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Matthew 3:7-10

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Stupid Fact of the Week

There was only one civilian casualty during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg

04 August, 2005

Drugs

So, I've posted on sex... Now comes drugs... Rock and Roll may follow later.

This will be another one of those interactive/engaging posts.

What will follow below are quotations from websites discussing the physiological/psychological/pharmological/etc. effects of certain drugs.

It will be up to you to see if you can determine which drug is being discussed.

I've chopped up the quotes to keep it simple, and there are a number of sources which I won't list as it would give away the answers.

Enjoy.

DRUG A:

DRUG A particularly has a profound effect on the central nervous system, but it also affects, to a lesser degree the heart muscle, gastric secretion and diuresis.

DRUG A stimulates the central nervous system first at the higher levels, the cortex and medulla, and finally the spinal cord at higher doses. Mild cortex stimulation appears to be beneficial resulting in more clear thinking and less fatigue.

The onset of the effect of DRUG A occurs within one hour and lasts for three to four hours (Baker, 1972).

150 to 250 mg of DRUG A is sufficient to induce adverse effects. The occurrence of hyperesthesia, an unpleasant sensory sensation, can be stimulated by large doses.

The spinal cord is stimulated at higher doses and convulsions and death may result. More than 10 g are needed for such toxicity to occur in man (Ritchie, 1975).

Stimulation of the CNS is followed by depression (Klein and Salzman, 1975), although the effect is small at low doses. After two hours, Klein reported that males (but not females) showed a lower CNS stimulation compared to placebo. The post stimulation "let down" with DRUG A results in fatigue and lethargy and the constant stimulation caused by chronic DRUG A dosing could be disastrous (Abrams, 1977; Dowell, 1965).

Although DRUG A dilates blood vessels by a direct action, its central effect is one of constriction. At higher doses, the dilating effect is apparent (Peach, 1972; Poisner, 1973).

Although a dose of approximately 10 g or more taken orally can be fatal, an oral (3.2 g IV) one gram dose will cause adverse effects (Gleason et al., 1969). The toxic effects are due to CNS and circulatory system stimulation and include some well recognized prominent symptoms in addition to those which can result at high doses or in hypersensitive persons: insomnia, restlessness, excitement, tinnitus, flashes of light, quivering muscles, tachycardia, extrasystoles, and even low grade fever and mild delirium have been observed.

144 to 333 mg of DRUG A per day was reported to have caused physical effects on withdrawal (Diamond and Pfifferling, 1974). The resultant effects were depression, nervousness, decreased alertness, sleeping difficulty, frequent mood changes, and various other behavioral difficulties which were attributed to DRUG A withdrawal.

DRUG B:

Some common effects of DRUG B include:
Intense hallucinations, such as sensations of traveling through time and space, of floating or flying;
sensations of twisting and spinning, heaviness or lightness of the body, and "soreness."

Less intense effects (that occur only when the eyes are closed) include visual hallucinations of various patterns and shapes. The hallucinogenic visions produced by DRUG B terminate when interrupted by noise or light.

Physical effects of DRUG B include:
Dizziness
Nausea
Lack of coordination
Slurred speech and awkward sentence patterns
Decreased heart rate
Chills

A limited number of studies have reported the effects of DRUG B. Psychic effects include perceptions of bright lights, vivid colors and shapes, as well as body movements and body or object distortions. Other effects include dysphoria, uncontrolled laughter, a sense of loss of body, overlapping realities and hallucinations (seeing objects that are not present). Adverse physical effects may include incoordination, dizziness and slurred speech.

More effects of DRUG B:
Slight echo phenomenon (which gives rise to time lenghtening);
A sense of novelty when perceiving things;
Slight alteration in the perception of movements;
A peculiar sensation in the eyes;
A feeling that the head is light or "empty", at the top of the cranium.

DRUG C:

DRUG C is the most powerful drug available.

DRUG C is a depressant. It depresses your cognitive functions, your physical functions, and your mood.

At high doses DRUG C can depress your central nervous system functions right into the grave.

Chronic heavy use puts people at risk for a variety of mood disorders including depression and anxiety, to name but two.

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Alright. So, ponder away. Guess away. I will tell you this, however: All three of the drugs listed above are available and legal for consumption in the United States of America.

-Rockel

posted by Rockel @ 12:02 PM

3 Comments:

At 12/8/05 7:36 AM, InterestingPhysics said…

I'd have to guess that drug A is caffine.
drug C is probably alcohol.
drug b is a little vauge... I'll say nicotine.
At 13/8/05 11:34 AM, Rockel said…

It most definitely is not prescribed. All three are available "over the counter," however, the counters over which you would purchase Drug B are not anywhere near as widespread as the counters where caffine and alcohol may be purchased (which, of course, were A and C).

As the majority of my 3.5 person readership are scientists I knew I'd have to throw in a curveball as Caffine and Alcohol alone whould be far too simple. Drug B is called Salvinorin A, the very active drug contained in the leafy plant, Salvia Divinorum, a perfectly legal, smokeable substance growing in popularity in the southern United States.
At 15/8/05 5:22 PM, Rockel said…

Yeah... Salvia has become a relatively popular legal alternative to marijuana because it produces many of the same effects. However, unlike marijuana, which in recent years have been "engineered" through different combinations of strains ("hybrids") to up its potency (THC content), Salvia Divinorum's psychoactive component, Salvinorin, is very easily extracted and loses almost no potency if extracted and trasferred. Because of this, the Salvinorin is extracted from one leaf and applied to another, and then dried I think (?)... and then extracted again and applied to another... so forth so on. Anyway, the point is, Salvia Divinorum is sold in different potency levels (x3, x5, x7, x15, etc.) based on how many transfers are made, so that it is very easy (and legal, and relatively inexpensive) to obtain extremely large amounts of the drug. In large amounts you get to see some of the more extreme effects.