OTHER LSD-LIKE HALLUCINOGENS

OTHER LSD^-LIKE HALLUCINOGENS

There are many other molecules with chemical structures that resemble serotonin (tryptamines) or amphetamine (phenethylamines) that scien­tists or bootleg drug preparers have made. 2C-B is one example, but there are many, and odd variants pop up all the time. Those that have been stud­ied scientifically owe their hallucinogen properties to the same mechanism as LSD. However, each one has the potential to exert additional effects due to interactions with multiple receptor types, and so the effects can be indi­vidual and perhaps not what the user expects. A former synthetic chemist, Alexander Shulgin, and his wife published two books that describe the synthesis and use of these drugs, which some use as a guidebook. Those with amphetamine-like structures often have amphetamine-like activities along with their hallucinogenic properties, which can lead to dangerous levels of sympathetic nervous system stimulation and increased heart rate and blood pressure, for example. All such drugs are illegal in the United States (see the "Legal Issues" chapter).

DMT

Dimethyltryptamine (businessman's special) is one of the other serotonin­like hallucinogens that appear on the drug scene in North America. The compound originally derives from the beans of the tree Anadenanthera peregrine (sometimes referred to as Piptadenia peregrine), which grows in northern and central South America, and related species in southern South America. It has been used by South American tribes as a halluci­nogenic snuff called yopo or cohoba. However, it is most often available today as the pure compound, which users prepare as a tea or smoke by itself or in conjunction with marijuana by first soaking the leaves in a solution of DMT and then drying and smoking them. The drug takes effect very rapidly: the entire experience develops and finishes within an hour. Probably because the onset of action is so fast, DMT causes anxi­ety attacks much more frequently than LSD, although the basic experi‑

ence is similar.

Some serotonin-derived compounds, such as 5-methoxy dimethyl­tryptamine (5-Me0-DMT) or bufotenin, are found in the skins of some toads, including the Colorado River toad. Milking the glands on the back of the toad to obtain the hallucinogens, which are then smoked or ingested, was an old Native American trick that has been repopularized to the extent that the Wall Street Journal reported it. The high that is produced is extremely brief and accompanied by much worse side effects than most hallucinogens, including increased blood pressure and heart rate, blurred vision, cramped muscles, and temporary paralysis. These are due mainly to the bufotenin. The same compounds also appear in the seeds of a number of trees that grow in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America (Piptaclenia peregrina). The powdered seeds provide the basis for hallucinogenic snuffs used by indigenous peoples and have been identified as a component of voodoo powders. DMT, 5-Me0-DMT, and some other variants including 4-Acetoxy-DMT and 5-Me0-DiPT (N)N^-diisopropy1-5-methoxy-tryptamine) also show up in pill form. The basic effects of these drugs are similar, although the duration of action varies.

Peyote Cactus (Mescaline)

The peyote cactus has likely been used as a hallucinogen by native tribes in Mexico for thousands of years, and its use by North American tribes is an accepted part of their histories. The species that is typically the source of hallucinogens in the United States is a cactus that grows in northwest Mexico: Lophophora williarnsii. It produces mescaline, the active halluci­nogen, as well as many other compounds. The dried "button" of the cac­tus is the usual form in which the drug is sold, although it also appears in other dried forms (powders, etc.), as well as in a tea. While it can be smoked, the button is usually swallowed without chewing, and the active agent is absorbed from the stomach and intestine. There are other cacti that produce hallucinogens, including the San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi), which grows in the Andes Mountains of South America.

Mescaline's chemical structure does not resemble LSD or psilocybin and the other serotonin-like hallucinogens. Instead, the structure looks more like amphetamine. The physical effects also resemble those of amphetamine—dilated pupils, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure. The mental effects as described by ritual and recreational users, however, are surprisingly similar to LSD. Nausea and vomiting are com­mon, especially soon after ingestion of the cactus buttons. After a user ingests a number of cactus buttons, he often feels an increase in sensitiv­ity to sensory images and sees flashes of color followed by geometric pat­terns and sometimes images of people and animals. Time and space perception are distorted, as with LSD, and people often feel that they are outside themselves. The effects of ingesting pure mescaline versus the cac­tus button are similar but not identical, because there are at least thirty other compounds in the cactus.

The ritual use of this cactus by the shamans of native tribes, such as the Huichol in Mexico, persisted into recent times, and North American tribes adopted it in the late nineteenth century. The ritual use by North American tribes was then integrated with a number of Christian prac­tices in the form of the Native American Church. The use of peyote as a part of this church's religious rituals has been protected by the First Amendment and then later by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (1993). The act states that the government can limit a person's exercise of religious freedom only if "it is in furtherance of a compelling govern­ment interest, and is the least restrictive means of furthering that com­pelling interest." Although the 1993 law was declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1997, some states have since enacted protective legislation for religious use to replace the protection no longer provided by federal law.