Oral and smoked stimulants

What do stimulants do

increase neurotransmission, give the feelings of power, well-being, self-confidence, exhilaration, they alleviate fatigue, drowsiness, but increase agitation, apprehension, and anxiety.

What is the issue with stimulants

There is an increased tolerance to them over time, this results in a craving for the initial high that cannot be achieved so they take more more often resulting in an addictive dependance

Depressant effects on the body

Decrease in neurotransmission, provide a sense of euphoria, well being, at high dosages are sedative, calming, tranquilizing, they are hypnotic and an anaesthetic.

What is the issue with depressants

strong potential for addictive dependance, require increased dosages over time to achieve the same effects due to increase in tolerance

Hallucinogen effects on the body

alters neurotransmission to induce abnormal changes in perception, though, mood, psyche, and autonomic nervous system.

What is the issue with hallucinogens

They are habit forming, they are not addictive

Which plants are known for their stimulant effects and are taken orally or smoked

Betel, Tobacco, Khat and Coca

Where is the betel palm native to

Southeast Asia

What part of the Betel plant was used medicinally

The seeds or nut

How was Betel taken

People took the seeds and wrapped them in a leaf, of another closely related species, and put it into their mouths, they chewed them slightly to form a quid that they then put into their cheek and let sit there for hours allowing the stimulants to slowly leak into their mouths throughout the day.

Who historically used betel

people native to thailand

What were the results of holding the quid of betel in the mouth

Stained, lips mouth and teeth red, often commonly associated with mouth cancer

What is Gambir

Commonly found in India and mixed into the betel quid, it is a resinous substance produced from the steam distillation of the leaves of the piper betel (shrub like plant)

What was the use of betel in india

For formal occasions and ritualistic purposes, often served at parties

What are the active compounds within betel

alkaloids arecaidine and arecoline

What are the betel alkaloids known medicinal benefit

Expel intestinal worms, it has a stimulant effect similar to that of nicotine

What family is Tabaco apart of

solanaceous

Where is Tabaco native to

amazonia or south america

History of use of tabaco

different species are cultivated worldwide, some species native to australia were used by indigenous groups and entheogens, it was also used by the amazonians, aztecs, other indigenous peoples and finally made its way to europe

What part of the Tabaco plant is used and how are they used

leaves, can be smoked, chewed in the form of a quid, snuffed through the nose, or put on the skin using a salve

How was tabacco used religiously

shamanistic, ceremonially, spiritually

What was tabacco used to treat historically

headaches, toothaches, skin problems, burns, dropsy, piles, and colic

What was tabacco recommended for more recently

Parkinsons, tourettes, and alzheimer’s

How was tabacco effective at treating parkinsons

parkinson’s occurs due to dopamine deficiency due to damage to the part of the brain that releases it, nicotine increases dopamine levels and stimulates acetylcholine production which is directly associated to dopamine production.

How quickly can nicotine reach the brain

5 seconds

How does nicotine work

It gets to the brain and mimics acetylcholine resulting in the overproduction of dopamine and adrenaline and then deactivates neurotransmission blocking the reuptake of dopamine and adrenaline.

How was nicotine portrayed within the media

initially as good and that people should take it, eventually the negative and addictive effects of it came to light but no one cared what the doctors said and continued to smoke, it took a very long time and many campaigns to finally reduce the numbers of people smoking

Effects of nicotine on pregnant women

Heavy smoking during pregnancy doubles probability of mental impairment

What is the active compound found in tobacco

pyridine alkaloids nicotine and nornicotine

Nicotine mode of action

Stimulant but has a depressant effect of anxious or agitated users,

Nicotine dependance

psychological and physiological, both the brain and the body needs it making it highly addictive

Where is khat native to

Northeast africa and the arabian peninsula

what part of the plant is used

leaves and twigs

How was khat taken

It was chewed as quid, until juices removed from plant then swallowed, needed sweetened water to get over the bitter taste and counteract dehydrating effects

Where and how was khat exported

Commonly exported from ethiopia to yemen, used banana leaves and shipped by air to keep plant material fresh

Why was it key to use fresh khat leaves and twigs of younger branches?

Loses potency after 3 days

Why is it bad to chew khat and what can it lead to

Has addictive properties can lead to family instability and depression, physically its abuse can lead to anorexia, malnutrition, and gastritis

What is the active compound in khat

Alkaloid cathinone

How does cathinone affect the neurotransmitters

amphetamine like structure and effect, potent stimulant, effects norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine

How does cathinone effect the body

Causes increased alertness, elevated mood, excitement, hyperactivity, insomnia, increased blood pressure, relieves hunger and fatigue sometimes leading to anorexia, and shuts down the gastrointestinal system

Cathinone the schedule drug

Illegal to import into North America and European countries, because it is a schedule 1 drug meaning it has potential for abuse and there is no medicinal use for it

Cathinone semi-synthetic

Methcathinone, started in russia moved to europe and north america, also schedule 1 drug and commonly referred to as bath salts

Where is coca native to

andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia (South america)

What part of the coca plant is used

leaves

How are coca leaves used

Some traditional indigenous use, picking and chewing fresh leaves as they work but most leaf material is sent to the illicit market

How did chewing fresh coca leaves effect the people

Mild simulant, increases concentration, stamina, overcome hunger and fatigue, treat headaches, and nausea from altitude sickness

Divine coca

Deemed the property of the royal inca family, highly revered, and widespread use

Spanish take over the andean

Spanish invade and take over initially banning the chewing of coca, quickly realized chewing increased the amount of work done and allowed a few leaves a day.

Introduction of coca into europe

Introduced during the industrial revolution, though about using it to increase productivity

Albert Niemann

Isolated cocaine from the leaves, sparked the initial research into it

Sigmund Freud

Early advocate of its medicinal use, helped with morphine withdrawal, believed it helped with depression and indigestion. Published the book uber coca, delved into his personal addiction to cocaine and used it to describe the medicinal and pharmacological effects of cocaine by also the addictive side of it and how that felt.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Wrote Jekyll and Hyde, people believe he wrote the book while using cocaine and that is why the characters are the way they are

Ernest Shackleton

Apart of the army, did expeditions in the arctic, didn’t believe in addictive effects of cocaine and took cocaine and caffeine tablets to stay alive during the cold

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Wrote Sherlock holmes, believed that sherlock is addicted to cocaine and so is the author because how else would he have all this in-depth knowledge of cocaine and addiction symptoms

William Halstead

American surgeon, studied use of cocaine in eye surgery, huge surgeon in american history, use self experimentation to test cocaine use as local anaesthetic, lead to an addiction that forced him to withdrawal from medicine. Eventually cam back and did more incredible things, later revealed he did not come back addiction free, took morphine daily to overcome the cocaine addiction

William hammond

US army general, didn’t believe in the effects of cocaine and self-experimented with it, started with single grain of cocaine and measured the effects of what happened to him, continued to up the dosage to see the changes

Medicinal use of cocaine

Active ingredient in patent medicines for treating toothache and other pains, and in digestive remedies

Vin Mariani

French tonic, main ingredients being alcohol and cocaine, used and recommended by many of the greats including Thomas Edison, Ulysses Grant, Emile Zola. The wide popularity and money it made resulted in many immitatione wines being created including coca wine (coca-cola)

Coca-cola

Evolved from coca wine which was an imitation of Vin Mariani, coca cola is the non-alcoholic version, marketed as virtues of coca without the vices of alcohol. Main ingredients were the leaves from the coca plant and the beans from the cola plant, drink was high in cocaine and 4x the caffeine in todays drinks. Originally developed by Pemberton until taken over by Asa Candler who was more concerned by the addictive effects of cocaine. Reduced the leaf and bean concentrations in the drink by making an agreement with the illicit market by using their leftover leaves that had most of cocaine steamed out of them, therefore reducing the concentration of cocaine in the drink. US government eventually sued the company for the presence of cocaine and alcohol in the drink, private settlement reach removing alcohol and cocaine from the drink and reducing the caffeine concentration.

What is the active principle of the coca plant

Alkaloid cocaine

Cocaine semi-synthetics

Novacaine, used in dentistry as it does not stimulate the entire nervous system

How does cocaine affect the body

Alters synaptic transmission, blocks reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine, this results in a constant over stimulation. The euphoric rush is short lasting and is the source of addiction because people binge it to try to get that same stimulation again.

Toxic symptoms of cocaine

Increased heart rate, increase blood pressure, cocaine “bugs” - crawly sensation, paranoia, psychosis, hallucinations

Medicinal symptoms

Constriction and dilation of blood vessels, constriction results in reduced blood flow to a fast beating heart which reduces the amount of oxygenated blood getting to the heart in time resulting in damage to the heart

Cocaine withdrawl symptoms

Depression due to the constant change in dopamine levels, lack of sleep, cannot eat, lack of coordination

Way to take cocaine

Powder, orlly, injection, snorting

Crack cocaine

More addictive that regular cocaine because the active alkaloid is more concentrated