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Drug History. Where do illicit drugs come from? Painkiller – opiates Opium has been around for thousands of years, it comes from the poppy plant The ancient Greeks recognized its medical value In the early 1800s the first derivative of opium was created - morphine.
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Where do illicit drugs come from? • Painkiller – opiates • Opium has been around for thousands of years, it comes from the poppy plant • The ancient Greeks recognized its medical value • In the early 1800s the first derivative of opium was created - morphine
Heroin – a derivative of morphine was discovered in the lab in 1874 by a chemist looking to make different forms of morphine • Manufactured by Bayer in 1898 as a substitute to codeine or morphine in children’s cough syrup. • Became illegal in the US in 1924
Stimulants • Cocaine • A natural product from the coca plant • Grows in South America • Early explorers notice how native tribes could chew on the coca leaves and not become fatigued • 1860 – cocaine was isolated from the coca leaf • 1880 began to be used in beverages • 1970 – “crack” was introduced, this form of cocaine is obtained by mixing baking soda or ammonia with cocaine to obtain a free base form that is cheaper and more addictive
Amphetamines • Stimulant • First synthesized in Germany in 1887 • Was not marketed until 1930s as an OTC inhaler for asthma and hay fever • By 1937 it was only available by prescription • Methamphetamine • Produced in Japan in 1919 • More potent, easier to make and water soluble • Still legally produced and sold as desoxyn (by prescription
This class of drugs acts on the brain and its ability to gain information Psychoactive Drugs
A.K.A psychedelic drugs • Alter visual perception and skew the user’s sense of time • LSD • Mescaline • ~cannabinoids Hallucinogens
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide • Very similar to serotonin
Albert Hoffman synthesized this in 1938 • Took another 5 years before its use was realized • Used widely in the 1940-1970s as a psychiatric drug for all ailments • Pharmaceutical production stopped in 1965 and research stopped in the early 80s • http://www.psychoactive.org.uk/LSD/history.htm
Psilocybin – psychedelic chemical in some varieties of mushrooms • Use dates back to the earliest recorded history Water soluble, so not as potent as LSD and was useful in some tribal rituals
Comes from the peyote cactus and is used ceremonially by Native American tribes in the western US
Mescaline and MDA both activate the release of serotonin • But unlike LSD, these chemicals are much weaker (200-4000x)
These two drugs do stimulate the stress response • Since higher doses are required the stress response is greater • Thus regular use can cause withdrawal symptoms
MDMA – ecstasy • Manufactured by Merck, discovered in 1912 • Originally constructed for the military for amphetamine properties • Used for a while as a therapeutic drug in psychology • Now it is only used as a party drug
Marijuana (cannabis sativa) • They do not alter visual perception but do alter the awareness of time • Not a true hallucinogen
THC (the psychoactive chemical) had its receptor discovered in 1990. • There is a naturally occurring peptide in our bodies that stimulates a marijuana-like response
THC affects our short-term memory. While under the influence memories are not sorted correctly. • REMless sleep with THC
Cannabis also has many useful applications • This is because hemp fiber is very strong, more so than wood pulp. • Used in making clothing and money • It is also used in conjunction with cancer treatments and in the treatment of glaucoma.
