Hallucinogen Essay example -- essays research papers

HallucinogenWhile many drugs speed up or depress the central nervous system, there is aclass of drugs that distorts how we feel, hear, see, smell, taste, and think.Called hallucinogens beca engross users oftentimes hallucinate, or experience nonexistentsensations, these drugs are also known as psychedelic, or mind-bending, drugs.Some hallucinogens come from immanent sources others are made in laboratories.Examples of natural hallucinogens are peyote, psilocybin, DMT, and marijuana.Mescaline, which has been used by Ameri atomic number 50 Indians in religious ceremonies,comes from the peyote cactus. Psilocybin, also used by the Indians and believedto have supernatural powers, is found in about 20 varieties of mushrooms. Onceingested, psilocybin is converted to psilocin, which is responsible for thedrugs hallucinogenic sensations. DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is a short-actinghallucinogen found in the seeds of certain West Indian and South American plants.In the form of snuff, called c ohoba, it has been used in religious ceremonies inHaiti. Marijuana is a plant belonging to the hemp family . The active principleresponsible for the drugs set up is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), obtained fromthe amber-colored resin of the flowering tops and leaves of the plant. Hashishis also made from this resin.Of all drugs, synthetic and natural, the most powerful is lysergic acid diethylamide, or lysergicacid diethylamide. Twenty micrograms, an well-nigh infinitesimal amount, issufficient to produce a hallucinogenic effect just 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms)could induce a reaction in all the inhabitants of New York metropolis and London. Thisextraordinary potency makes LSD especially dangerous since it is usuallyimpossible to determine how much is contained in doses offered by drug dealers.LSD is chemically derived from ergot, a parasitic fungus that grows on ryeand other grains. An odorless, colorless, and tasteless substance, LSD is soldon the street in tablets, capsules, and sometim es liquid form. It is usuallytaken by mouth but can be injected. Often LSD is placed on a blotter or otherabsorbent paper and attach into small squares, each representing one dose.Synthetic hallucinogens with effects resembling those of LSD include DET(diethyltryptamine), a synthetic compound similar to DMT, and DOM (2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine), a compound that combines some of the propertiesof mescaline and amphet... ...ects of hallucinogens are dilated pupils,raised body temperature, increased heart rate and blood pressure, sweating, lossof appetite, sleeplessness, dry mouth, and tremors. The long-term effects areless certain. LSD users may experience involuntary flashbacks during which thedrugs effects reappear without warning. Such flashbacks can occur days, months,or even years after the drug was last used. Some LSD users develop organic braindamage, manifested by impaired memory and attention span, mental confusion, anddifficulty with abstract thinking. It is still u nclear whether such damage canbe reversed when LSD use is halted.Although hallucinogens can pose a threat to health when used indiscriminately,they may also have therapeutic uses in medicine when administered undercontrolled circumstances. A synthetic form of THC, the active principle inmarijuana, has been approved for prescription use by persons who suffer from thesevere sickness that often accompanies cancer chemotherapy and for whom otherantinausea drugs are unsuitable or ineffective. LSD was once used to treatpersons with certain mental disorders, but such use was abandoned because of thedrugs harmful effects.