Designer Drugs

Psychological And Physical Effects Of Ghb

The effects of GHB usually start to take place 15-30 minutes following ingestion and can last for 3-6 hours. A typical dose of GHB can range from 1-5 grams. However, since the concentration of actual GHB in the mixture varies from batch to batch and vial to vial, it is extremely difficult for the user to know the precise dose he or she is taking. Thus, the difference between getting high and ending up in a coma can be only a few drops. GHB has effects on the brain that are very similar to that...

What Methamphetamine Looks Like And How It Is Taken

Methamphetamine most often comes in the form of white or clear crystals, which give it its nickname ice or glass. Methamphetamine crystals can also be brown in color. These crystals are most often smoked with a pipe or snorted Figure 2.1 and can easily be dissolved in water and injected intravenously. Methamphetamine crystals are also taken rectally. Meth powder and crystals often contain contaminants and impurities including lead from the chemical synthesis process that are often toxic....

Meperidine And Its Analogues

Meperidine Figure 7.4 was introduced in the 1930s as an alternative to morphine for relieving pain. Its advantage over morphine was that its duration of action was shorter and it had fewer unwanted side effects such as sedation and constipation. However, meperidine turned out to be less potent than morphine as a painkiller. This inspired underground chemists to try to synthesize more potent analogues of meperidine, with hopes that increasing the potency might give heroin addicts another way to...

Ketamine Use In Tranquilizer Darts

The ability of ketamine to render the user unable to move or experience pain has resulted in a very effective use for the drug in animals tranquilizer darts. Through a blowgun, rifle, or similar method, a dart or syringe loaded with a high dose of ketamine can be launched from a distance toward a large animal to incapacitate it for transport, research, or veterinary care. When the dart strikes the animal, it empties its content into the muscle similar to an intramuscular injection in humans ,...

Fentanyl And Its Analogues

Fentanyl was introduced to the United States in 1968 by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Company and marketed under the trade name Sublimaze. Its primary purpose was for use as an intravenous anesthetic and analgesic. It is 100 times more potent than morphine in reducing pain, and its duration of action is only 30 minutes compared to morphine, which lasts several hours . Over the years, fentanyl has proved to be an extremely useful drug, and to date, it is still widely used for surgeries, childbirth,...

Methamphetamine And Adolf Hitler

Methamphetamine was widely used by soldiers in World War II because its potent stimulant effects kept them awake and alert for longer periods of time and increased their physical endurance. One infamous user of methamphetamine during wartime was one of the most evil men of the twentieth century Adolf Hitler. Hitler started receiving daily injections of methamphetamine from his personal physician Dr. T. Morrell in 1942, and it was reported he could not function without his daily doses. Hitler...

Illegal Sale Of Rohypnol

Rohypnol is illegal in the United States. So, how does it get in the country The answer is smugglers. Since the pills are very small, Rohypnol tablets can easily be smuggled through the mail, in luggage, or on airplanes. Rohypnol is also easily available from pharmacies in Mexico, and smugglers often hide the drug in cars as they cross the border from Mexico to the United States. The year 1995 produced the largest number of Rohypnol seizures by the DEA thus far, with more than 160,000 illegal...

Psychological And Physical Effects Of Rohypnol

Unlike many other designer drugs, which users take for their pleasurable and psychedelic effects, Rohypnol does not tend to produce strong feelings of well-being, euphoria, or hallucinations. It does, however, produce an intoxicated feeling, and reduces anxiety and inhibitions, similar to the effects of Valium. The chemical structures of Rohypnol and Valium are very similar (see Figure 5.2), although Rohypnol is 10 times more potent than Valium. Figure 5.2 The chemical structures of Rohypnol...