, or contributing, to the "strychnine effect". And prior use of dramamine may alleviate the nausea sometimes associated with LSD, and other seritonergic drugs. 4) Making LSD. LSD is not easy to make. If you're seriously interested the various methods of synthesis can be found in chemistry journals (see the Merck Index for a list of references). Also, the book _Psychedelic Chemistry_ (available from Loompanics, Unld. -- see end of FAQ list) has some rather good, referenced info on how to synthesize LSD. However, do expect to be in *way* over your head unless you've had at least a few years of college chemistry. Please don't post asking for "simple" instructions on how to make LSD. There aren't. And if you *needed* "simple" instructions to make LSD, you're probably not a good chemist and shouldn't be attempting to synthesize it. Also, the synthesis instructions in The Anarchist Cookbook are about 90% bullshit. The "synthesis" given is at best a recipe for the extraction of Lysergic Acid Amides (which is not LSD), and some have commented that the instructions are still flawed and dangerous. Also, the reproduction of the patent on how to make LSD has reported to be flawed -- please don't trust the A.C and order the patent for yourself. The A.C. in general is something which is best to avoid. An alternative to synthesizing LSD is using LSA from morning glory seeds or Hawaiian Baby Woodrose seeds. See the natural highs FAQ for more info on this. Also see the book Psychedelic Chemistry for a simple procedure to extract the LSA from the seeds in order to eliminate contaminants. 5. What does the acronym [....] stand for? DARE: Drug Abuse Resistance Education (Gates' WoD group) Also: Deliver Acronyms Rather than Education Dicks Against Real Education Drugs Are Really Excellent Do And Really Enjoy Dope, A Real Enlightenment Drop Acid, Reality Explodes Drugs Are Really Expensive DPF: Drug Policy Foundation (anti-WoD group) FOAF: Friend of a Friend HBMG: Heavenly Blue Morning Glory (see MG also) HBWR,HBWS: Hawaiian Baby Woodrose Seeds IMHO: In My [Humble, Honest] Opinion LAA: Lysergic Acid Amides LSA: Lysergic Acid Amides LSD: Lysergic Acid Diethylamide MDA: 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine MDMA: 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine MG: Morning Glory N2O: Nitrous Oxide NO2: Nitrogen Dioxide (which is *quite* poisonous) NORML: National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws PDFA,PTFA: Partnership for a [Drug, Truth]-Free America (anti-Drug) WoD,WoSD: War on (Some) Drugs WRT: With Respect To ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Oct 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Drug Chemistry Difficulty: o Extracting active components (DMT, LSA, etc) from various plants via polar-nonpolar extraction: Easy, a little chemistry knowledge. o Extracting active components from various plants via acid-base extraction: A little trickier. o Extracting active components from variuos plants (i.e nutmeg) via column chromatography: Somewhat Difficult, probably need 1st year OChem. o Synthesizing MDMA and similar compounds: Difficult, need OChem lab experience and good equipment. o Synthesizing LSD-25 from Lysergic Acid or Lysergic Acid precursor: Quite Difficult, need probably 3-4 years of college chemistry and a lab. o Complete Synthesis of LSD: Damn near impossible. Useful Notes on Reading Synthesis Procedures: Et20: Diethyl Ether THF: Tetrahydrofuran LAH: Lithium Aluminum Hydride /* much more stuff */ Misc Notes on Synthesis: For references to syntheses, you are probably best off by doing some real research at a chemistry library in the Chemical Abstracts. The book _Psychedelic Chemistry_ by Michael Valentine Smith is actually a relatively decent reference. However, there are numerous typographical errors (ex: pg 79 should read "Add 8 ml methanol and *75* ml 15% HCl to residue..." instead of 57ml 15% HCl), so the original document should still be checked at a chemistry library. The Merck Index also lists various references and patents to psychoactive chemicals. The synthesis instructions in the Anarchist Cookbook are to be avoided. The section on "Making LSD in the kitchen" is actually *somewhat* accurate. However, the result is Lysergic Acid Amines, *NOT* LSD. And the lack of warnings about being sure to evaporate all the wood alcohol before consuming tends to be a little disturbing. The section on "Bananadine" is utterly bogus (see the FAQ section) as is the section on Peanuts. The section on DMT is likely to get your head blown off when you mess with the lithium aluminum hydride, provided you don't kill yourself messing around with some of the other chemicals like tetrahydrofuran first -- they're extraordinarly dangerous chemicals and honestly not for use by anyone without extensive chemical knowledge. And this doesn't even address the matter of if the DMT synthesis works at all. If you'd like to try making DMT, please hit the Chemical Abstracts or Psychedelic Chemistry or just stick with extracting it from plants. MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine) The following synthesis is not meant to be carried out by a novice chemist, although it is not terribly difficult. For descriptions of how to carry out the procedures, a standard lab procedures reference manual should be aquired by the reader (or preferrably the reader should take college organic chemistry). This is the synthesis for MDA which can be found on page 79 of Psychedelic Chemistry, which was first published in Chemical Abstracts 52, 11965c (1958). The former however has the above noted typographical error of 75 ml 15% HCl being written as 57ml 15% HCl. The original article also has a typographical error. In the synthesis of MDA from the ketone it reads H2O2 where it should read H2O -- following the former procedure would be explosive. As a side note, this is the same process of making the ketone from isosafrole as Shulgin uses in PiHKAL, thus the synthesis of the ketone is somewhat more verbose than the synthesis of MDA from the ketone. To a well stirred, cooled mixture of 34g of 30% H202 (hydrogen peroxide) in 150g 80% HCO2H (formic acid) there was added, dropwise, a solution of 32.4g isosafrole in 120ml acetone at a rate that kept the reaction mixture from exceeding 40 deg C. This required a bit over 1 hour, and external cooling was used as necessary. Stirring was continued for 16 hours, and care was taken that the slow exothermic reaction did not cause excess heating. An external bath with running water worked well. During this time the solution progressed from an orange color to a deep red. All volatile components were removed under vacuum which yielded some 60g of a very deep residue. This was dissolved in 60ml of MeOH (methyl alcohol -- methanol), treated with 360ml of 15% H2SO4 (sulfuric acid), and heated for 3 hours on the steam bath. After cooling the mixture was extracted with 3x75ml Et2O (diethyl ether) or C6H6 (benzene). Its recommended that, the pooled extracts can washed -- first with H2O and then with dilute NaOH (sodium hydroxide). Then the solvent is removed under vacuum to afford 20.6g 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylacetone (3,4-methylenedioxybenzyl methyl ketone). The final residue may be distilled at 2.0mm/108-112 deg C, or at about 160 deg C at the water pump. Add 23g 3,4-methylenedioxyphenylacetone to 65g HCONH2 (formamide) and heat at 190 deg for five hours. Cool, add 100ml H20, extract with C6H6 (benzene) and evaporate in vacuum the extract. Add 8ml MeOH (methyl alcohol -- methanol) and 75ml 15% HCl to residue, heat on water bath two hours and extract in vacuum (or basify with KOH and extract the oil with benzene and dry, evaporate in vacuum) to get 11.7 g 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA). To produce MDMA substitute N-methylformamide for formamide in the above synthesis. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 07 May 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: MDMA/Ecstasy Ecstasy chemically is 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA (It is also sometimes called MDM). Slang terms for MDMA include: Ecstasy, XTC, X, E, Adam, M&M, or M. It should be noted that the abbreviation for Mescaline is also M, and that M is used as slang for MDA in some circles. This could conceivably cause a great deal of confusion. There are a slew of drugs which have names similar to MDMA. Some with similar effects, some not. The following is a short run-down: MDA: 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine. A drug which has somewhat more of a stimulant quality than MDMA, while at the same time having a "stoning" effect, which MDMA lacks. MDMA is simply N-methyl MDA. MDE: N-ethyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine. N-Ethyl MDA. Also called 'Eve' (since N-Methyl MDA is 'Adam'), Intellect or MDEA. Similar effects to MDA. MMDA: 3-methoxy-4,5-methylenedioxyamphetamine. Similar effects to MDA. MBDB: N-methyl-1-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)-2-butanamine. Also called 'Eden' or Methyl-J. It is the 4-carbon chain homologue of MDMA. This compound does not apparently have any of the stimulant properties of MDMA or the "stoning" properties of MDA. It is a "pure" entactogen. MPTP: 4-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. This drug has damn near *nothing* in common with MDMA. It is created from an error in the production of a synthetic opiate and is metabolized in vivo to MPP+ (1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium) which selectively kills dopamine neurons in the striatum producing a syndrome nearly identical to ideopathic parkinson's disease. In large doses Ecstasy can cause hallucinations (and a chemical relative, MDA, causes hallucinations at lower doses), however it is not accurate to call it a hallucinogen. Since it tends to increase empathy and communication with no ego-disrupting effects, it has been labeled as either an "entactogen" or "empathogen". Based on its effects, there was some speculation that its was a chemical involved in the process of falling in love. This is incorrect, but its indicative of what the MDMA high feels like. MDMA is not technically an amphetamine, in that its effects are quite dissimilar to amphetamines. Its amphetamine-like CNS stimulatory effect is generally considered secondary to its effect of being an empathogen/entactogen. It is, however, *chemically* related to amphetamines. MBDB, a similar drug to MDMA, is also chemically related to amphetamines, however it has no amphetamine-like effects, and is considered a pure emphathogen/entactogen. MDMA is not chemically related to LSD, and really cannot be compared to LSD. "Bad Trips" on MDMA are extremely rare, and there is no ego disruption associated with an MDMA trip like there is in an LSD trip. From Ralph Metzner, presented in an address at a 1983 conference at the University of California, Santa Barbara on "Psychedelics and Spirituality": Another group of drugs are the phenethylamines, of which MDA [and MDMA] is an example. Instead of calling these "psychedelic drugs," I'd like to suggest the name "empathogenic." Empathogenic means "empathy generating." Everyone I've mentioned this name to thinks it is a good one. These drugs don't produce visions as LSD does. They don't produce multileveled thinking or objectivity toward your mind as LSD and the psychedelics do. They generate a profound state of empathy for self and other in the most general and profound terms. A state of empathy where the feeling is that the self, the other, and the world is basically good, is all right. This state can be referred to as the ground of being, the core of our being, a still point of our being. Then individuals using these substances in therapy can look at their own problems from the standpoint of stillness and empathy. They are able to do changework on themselves very rapidly, compared to ordinary therapy. MDMA also is not technically an aphrodisiac. It does not directly stimulate sexual desire, however its empathogenic effect does tend to lead to intimacy. It has been described as a "hug drug". From Buffman-J, Moser-C, "MDMA and Human Sexual Function" Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, Oct 1985: It appears that MDMA does not increase sexual excitation or sexual desire in a majority of individuals. For both males and females, MDMA enhances the sensual aspects of sex. This may be due to the increased feelings of emotional closeness. Almost half of the males and a third of the females indicated that they felt more receptive to being sexual while under the influence of MDMA, but this effect was not paralleled by an increased interest in initiating sexual activity in either the men or the women. While a majority indicated that they would use MDMA as a sexual enhancer, most of the subjects who had used MDMA during sex reported increased emotional closeness. It is curious that a drug, which can increase emotional closeness, enhance receptivity to being sexual and would be chosen as a sexual enhancer, does not increase the desire to have sex. The subjects who were surveyed found that MDMA makes orgasm more difficult to achieve, especially for males. Erectile ability was decreased in almost half the males. No other sexual effects occurred in a majority of subjects. It is not a "Designer Drug" created during the 80's by underground chemists. It was first synthesized in 1914 by Dr. Gordon Alles, and was used recreationally prior to the 1980's. MDMA does *NOT* cause Parkinson's disease. This rumor was caused by an error by Shari Roan in the July 2, 1985 issue of the Dallas "Sun Sentinel". She incorrectly attributed this effect to MDMA, when in fact it is caused by MPTP, which is a by-product of the incorrect synthesis of an synthetic opiate. MPTP shares nothing in common with MDMA other than having an chemical abbreviation which begins with an 'M' and has four letters in it. Likewise, rumors that MDMA "dries up your spinal fluid" and similar rumors with respect to spinal fluid are incorrect. There have been studies which linked MDMA use to lower levels of 5-HIAA in cerebrospinal fluid, which is probably where this rumor originated. This is not as dramatic as it may sound and may be a spurious relationship, such that people with lower levels of 5-HIAA in their CSF are the ones more likely to use MDMA in the first place. But, it may be an indication of some neurotoxic effect of MDMA. However, the neurotoxic effect of MDMA disappears in laboratory animals at doses equivalent to human dose levels. Also, there are no known behavioral correlates to this hypothesized neurotoxicity, and an FDA-approved drug (fenfluramine) continues to be used chronicly with no reported adverse side effects, even though its causes similar types of neurotoxicity as MDMA. It should also be noted that alcohol is a drug which is also slightly neurotoxic, but that typically isn't a strong consideration of users while consuming it. Users, however, should be cautioned that MDMA may be neurotoxic and you're taking your own risks by ingesting it. For more information on MDMA see the specific FAQ on Ecstasy (available via FTP -- see above). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Apr 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Drug Myths These are all a variety of things which commonly get passed off as "truth" by anti-drug groups, such as the PDFA, DEA, DARE, etc. I have included references for those interested in more information. MYTH: Marijuana causes brain damage or Marijuana gets between nerve synapses and "widens them up". This myth is based upon a study done by Robert G. Heath in the middle to late 1970's. Heath claimed to have found brain damage in the deep brain sites of three monkeys exposed to marijuana smoke and i.v. delta-9-THC (one of the active ingredients in marijuana). This study, however, has severe flaws in it. Most importantly is that Heath did not find any dead brain cells. He found "damage" such as a change in synaptic cleft width, and clumping of the synaptic vesicles. These changes are not well regarded as being indications of brain damage, and the methods used to determine that these changes took place were highly subject to bias--which Dr. Health did not control for. In fact the clumping of the synaptic vesicles, which Health claimed as being "brain damage", is a normal variant in the mammalian brain. Also, two studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1977, found no evidence of brain damage in the brains of heavy smokers using computerized tomography methods. National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Institute of Medicine. Division of Health Sciences Policy. _Marijuana_and_Health_. Washington: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-03236-9. LC 81-86534. MYTH: LSD causes chromosome damage. In Science 30 April 1972, Volume 172 Number 3982 p. 431-440 there was an article by Norman I. Dishotsky, William D. Loughman, Robert E. Mogar and Wendell R. Lipscomb titled "LSD and Genetic Damage - Is LSD chromosome damaging, carcinogenic, mutagenic, or teratogenic?". They reviewed 68 studies and case reports published 1967-1972, concluding "From our own work and from a review of literature, we believe that pure LSD ingested in moderate doses does not damage chromosomes in vivo, does not cause detectable genetic damage, and is not a teratogen or carcinogen in man." (Submitted by: ppennane@plootu.helsinki.fi (Petrus Pennanen) The following sections will be eventually included: (Whee, more vaporware... In the meantime see Paul Hager's marijuana myths paper at ftp.u.washington.edu in /public/alt.drugs/marijuana-myths) MYTH: Marijuana causes reproductive system damage MYTH: Marijuana concentrates in the brain and reproductive organs MYTH: Marijuana causes breast enlargement in males MYTH: Marijuana causes immune system damage MYTH: Marijuana causes chromosome damage MYTH: Marijuana potency has increased 10 times since the 1960's MYTH: Marijuana is a gateway drug MYTH: Marijuana metabolites stay in your body for 30 days and "do things"... MYTH: Marijuana is more carcinogenic than tobacco MYTH: LSD causes chromosome damage MYTH: Designer Drugs -- Custom made chemicals of the '80s and '90s ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Apr 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Drug Testing Beating Drug Metabolite tests (for informational purposes *only* of course). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- There are several commonly used drug metabolite tests: EMIT, RIA, Abuscreen, etc. All of these tests are reasonably easy to beat, given a little advance planning. First of all, the drug which is most easily tested for is marijuana -- its claimed that drug tests can detect marijuana use up to two months previous. By following the following guidelines, its frequently reported that non-chronic marijuana smoking two weeks prior to the test still resulted in a negative test result. Two weeks, however, is probably the minimum safety allowance. In order to prepare for a drug metabolite test, make sure that you flush your system adequately. Every day prior to the test, drink at least eight glasses of liquid (preferably water). Do *NOT*, however, do this to excess -- you can end up with water intoxication, and people have actually overdosed and died off of water. On the day of the test, you likewise need to dilute your urine by drinking water -- drink 4-6 glasses or so, and piss until your urine turns clear. When its clear that means that the concentration of all the solutes in the urine is lower *including* the drug metabolites. This process can be aided by taking some caffiene, or the prescription diuretic Lasix (again, don't overdo anything -- there is nothing to be gained by drinking more water/taking more diuretics -- 80mg Lasix should be quite sufficient). The clear dilute urine can also be masked by taking Vitamin B-2 which will color it and make it less suspicious (use 50-100mg). Should you fail the initial test you will most likely be required to have a confirmatory GC/MS test. For this test, the best precautions are abstinence and prayer. You should not smoke between the time you get tested for the first time and the results come back -- if they're positive and you have to take a GC/MS test, you will be screwed. GC/MS tests are much more sensitive than the preliminary immunoassays. There are several substances, some marketed commercially, which are reported to interfere with the immunoassays to give a negative test result. Generally, these are treated with some skepticism (but if you really feel like trying them...). In particular, vinegar and phenylpropanolamine (Dexatrim) do not work. Zinc Sulfate is reported to work -- take 250mg the night before, and a few hours before the test -- DO NOT TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS CHEMICAL. Also the following two products claim to be effective screens: Test Free -- Zydot Unlimited Inc. Box 9485 Tulsa OK 74157 (918) 747-2400 Naturally Klean -- Houston Enterprises PO Box 27776 Tempe AZ 85285 (602) 968-0773 As a last resort, piss tests can be doped with chemicals. Bleach detergent, blood, Draino crystals are reported to work at least on the EMIT test (I would not expect them to interfere at all on the GC/MS tests). Its apparently not necessary to spike it with a large quantity, and the chemicals will noticably effect the urine and could be detected. For more information see Abbie Hoffman's book "Steal this Urine Test". ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Apr 92 From: alt.drugs FAQ list Subject: Resources [section under construction] ORGANIZATIONS: Drug Policy Foundation 4801 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 400. Washington DC 20016-2087 (202)895-1634 The Albert Hofmann Foundation 1341 Ocean Avenue, Suite 300. Santa Monica, CA 90401 (213)281-8110 National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) 1636 R St., NW. Washington DC 20009 (202) 483-5500 NOTE: Another address I've got is: 2001 'S' Street NW Suite 640. DC 20009 National Drug Strategy Network 2000 L St., NW. Suite 702. Washington DC 20036 NOTE: Contact esterling@igc.org. Alliance for Cannabis Therapeutics (ACT) PO Box 21210. Kalorama Station. Washington DC 20009 (202)483-8595 The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS): 23A Shaler Lane. Cambridge, MA 02138 (617)547-7271 BOOKSELLERS: Books-by-Phone Loompanics Unlimited The Twentieth Century Alchemist Box 522 P.O. Box 1197 P.O. Box 1684 Berkeley CA 94701 Port Townsend, WA 98368 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (800) 858-2665 USA $5 Catalog $1 Catalog (800) 992-2665 CA (415) 548-2124 INFO Call for FREE Catalog BOOKS: [BBP = Books by Phone; LU = Loompanics Unlimited] Chemistry -- Shulgin, Alexander "PiHKAL: Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved" (BBP) Smith, Michael Valentine "Psychedelic Chemistry" (LU) Pharmacology -- Eisner, Bruce "Ecstasy: The MDMA Story" (BBP) Stafford, Peter "Psychedelic Encyclopedia (3rd ed.)" Experience -- Adamson, Sophia "Through the Gateway of the Heart" [about MDMA] (BBP) History -- Stevens, Jay "Storming Heaven: LSD and the American Dream" Politics -- Shulgin, Alexander "The Controlled Substances Act" (BBP) Hoffman, Abbie "Steal this Urine Test" (BBP) "The Case for Legalizing Drugs" Reference -- "Physician's Desk Reference" "Goodman and Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics" MAGAZINES: "The Whole Earth Review" "High Times" "Mondo 2000" MISC: "Xochi Speaks" + "A Guide to the Psychedelics" LordNose! PO Box 170473Z San Francisco, CA 94117 US$20 plus US$5 P+H ($10 outside NA) *VERY* nice poster of drug molecules over statue of Xochipilli. ------------------------------ End of alt.drugs FAQ and monthly posting ****************************************