Michael Owens and others at the Center for Alcohol and Drug Abuse, University of Arkansas, have found an antibody for amphetamines, which effectively remove the drug from the bloodstream. Crystal meth and ecstasy abuse has been a growing issue, and with no ways to remove the drug from the body, therapies usually focus on treating side-effects. An antibody can be of great help in recovery. However, such a compound would likely find its way to the black market, where it would be used by people who undergo mandatory drug-testing.

Invention: Anti-ecstasy antibodies, NewScientist.com

An article in yesterday’s Washington Post has revealed that hundreds of immigrants have been drugged against their will by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), a branch of Homeland Security, since the Bush administration put it in charge of deportation back in 2003. Involuntary chemical sedation without medical justification is banned in some countries and is a violation of some international human rights codes. During the 2007 fiscal year, 53 deportees without mental illness were drugged, 50 injected with Haldol (a powerful anti-psychotic), some also given Ativan (to control anxiety) and Cogentin (to lessen muscle spasms caused by Haldol), which together made the ICE “pre-flight cocktail.” According to Philip Seeman, University of Toronto specialist who has studied the drug and other antipsychotics, giving Haldol to people who aren’t psychotic is “medically and ethically wrong.” Haldol is only used in situations when someone is violent from dementia or an overdose of a drug such as PCP. Furthermore, psychotic patients who receive the drug regularly get 5-15 milligrams a day, while some detainees were given over 30, which is really high for someone who has never Haldol the drug the before. Reportedly, some deportees were so drugged up that they were brought off their planes in wheelchairs. Some countries prohibit such practices, and there are instances when ICE tried to give additional injections in foreign airports between connecting flights and was forbidden to do so by the country’s (e.g. France) authorities. America used to have a similar stance, but, in May 2003, Homeland Security ruled that an ICE detainee “with or without a diagnosed psychiatric condition who displays overt or threatening aggressive behavior . . . may be considered a combative detainee and can be sedated if appropriate under the circumstances.” While it may be an infringement on individual cognitive liberty, the freedom to choose how we think and what we use (or don’t) to modify our brain chemistry, the government retains this dubious right.

Careless Detention: Some Detainees Drugged for Deportation, WashingtonPost.com

A recent study has found that marijuana smokers may develop bullous lung disease 24 years earlier than tobacco smokers. Bullous lung disease, a.k.a. bullae, is when air trapped in the lungs leads to obstruction of breathing and eventual destruction of the lungs, caused by long-term exposure to toxic chemicals. Furthermore, it can go undetected, as the disease may not show up on normal X-rays, a proper diagnosis requiring a high-resolution CT scans. With the 10% young adults and 1% adults smoking weed regularly, the mean age for lung problems was 41, opposed to 65 for tobacco smokers. Dr. Matthew Naughton, lead author, says this is because "marijuana is inhalaed as extremely hot fumes to the peak inspiration and held for as long as possible before slow exhalation. This predisposes to greater damage to the lungs and makes marijuana smokers more prone to bullous disease." Granted, most marijuana smokers usually also smoke cigarettes, which in some ways deserve the title of gateway drug more than pot, the previous findings that doobies have tar levels seven times higher than stogies now have support in medical statistics.

Another recent study study has found that, in terms of lung cancer, smoking one joint is equal to a normal 20-pack of cigarettes (in Europe 10 and 30-packs are pretty common). The researchers interviewed 79 lung cancer patients to find that cancer risk rose 5.7x for those who smoked than a joint a day for 10 years, or two joints a day for 5 years, after adjusting for other variables like tobacco smoking. According to Richard Beasley, team leader, "Cannabis smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their bloodstream (than tobacco smokers)." The main obstacle, in regard to health, but for public policy as well, seems to be that the most popular method marijuana drug delivery is still smoking, be it bowl, bong or blunt. Unfortunately, inhaling smoke is never healthy, otherwise we would live on the sun. Thus, it may be wise to invest in a vaporizer, which greatly reduces the levels of particulate matter like tar and noxious gasses like carbon monoxide and are relatively affordable online. Alternatively, bake magic brownies or make kookie cookies, many recipes are available in print and on the web. There is also the option of leaching marijuana in high-proof alcohol, to brew so-called Green Dragon. All three methods keep the lungs healthy and pink while still allowing people to benefit from the positive effects of marijuana. Mens sana in corpore sano.

Marijuana Smokers Face Rapid Lung Destruction — As Much As 20 Years Ahead Of Tobacco Smokers, ScienceDaily.com
Smoking One Joint is Equivalent to 20 Cigarettes, Study Says, FoxNews.com

A recent US government survey has found that about 3.1 million Americans ages 12-25 (5% of the age group) have used over-the-counter cough and cold medication to get high. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) based their results on 45,000 interviews. Adolescents and young adults have the highet rates of abuse, with 1.7% having used in the past year. White people used three times more than others. In ages 12-17, most users were girls, 18-25 guys. Overall, the number of people on cold medication is comparable to those on LSD, crystal meth or ecstasy. The breakdown by brand-preferance showed NyQuil at 30%, Coricidin 18%, Robitussin 18%.

The active ingredient responsible for the drug’s psychotropic properties is dextramethorphan hydrobromide, or DXM. In large doses, 10 or more times the suggested amount, it acts as a dissociative hallucinogenic, like ketamine or PCP. DXM was FDA approved in 1958 and during the 60s and 70s it was available over-the-counter in pill form under the brand name Romilar. But in 1973, Romilar was taken off the market because of the growing rate of recreational use, and was replaced by cough syrup, reasoning that fewer people would abuse it if it meant they had to consume a lot of nasty tasting viscous liquid. This seems to have been only a temporary detterent. On the street it’s known as "dex", "tussin", "skittles" or "triple Cs" (short for Coricid Cough and Cold), with its use referred to as "robotripping", "dexing" or "tussing". Despite its still legal status, DXM purchase is regulated in many pharmacies across the country.

Report Details U.S. Cough, Cold Medicine Abuse, ABCNews.com

A new study by Victor Maridakis, a kinesiologist at the University of Georgia, shows that moderate amounts of caffeine - two cups of coffee - can decrease muscle pain by 48%. The experiment, to be published in the February issue of The Journal of Pain, took 9 female college students, who neither drank coffee nor exercised, and made them do quadricepts (thigh) exercises at maximal or sub-maximal force, after taking either a caffeine pill or a placebo. The result was a 26% pain reduction at sub-maximal and 48% at maximal force for those who took the caffeine compared to the placebo group, impressive considering that naproxen (Aleve) only reduces soreness 30%, Aspirin 25%. This study builds of the work of Patrick O’Connor (one of the co-authors), who in 2003 showed that caffeine reduces thigh pain in mid-intensity cycling, something about these guys and thighs. The reduction in pain is likely explained by caffeine blocking receptors of adenosine (a strong anti-inflammatory agent).

UGA study finds that caffeine cuts post-workout pain by nearly 50 percent, UGA.edu

Roland Griffiths of John Hopkins University led a recent study on psilocybin, the chemical in hallucinogenic magic mushrooms that mimics the effects of serotonin on the brain. There were 36 American test subjects, 14 men and 22 women, ages 24-64, none of whom had tripped (used hallucinogenics) before. They were mostly college graduates with successful careers and some spiritual practice. There were two sessions, in one the subjects were given psilocybin, the other Ritalin. Without knowing which is which, the results would not be clouded by participants’ preconceptions of what’s supposed to happen when you shroom. Of the 36 subjects, 22 (61%) described psilocybin as a mystical experience, listing feelings of unity with all things, abiding joy and transcendence of time and space. In a follow-up two months later, 67% rated the psilocybin trip as one of the most meaningful of their lives, comparable to the birth of a child or death of a parent, 79% said it increased their overall well being and satisfaction with life. Meanwhile, interviews with family members, friends and co-workers revealed positive changes in the subject’s behavior. Further follow-ups will determine effects after a year and more.

Neuroscientists Probe Psychedelic Psilocybin, SciAm.com

For those who still don’t buy my weed apologia, here’s an excerpt from last month’s issue of The Economist:

IF CANNABIS were unknown, and bioprospectors were suddenly to find it in some remote mountain crevice, its discovery would no doubt be hailed as a medical breakthrough. Scientists would praise its potential for treating everything from pain to cancer, and marvel at its rich pharmacopoeia—many of whose chemicals mimic vital molecules in the human body. In reality, cannabis has been with humanity for thousands of years and is considered by many governments (notably America’s) to be a dangerous drug without utility. Any suggestion that the plant might be medically useful is politically controversial, whatever the science says. It is in this context that, on April 20th, America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement saying that smoked marijuana has no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States…

Today, cannabis is used all over the world, despite its illegality, to relieve pain and anxiety, to aid sleep, and to prevent seizures and muscle spasms. For example, two of its long-advocated benefits are that it suppresses vomiting and enhances appetite—qualities that AIDS patients and those on anti-cancer chemotherapy find useful. So useful, in fact, that the FDA has licensed a drug called Marinol, a synthetic version of one of the active ingredients of marijuana—delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Unfortunately, many users of Marinol complain that it gets them high (which isn’t what they actually want) and is not nearly as effective, nor cheap, as the real weed itself.

Reefer Madness, Economist.com

Australian researcher Nicole Anastos has developed a new test for hallucinogenic mushrooms that produces a glowing light if they contain the psychoactive illegal ingredient. The technique uses chemiluminescence, a light reaction that happens when certain chemicals come into contact, to detect psilocybin and its metabolit psilocin (the serotonin-like psychoactive ingredients in shrooms). Apparently glowing happens when you mix psilocin with acidic potassium permanganate, likewise with psilocybin and ruthenium. These tests already exist for many drugs, including weed, coke and heroin, but this is the first one for fungui. Species used in this research were psilocybe subaeruginosa, hypholoma aurantiaca and panaeolina foenisecii. Anastos hopes that her research will be used and developed by the police.

Test for magic mushrooms glow in the dark, ABC.net.au

When you study natural science and the miracles of creation, if you don’t turn into a mystic you are not a natural scientist.
- Albert Hofmann.

January 13-15, Basel, Switzerland hosted the conference LSD: Problem Child and Wonder Drug, an International Symposium on the Occasion of the 100th Birthday of Albert Hofmann. Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25), a derivative of lysergic acid found in the alkaloids of the ergot grain fungus was discovered by Hoffman in 1938. During the 1950s and 1960s, LSD a.k.a. acid was found to be a promising tool for psychiatry and psychotherapy and was studied by the CIA as a potential interrogation weapon (Project MKULTRA). But it has been illegal worldwide since the mid-1960s, after the great acid wave that washed over popular youth culture. Dr. Andrew Sewell, a psychiatrist and neurologist from the Harvard Medical School says "There is no evidence that LSD causes permanent brain damage — and quite a lot of evidence that it doesn’t."
While acid flashbacks exist, they’re rare and not as dangerous as the media makes them seem. Further, no one has died of an LSD overdose. While doubtless there have been people who’ve done some really stupid things while tripping, still others have accomplished great feats, like Pittsburgh’s Doc Ellis who pitched a perfect game on acid in 1970. Among the first to popularize the drug was author Aldous Huxeley in Doors of Perception and Dr. Timothy Leary, ex-Harvard psychologist turned LSD crusader. Nobel-prize-winner Francis Crick, discoverer of the double helical structure of DNA, told friends he received inspiration for his ideas from LSD. Many computer pioneers also credit LSD as their inspiration, including Douglas Englebart, the inventor of the mouse, and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who considers it as "one of the two or three most important things he has done in his life." So it’s no surprise that some computer companies, e.g. Cisco Systems, have banned drug testing for their technologists. During the LSD symposium, mythologist Carl P. Ruck and chemist Peter Webster presented their research supporting the popular theory that an ergot preparation was the active ingredient for the Kykeon beverage used during the ritual of the Eleusinian Mysteries of the Ancient Greek cult of Diana. Others have linked ergot poisoning to explain the Salem witch trials, as well as the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

LSD: The Geek’s Wonder Drug? Wired.com
LSD Symposium

Jon-Kar Zubieta’s team at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, US, has confirmed that placebos relieve pain by boosting the release of endorphins. Fourteen healthy males in their twenties volunteered to try what they were told was "a medication that may or may not relieve pain". To induce pain, the researchers gave the young men infusions into the jaw that made them ache. All the volunteers, who were given a placebo of salt solution, reported feeling less pain. But the researchers did not simply take their word for it: instead, they scanned the volunteers’ brains using positron emission tomography (PET). They had injected the volunteers with a radioactive tracer that binds to the same mu-opioid receptors as endorphins do, which allowed them to figure out the level of endorphins produced in each volunteer’s brain. The scans revealed that after the volunteers took the placebo, their brains released more pain-relieving endorphins than normal. Zubieta thinks the placebo effect is piggybacking on the body’s innate painkilling system. "[The system] is there to ensure the survival of the organism," he says. "The placebo effect is acting through these mechanisms." But exactly how it does this remains a mystery.

Placebos trigger and opioid hit in the brain, NewScientist.com