AimThe study aimed to collect information concerning the increasing use of new psychoactive substances, commonly sold through online shops as 'Internet drugs' or 'legal highs', or in terms of masked products such as 'bath salts' and 'plant food'.MethodsThe Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Laboratory and the Swedish Poisons Information Centre h...
"Magic mushrooms" is the most common name given to hallucinogenic fungi containing the psychoactive alkaloids psilocybin and psilocin. In recent years, fungis' sclerotia, commonly called "magic truffles" have become a form of supply of psychoactive Psilocybe alkaloids since Psilocybe sclerotia are not specifically included in the laws banning the sale, the p...
ObjectiveTo describe patterns of simultaneous polysubstance use (SPU) among Danish 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) ("Ecstasy") and hallucinogen users.MethodsA cross-sectional survey of 98 active MDMA and/or hallucinogen users recruited through homepage advertisements, flyers, and word of mouth in Denmark. Lifetime and recent substance use and SPU at...
IntroductionThe American continent is very rich in psychoactive plants and fungi, and many pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures used them for magical, therapeutic and religious purposes.ObjectivesThe archaeological, ethno-historical and ethnographic evidence of the use of hallucinogenic substances in Mesoamerica is reviewed.ResultsHallucinogenic cactus, plant...
The psychoactive substance 4-HO-MET (4-hydroxy-N-methyl-N-ethyltryptamine) with psychedelic qualities is one of many legal so-called Internet drugs. The aim of this qualitative study was to establish an understanding of what characterizes its recreational use. Very little is known about the effects of this substance. Twenty-five anonymous Swedish experience ...
IntroductionProblems associated with the increasing abuse of plant-derived psychoactive substances have recently attracted attention. This study involved bioanalytical and clinical examinations of intoxication cases suspected to be linked to such plant materials.MethodsUrine samples were collected at emergency wards in Sweden from patients who either admitte...
A sensitive and specific LC-MS/MS method for simultaneous detection of 10 plant-derived psychoactive substances (atropine, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, ephedrine, harmaline, harmine, ibogaine, lysergic acid amide, psilocin, scopolamine and yohimbine) in urine was developed. Direct injection of urine diluted with 3 deuterated internal standards allowed for a readi...
Consumption of natural hallucinogenic substances continues to be a problem. In this case we report from a young male patient presenting with an acute coronary syndrome with significant ST-elevation after the abuse of psychoactive fungi, commonly referred to as "magic mushrooms". Coronary angiography excludes relevant coronary artery disease. In ventriculogra...
The questions of whether psilocybe type mushrooms exist in Trinidad, and if they exist, whether they contain psychoactive drugs namely psilocin and psilocybin were addressed in this paper. To answer these questions naturally-growing mushrooms were collected and classified by trained mycologists. Thin layer chromatography and high-pressure liquid chromatograp...
Hallucinogenic fungi synthesize two controlled substances, psilocin and psilocybin. Possession of the fungal species that contain these compounds is a criminal offence in North America. Some related species that are morphologically similar, do not contain the controlled substances. Therefore, unambiguous identification of fungi to the species level is critic...
IntroductionA wide range of fungi and medicinal herbs, rich in hallucinogenic substances and widely used for mystic and medicinal purposes, can give rise to neurotoxic symptoms.DevelopmentWe review the toxic syndromes that can arise from the ingestion of hallucinogenic fungi, cacti and plants, together with descriptions of cases of acute poisoning resulting ...
Substances capable of changing the functions of the central nervous system are widely distributed in plant kingdom, and many of them were discovered by ancient food-gatherers at the dawn of humanity. In the Old World only a few substances producing euphoria or altered states of consciousness and having habit-forming properties are still widely used. They are...
The applications of LC-API-MS in routine forensic toxicological casework were presented. This technique has been used for routine determination of several groups of drugs: opiate agonists (like morphine, codeine, dihydrocodeine and their glucuronides, methadone, buprenorphine) cocaine and its metabolites (benzoylecgonine and ecgonine methyl ester), amphetami...
In the context of excessive use of natural or synthetic psychoactive substances, with stimulating, psychedelic and hallucinogenic effects, an increase, if not a recurrence, in consumption of Psilocybe semilanceata has been observed in France over some fifteen years. Psilocybin and psilocin are the active compounds, responsible for the hallucinogenic effects ...
The neurometabolic effects of the hallucinogen psilocybin (PSI; 0.2 mg/kg), the entactogen 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDE; 2 mg/kg) and the stimulant d-methamphetamine (METH; 0.2-0.4 mg/kg) and the drugs' interactions with a prefrontal activation task were investigated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled human [F-18]fluorodeoxyglucoseFDG-positron ...
A procedure is outlined for comparing dependence potential and acute toxicity across a broad range of abused psychoactive substances. Tentative results, based on an extensive literature review of 20 substances, suggested that the margin of safety ("therapeutic index") varied dramatically between substances. Intravenous heroin appeared to have the greatest ri...
