RESUMO
MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine, a.k.a. "ecstasy") was first synthesized in 1912 and resynthesized more than once for pharmaceutical reasons before it became a popular recreational drug. Partially based on previously overlooked U.S. government documentation, this article reconstructs the early history of MDMA as a recreational drug in the U.S. from 1960 to 1979. According to the literature, MDMA was introduced as a street drug at the end of the 1960s. The first forensic detection of MDMA "on the street" was reported in 1970 in Chicago. It appears that MDMA was first synthesized by underground chemists in search of "legal alternatives" for the closely related and highly sought-after drug MDA, which was scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970. Until 1974, nearly all MDMA street samples seized came from the U.S. Midwest, the first "hot region" of MDMA use. In Canada, MDMA was first detected in 1974 and scheduled in 1976. From 1975 to 1979, MDMA was found in street samples in more than 10 U.S. states, the West Coast becoming the major "hot region" of MDMA use. Recreational use of MDMA spread across the U.S. in the early 1980s, and in 1985 it was scheduled under the CSA.
Assuntos
Alucinógenos/história , Drogas Ilícitas/história , N-Metil-3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/história , Canadá , História do Século XX , Humanos , Estados UnidosRESUMO
In the last few years, the variety and recreational use of 'legal high' designer stimulants has increased to unprecedented levels. Since their rapid emergence in drug markets, numerous adverse physical and psychological effects have been extensively reported. However, less is understood about the potential for compulsive use of and addiction to these drugs. Recently, a small collection of scientific studies assessing the abuse liability of these drugs has emerged. This new knowledge has been derived primarily from animal studies using behaviorally based procedures which include intravenous self-administration, conditioned place preference, intracranial self-stimulation, and drug discrimination. In this review we present a brief history of the recent rise in designer stimulant use followed by a short methodological description of the aforementioned procedures. We then review neurochemical and abuse liability studies on designer stimulants that have been examined to date. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of these collective findings, our current understanding of the abuse liability of these drugs in relation to each other and the illicit drugs they are designed to mimic, and recommend future research directions.
Assuntos
Drogas Ilícitas/efeitos adversos , Drogas Ilícitas/legislação & jurisprudência , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/diagnóstico , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/etiologia , Animais , Condicionamento Operante , Discriminação Psicológica , Modelos Animais de Doenças , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Autoestimulação , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/terapiaRESUMO
Most likely, opium was the first narcotic substance discovered at the dawn of humankind. The history of drug addiction is immensely rich and allows for tracing the long way humankind had to travel to reach the contemporary level of consciousness with respect to narcotic substances. A retrospective view of drug addiction that takes into consideration the historical context, while extending our knowledge, also allows for a better understanding of today's problems. The report presents elements of a retrospective view of problems associated with addiction to opium, morphine and heroin over the centuries, what is a subject of scientific interest in contemporary toxicology.
Assuntos
Drogas Ilícitas/história , Legislação de Medicamentos/história , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Opioides/história , Ópio/história , Saúde Global , Heroína/história , Dependência de Heroína/história , História do Século XV , História do Século XVI , História do Século XVII , História do Século XVIII , História do Século XIX , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , História Antiga , História Medieval , Humanos , Morfina/história , Dependência de Morfina/história , Opinião PúblicaRESUMO
This paper is inspired by two anomalies encountered in the study of the illegal drugs industry. First, despite the very high profits of coca/cocaine and poppy/opium/heroin production, most countries that can produce do not. Why, for example, does Colombia face much greater competition in the international coffee, banana, and other legal product markets than in cocaine? And second, though illegal drugs are clearly associated with violence, why is it that illegal drug trafficking organizations have been so much more violent in Colombia and Mexico than in the rest of the world? The answers to these questions cannot be found in factors external to Colombia (and Mexico). They require identifying the societal weaknesses of each country. To do so, the history of the illegal drugs industry is surveyed, a simple model of human behavior that stresses the conflict between formal (legal) and informal (socially accepted) norms as a source of the weaknesses that make societies vulnerable is formulated. The reasons why there is a wide gap between formal and informal norms in Colombia are explored and the effectiveness of anti-drug policies is considered to explain why they fail to achieve their posited goals. The essay ends with reflections and conclusion on the need for institutional change.
Assuntos
Crime/legislação & jurisprudência , Drogas Ilícitas/legislação & jurisprudência , Drogas Ilícitas/provisão & distribuição , Política Pública , Mudança Social , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/prevenção & controle , Coca/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Colômbia , Crime/economia , Crime/história , Crime/prevenção & controle , Coleta de Dados , Objetivos , História do Século XX , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Aplicação da Lei/história , Aplicação da Lei/métodos , Modelos Teóricos , Populações VulneráveisRESUMO
Alcohol has been the most important knockout drug in history and literature and continues to play an essential role up to now. Blunt force to the head in the form of a knockout punch is another mechanism leading to a transient loss of consciousness. Diethyl ether and chloroform are among the classical knockout substances. Although they have meanwhile been replaced by modern sedatives and hypnotics, their use is still observed in isolated cases.
Assuntos
Bebidas Alcoólicas/história , Anestésicos/história , Clorofórmio/história , Éter/história , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Medicina nas Artes , Pinturas/história , Oxibato de Sódio/história , Inconsciência/história , História do Século XVI , História do Século XVII , História do Século XVIII , História do Século XIX , História do Século XX , História Antiga , HumanosRESUMO
Historical scholarship in traditional geopolitics often relied on documents authored by states and by other influential actors. Although much work in the subfield of critical geopolitics thus far has addressed imbalances constructed in official, academic, and popular media due to a privileging of such narratives, priority might also be given to unearthing and bringing to light alternative geopolitical perspectives from otherwise marginalized populations. Utilizing the early-1970s case of the United States' first "war on drugs," this article examines the geopolitics of opium-poppy eradication and its consequences within Turkey. Employing not only archival and secondary sources but also oral histories from now-retired poppy farmers, this study examines the diffusion of U.S. antinarcotics policies into the Anatolian countryside and the enduring impressions that the United States and Turkish government created. In doing so, this research gives voice to those farmers targeted by eradication policies and speaks more broadly to matters of narcotics control, sentiments of anti-Americanism, and notions of democracy in Turkey and the region, past and present.
Assuntos
Agricultura , Economia , Drogas Ilícitas , Entorpecentes , Ópio , Sistemas Políticos , Agricultura/economia , Agricultura/história , Economia/história , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/economia , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Entorpecentes/economia , Entorpecentes/história , Ópio/economia , Ópio/história , Papaver , Sistemas Políticos/história , Grupos Populacionais/educação , Grupos Populacionais/etnologia , Grupos Populacionais/história , Grupos Populacionais/legislação & jurisprudência , Grupos Populacionais/psicologia , Saúde Pública/economia , Saúde Pública/educação , Saúde Pública/história , Saúde Pública/legislação & jurisprudência , Mudança Social/história , Turquia/etnologia , Estados Unidos/etnologiaRESUMO
The amount of positive cocaine results in an urban emergency department are staggering. The ages of use are becoming more common in older age groups. Most of these patients have underlying medical conditions, including end-stage renal disease (on hemodialysis) and heart and lung disease. Most of their visits to the emergency department are for cocaine exacerbation of underlying chronic condition, adding exponentially to health care dollars. This article describes the history and pharmacology of illicit cocaine use.
Assuntos
Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Cocaína/história , Cocaína/história , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Mudança Social/história , Vasoconstritores/história , Cocaína/farmacocinética , Cocaína/toxicidade , Interações Medicamentosas , História do Século XV , História do Século XIX , História do Século XX , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/farmacocinética , Drogas Ilícitas/toxicidade , Vasoconstritores/farmacocinética , Vasoconstritores/toxicidadeRESUMO
Thomas Beddoes's and Humphry Davy's accounts of the nitrous oxide experiments carried out at the Pneumatic Institution in 1799 include extravagant descriptions of its mind-altering effects. Many people, both at the time and subsequently, have considered these descriptions to be the product not of the gas but of its subjects' overheated imaginations. To what extent were these effects 'all in the mind' of the experimenters? Modern understandings of nitrous oxide throw new light on this question; but it was also considered, and resolved in different ways, by Beddoes and Davy themselves.
Assuntos
Pesquisa Biomédica/história , Óxido Nitroso/história , Química/história , Inglaterra , História do Século XVIII , História do Século XIX , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/históriaRESUMO
The phenomenon of illicit drug use in Spain during the last thirty years has been marked by the extremely serious consequences of heroin use (mainly injecting). More than 300,000 persons were treated for heroin dependence, 20,000-25,000 died from overdose, 100,000 became infected with HIV through drug injection and quite more with hepatitis virus. Some of these consequences can be attributed to the delay in the implementation of effective interventions, such as methadone maintenance treatment (MMT). Currently, the decreasing number of injectors and the positive effects of interventions, mainly MMT, have led to an important decline of the mentioned health problems. However, overdose mortality remains very high (more than 700 deceased per year), prevalence of both HIV and HCV are still high among injectors, and consequences of chronic liver diseases are emerging. In the last years the use of cocaine and associated problems have increased a lot. Nowadays there are more than 100,000 weekly cocaine users, 25.000 persons are annually treated from cocaine abuse or dependence, and cocaine has an important impact on medical emergency services, while its impact on mortality is unknown. Both cannabis use and related problems are increasing too (there are half a million of daily users). We propose to maintain and to strengthen harm reduction programs (MMT, syringe exchange, save-use and injection rooms, hepatitis A and B vaccination, etc.), to urgently develop specific strategies targeted to reduce overdose mortality and cocaine related problems, and to re-evaluate the effectiveness of preventive and supply control strategies.
Assuntos
Drogas Ilícitas , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/epidemiologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Cocaína/epidemiologia , Overdose de Drogas/mortalidade , Infecções por HIV/transmissão , Hepatite C/transmissão , Dependência de Heroína/epidemiologia , História do Século XX , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Abuso de Maconha/epidemiologia , Metadona/uso terapêutico , Entorpecentes/uso terapêutico , Programas de Troca de Agulhas , Prevalência , Espanha/epidemiologia , Abuso de Substâncias por Via Intravenosa/complicações , Abuso de Substâncias por Via Intravenosa/epidemiologia , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/história , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/mortalidade , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/prevenção & controleRESUMO
Mexico has cultivated opium poppy since before the 1900's and has been an important transit route for South American cocaine for decades. However, only recently has drug use, particularly injection drug use, been documented as an important problem. Heroin is the most common drug used by Mexican injection drug users (IDUs). Increased cultivation of opium poppy in some Mexican states, lower prices for black tar heroin and increased security at U.S.-Mexican border crossings may be contributing factors to heroin use, especially in border cities. Risky practices among IDUs, including needle sharing and shooting gallery attendance are common, whereas perceived risk for acquiring blood borne infections is low. Although reported AIDS cases attributed to IDU in Mexico have been low, data from sentinel populations, such as pregnant women in the Mexican-U.S. border city of Tijuana, suggest an increase in HIV prevalence associated with drug use. Given widespread risk behaviors and rising numbers of blood borne infections among IDUs in Mexican-U.S. border cities, there is an urgent need for increased disease surveillance and culturally appropriate interventions to prevent potential epidemics of blood borne infections. We review available literature on the history of opium production in Mexico, recent trends in drug use and its implications, and the Mexican response, with special emphasis on the border cities of Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana.
Assuntos
Drogas Ilícitas/efeitos adversos , Drogas Ilícitas/provisão & distribuição , Sepse/epidemiologia , Sepse/prevenção & controle , Abuso de Substâncias por Via Intravenosa/epidemiologia , Coca/efeitos adversos , Coca/química , Coca/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Feminino , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Controle de Infecções/métodos , Controle de Infecções/tendências , México/epidemiologia , Papaver/efeitos adversos , Papaver/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Estruturas Vegetais/efeitos adversos , Gravidez , Sepse/etiologia , Abuso de Substâncias por Via Intravenosa/história , Abuso de Substâncias por Via Intravenosa/prevenção & controleRESUMO
Eating, drinking, sexual activity, and parenting invoke pleasure, an emotion that promotes repetition of these behaviors, are essential for survival. Euphoria, a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness, is an amplification of pleasure, aspired to one's essential biological needs that are satisfied. People use party drugs as a shortcut to euphoria. Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), γ-hydroxybutyric acid, and ketamine fall under the umbrella of the term "party drugs," each with differing neuropharmacological and physiological actions. This chapter seeks to survey the history and epidemiology of party drug use; we will then discuss the pharmacological characteristics of each drug to provide a platform for understanding the difficulties that party drug users encounter through intoxication, harmful use, dependence, and withdrawal and how these should be clinically managed.
Assuntos
Euforia/efeitos dos fármacos , Hidroxibutiratos/efeitos adversos , Drogas Ilícitas/efeitos adversos , Ketamina/efeitos adversos , N-Metil-3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/efeitos adversos , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/tratamento farmacológico , História do Século XX , Humanos , Hidroxibutiratos/farmacocinética , Hidroxibutiratos/farmacologia , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Ketamina/farmacocinética , Ketamina/farmacologia , N-Metil-3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/farmacocinética , N-Metil-3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/farmacologiaRESUMO
AIMS: Not every tablet sold as "ecstasy" contains MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine). The historical origins and evolution of this mismatch will be reviewed, in order to estimate the proportions of ecstasy tablets containing MDMA at different periods over the past 30 years. METHODS: Surveys into the pharmacological constituents of ecstasy tablets, dosage levels, and empirical reports of their perceived purity, provide the main data for this review. RESULTS: During the 1980s and early 1990s there were few problems with the purity of ecstasy tablets, and the biochemical evidence shows that they nearly always contained MDMA. During the mid-1990s, the majority of ecstasy tablets continued to contain MDMA, while many others comprised MDA (3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine), MDEA (3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine), or amphetamine drug mixtures. However, a small proportion (4-20% according to survey, time and place), comprised non-amphetamine drugs such as caffeine, ephedrine, ketamine, paracetamol, or placebo. During the late 1990s, the proportion of ecstasy tablets containing MDMA increased to around 80-90%. The latest reports suggest that non-MDMA tablets are now very infrequent, with purity levels between 90% and 100%. Dosage levels of tablets are also highly variable, with low dose tablet often encountered during the mid-1990s, and high dose tablets now seen more frequently. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings will be debated. CONCLUSIONS: The ecstasy purity problem was predominantly a phenomenon of the mid to late 1990s, when many tablets contained substances other than MDMA. Before and since then, the proportion of ecstasy tablets containing MDMA has been very high.
Assuntos
3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/análogos & derivados , Alucinógenos/história , N-Metil-3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/história , 3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/análise , 3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/história , Combinação de Medicamentos , Contaminação de Medicamentos , Alucinógenos/química , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Drogas Ilícitas/química , Drogas Ilícitas/história , N-Metil-3,4-Metilenodioxianfetamina/química , ComprimidosRESUMO
A description is given of the availability and quality of drugs seized in the Danish illicit drug market during the eighties. Cannabis was the most prevalent illegal drug throughout the decade. Seizures of heroin predominated among the 'hard' illegal drugs until 1987 but during the late eighties a significant increase in amphetamine seizures was observed. Most of the cocaine was seized in transit, apparently not meant for the Danish market. Medical drugs, particularly benzodiazepines and the synthetic opiates methadone and ketobemidone, comprised an increasing part of the illegal drug market during the period. No seizures of designer drugs were seen. The street level purities of both heroin and amphetamine were, on average, 30-40%.
Assuntos
Drogas Ilícitas , Anfetamina , Cannabis , Cocaína , Dinamarca , Alucinógenos , Heroína , História do Século XX , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Drogas Ilícitas/legislação & jurisprudência , Drogas Ilícitas/provisão & distribuiçãoRESUMO
The discovery of heroin and the development of heroin abuse are introduced. Heroin, the hydrochloride of diacetylmorphine, was discovered by acetylation of morphine. Heroin, in pharmacological studies, proved to be more effective than morphine or codeine. The Bayer Company started the production of heroin in 1898 on a commercial scale. The first clinical results were so promising that heroin was considered a wonder drug. Indeed, heroin was more effective than codeine in respiratory diseases. It has turned out, however, that repeated administration of heroin results in the development of tolerance and the patients become heroin-addicts soon. In the early 1910s morphine addicts "discovered" the euphorising properties of heroin and this effect was enhanced by intravenous administration. Heroin became a narcotic drug and its abuse began to spread quickly. Restrictions on its production, use and distribution were regulated by international treties. The total ban on heroin production was also proposed. As a result of the strict regulations the production and cosumption of heroin showed a significant decrease after 1931. At the same time the underworld recognized the shortage of heroin and started the illicit production and trafficking. The quantity of heroin seized by law enforcement agencies in the past decades rose gradually. As an indicator of the worldwide heroin market, the quantity of confiscated heroin underwent a tenfold increase since 1970. The paper surveys the most important heroin-producing and trafficking countries. Heroin, prepared in clandestine ("kitchen" or "jungle") laboratories, is diluted ("cut") by every member of the illegal heroin distributing chain, i.e. smugglers, traffickers, dealers and vendors.
Assuntos
Dependência de Heroína/história , Heroína/história , Heroína/uso terapêutico , História do Século XX , Humanos , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Entorpecentes/históriaRESUMO
From an official Montpellier prefecture paper of 18th century, we are interested in a secret drug from Provence origin: the Irroë powder. This purgative will pass from "secret" drug status to "patent" drug. It's notoriety will come from its arrival to Paris. The law of 21th germinal year XI, the decret of 25 prairial year XIII and this of 18th 1810 imposed to give the drug composition to an official status; that examined and permit it's sale. This secret will be produce for half century.
Assuntos
Confidencialidade/história , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Legislação Farmacêutica/história , Medicamentos sem Prescrição/história , França , História do Século XVIII , História do Século XIXRESUMO
This paper deals with the social construction of illegal drug use in the context of the counterculture movement. It looks at the actions and reactions of three groups in particular: the Ontario government, the Addiction Research Foundation of Ontario and citizens. It demonstrates that the debate about drug use took place in particular circumstances characterized by ignorance about the health consequences of illegal drug use but also within a moral panic context. Medical expertise was solicited to provide guidance to the Ontario government but it was gradually challenged by other medical groups and citizens who, by sending letters to their Provincial Premier and the Minister of Health, tried to shape public policy.
Assuntos
Governo/história , Drogas Ilícitas/história , Saúde Pública/história , Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Substâncias/história , Canadá , História do Século XXRESUMO
This article tries to examine the current problems of drug consumption from different points of view. Some major historical, sociological, psychological, and economical aspects are dealt with in order to show the enormous complexity of the subject matter. An attempt is also made to make clear that all approaches suggesting "easy answers" to the drug problems are bound to fail and that the desire to build up a drug-free society has always been a complete illusion.