Psychoactive Drugs on Brambles

Gateway to Hell?

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

The Gateway Drug Stigma: Origins, Impact, and Moving Beyond #

The concept of a “gateway drug”–a substance believed to lead to the use of more dangerous drugs–carries significant stigma in modern society. This stigma, rooted in history and culture, harms public health and well-being. This article explores the origins of this stigma, its perpetuation, and the need for a more nuanced understanding of drug use.

A Controversial Concept #

The gateway drug theory emerged in the mid-20th century, primarily in discussions about cannabis use. Initially a hypothesis, it gained prominence during the “War on Drugs” era, which began in the 1970s and intensified through the 1990s. Anti-drug campaigns, like Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No,” promoted this theory. They linked initial drug use to inevitable addiction and social ruin. For example, the 1936 film “Reefer Madness” portrayed cannabis use as a path to insanity and crime. It set a precedent for decades of similar messaging. This simplistic narrative created a stigma that persists to this day.

Kanna

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Kanna #

Kanna contains many alkaloids including mesembrine, mesembrenone, mesembrenol, mesembranol, epimesembranol, and tortuosamine. Of these, mesembrine and mesembrenone are thought to be the main contributors to the psychoactive effects:

	mesembrine	mesembrenone	Δ7-mesembrenone
molecule
subjective effect	energy/focus	calming/relaxation	synergistic

A useful way to characterize an extract is the proportion of mesembrine,

mesembrine/TotalAlkaloids

where

TotalAlkaloids ≈ (mesembrine + mesembrenone + Δ7-mesembrenone)

In 2012, the first commercial kanna extract, Zembrin, was made available in North America.¹ Zembrin is optimized for relaxation (i.e., less than 20% mesembrine) and is typically sold in 25mg tablets. Zembrin only contains 0.35–0.45% total alkaloids.² Other vendors sell much more potent extracts. You can find products with more than 5% total alkaloids (i.e., ≈10x more concentrated than Zembrin).

Salvia Divinorum

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Guide to Using Salvia #

Salvia Divinorum #

Related to the common spices mint and sage, salvia divinorum is a member of the Lamiaceae family and endemic to the Sierra Mazateca in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico.¹ Unlike mint or sage, salvia is psychoactive. The psychoactive constituent is a structurally unique diterpenoid called salvinorin A, a potent κ-opioid agonist.

Methods of ingestion include smoking, quid chewing, or tincture. The traditional method is quid chewing. Leaves are chewed and held in the mouth without swallowing for 10-15 minutes. The leaves taste like tea (camellia sinensis). The taste is not pleasant, but tolerable. [TODO: Try caraway seeds] The psychedelic effect comes on after about 10-20 minutes from the beginning of chewing and lasts 30-90 minutes. Use with a tincture is similar, but instead of leaves, extracted salvinorin A is held in the mouth with a solvent, usually ethyl alcohol. Smoking with a water pipe is another method. To receive a large enough dose through inhalation, leaves are fortified with salvinorin A to increase the concentration 5-60 times (or higher). When absorbed through the lungs, the psychedelic effect comes on rapidly and lasts for 5-30 minutes.