| Topics Index |
| TOPIC : |
Hallucinogens |
| DISCUSSION : |
“Hallucinogens, or psychedelics, are drugs that affect a person's perceptions, sensations, thinking, self-awareness, and emotions.” (http://www.well.com/user/woa/fshallu.htm). Hallucinogens have been known for many many centuries and have been used in tribal and religious ceremonies. Most of the hallucinogens are found in plants and fungi but some are synthesized in the laboratory. Hallucinogenic drugs represent a broad category of chemicals that affect the brain in a wide range of different ways. Some have classified them as psychedelics, dissociative is, and deliriants. There has been a lot of interest since the middle of the 20th century in studying hallucinogens to see if they may be of some use in treating certain psychiatric conditions. Some have even done research to see if hallucinogens could be useful in treating alcoholism or addiction. “Yet the most popular, and at the same time most stigmatized, use of psychedelics in Western culture has been associated with the search for direct religious experience, enhanced creativity, personal development, and "mind expansion". The use of psychedelic drugs was a major element of the 1960s counterculture, where it became associated with various social movements and a general atmosphere of rebellion and strife between generations.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallucinogen) Pharmacological classes of hallucinogens One possible way of classifying the hallucinogens is by their chemical structure and that of the receptors they act on. In this vein, the following categories are often used: Psychedelics (5-HT2A receptor agonists) Cannabinoids (CB-1 receptor agonists) Dissociatives Deliriants (anticholinergics) Problems with structure-based frameworks is that the same structural motif can include a wide variety of drugs which have substantially different effects. For example, both methamphetamine and ecstasy are substituted amphetamines, but methamphetamine has a much stronger stimulant action than ecstasy, with none of the latter's empathogenic effects. LSD can be seen as both a tryptamine and phenethylamine. Also, drugs commonly act on more than one receptor; DXM, for instance, is primarily dissociative in high doses, but also acts as a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, similar to many phenethylamines and in fact, the phenethylamine moiety is embedded in the structure of DXM. Even so, in many cases structure-based frameworks are still very useful, and the identification of a biologically active pharmacophore and synthesis of analogues of known active substances remains an integral part of modern medicinal chemistry. Plants Dissociatives Deliriants The way a particular hallucinogen affects an individual is highly unpredictable. Typically there will be changes in mood and significant changes in sensory perceptions. A person may describe hearing colors and seeing sounds. Sometimes they hallucinogen causes a frightening or terrifying experience. There may be severe anxiety, confusion, panic and the sense of loss of control. There may also be physical effects from using hallucinogens such as dilated pupils, increased body temperature, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, sweating, changes in appetite, nausea, sleeplessness, dry mouth, tremors, numbness, and flushing. Ibogaine is a dissociative hallucinogen that is being used to treat alcoholism and addiction. It is illegal in the United States, but there are clinics outside the United States that offer this treatment. |
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