Narcotized

The reasons Strike wrote this book. The reasons you re reading this book. Ecstasy is the most benign drug Strike has ever encountered. It is passive yet powerful. By powerful Strike does not mean that it incapacitates or makes one dangerous. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. Its power is in its ability to evoke a total sensory bath of tactile, visual and mental enhancement. One s perception is perfectly clear. Hallucinations are nonexistent. The feeling one has is, literally, ecstasy. Plus, it is one of the few narcotics in the world that is not physically addictive. Why this substance was taken away from the people is a question that only government-funded scientists can answer. 

Scopolamine (42), an optically active, viscous Hquid, also isolated from Solanaceae, eg. Datura metell. decomposes on standing and is thus usually both used and stored as its hydrobromide salt. The salt is employed as a sedative or, less commonly, as a prophylactic for motion sickness. It also has some history of use ia conjunction with narcotics as it appears to enhance their analgesic effects. BiogeneticaHy, scopolamine is clearly an oxidation product of atropiae, or, more precisely, because it is optically active, of (—)-hyoscyamiae. 

Crude preparations of mescaline (61) from peyote were first reported by the Spanish as they learned of its use from the natives of Mexico during the Spanish invasion of that country in the sixteenth century. The colorful history (44) of mescaline has drawn attention to its use as a hallucinogen and even today it is in use among natives of North and South America. Although in connection with dmg abuse complaints, mescaline is considered dangerous, it has been reported (45) that it is not a narcotic nor is it habituating. It was also suggested that its sacramental use in the Native American Church of the United States be permitted since it appears to provoke only visual hallucination while the subject retains clear consciousness and awareness. 

The Opiates. The International Narcotics Control Board—Vienna, tracks the tick production of narcotic dmgs and annually estimates world requkements for the United Nations. Thek most recent pubHcation (100) points out that more than 95% of the opium for Hcit medical and scientific purposes is produced by India and, in a declining trend, only about 600 t was utilized in 1988. This trend appears to be due to the fact that the United States, the largest user of opium for alkaloid extraction, reduced the amount of opium being imported from about 440 t in 1986 to 249 t in 1987 and 224 t in 1988. The United States used about 48 t of morphine (2, R = H) in 1988, most (about 90%) being converted to codeine (2, R = CH3) and the remainder being used for oral adrninistration to the terminally ill (about 2 t) and for conversion to other materials of minor commercial import which, while clearly alkaloid-derived, are not naturally occurring. 

International Narcotics Control Board—Vienna, Narcotic Drugs, Estimated World Requirementsfor 1990, Statistics for 1988, United Nations Publ. E/F/S.89.XI.3, New York, 1989, pp. 33ff... 

United States Pharmacopeia. Reference standards are requited in many USP and NF tests, and in a few FCC tests. The USPC distributes such standards domestically and has authorized international distribution by a number of organizations or companies. There are well over 1000 USP Reference Standards, including several for melting points, and also specimens of narcotics and other controlled substances. New standards are constantly under development as needed in various USP, NF, and FCC testing methods. 

This correlates narcotic potency, a gas s solubiUty in nerve tissue Hpids which can be approximated by its solubiUty in light oils such as oHve oil. 

The narcotic potency and solubiUty in oHve oil of several metabohcaHy inert gases are Hsted in Table 10. The narcotic potency, ED q, is expressed as the partial pressure of the gas in breathing mixtures requited to produce a certain degree of anesthesia in 50% of the test animals. The solubiUties are expressed as Bunsen coefficients, the volume of atmospheric pressure gas dissolved by an equal volume of Hquid. The Hpid solubiHty of xenon is about the same as that of nitrous oxide, a commonly used light anesthetic, and its narcotic potency is also about the same. As an anesthetic, xenon has the virtues of reasonable potency, nonflammability, chemical inertness, and easy elimination by the body, but its scarcity and great cost preclude its wide use for this purpose (see Anesthetics). 

Table 10. Narcotic Potency and Solubility in Olive Oil of Some Metabolically Inert Gases ...

ED q, narcotic potency, is expressed as the partial pressure of a gas in breathing mixtures requited to produce a certain degree of anesthesia in 50% of the test animals. 

Nuts have many uses, both industrial and domestic. For instance, the ivory nut, or tagua, is a source material for the manufacture of buttons and turnery articles. The kola nut supplies ingredients for popular cola beverages in the United States (see Carbonated beverages). StTychnos nux-vomica provides the important medicine and poison, strychnine. The areca or betel nut is chewed by the Indian and Malayan people as a narcotic a slice of the nut is placed in a leaf of the pepper plant Piper betle) together with a pinch of lime the mixture is an acrid, astringent narcotic that dyes the mouth red, blackens and destroys the teeth. The areca nut contains, among other alkaloids, arecoline, an active anthelminthic widely used in veterinary practice for the treatment of tapeworm infections. 

Methyl-1-pentene [691-37-2] is alight, colorless, flammable fiquid its physical constants are also given in Table 1. It is an irritant and, in high concentrations, a narcotic. Like 1-butene, this chemical compound has a low flash point and represents a significant fire hazard when exposed to heat, flame, or oxidizing agents. 

The C-5 alcohols are more toxic and narcotic than the lower homologues. Toxicity to rats from amyl alcohols decreases in the order tertiary, secondary, primary. Toxicity of 3-methyl-1-butanol appears to have been studied the most. This alcohol caused a slight increase in cancerous tumors compared to controls in two studies (137,138). The tumors were located primarily in the stomach and Hver. 

Eye contact can cause irritation or bums. Repeated skin contact can result iu dermatitis. Exposure to excessive vapor concentrations irritates the eyes and respiratory tract. Very high concentrations have a narcotic effect (43). 

J. M. Cooper, "Stimulants and Narcotics," Handbook of South American Indians Washington, D.C., 1949. 

In the past, chloroform was used extensively as a surgical anesthetic, but this use was abandoned because exposure to narcotic concentrations often resulted in sudden death from effects on the heart and circulation or from severe injury to the Hver. In addition, chloroform for this and other consumer uses was harmed by FDA in 1976 with the discovery that it is carcinogenic in mice (38). When splashed into the eye, chloroform causes local pain and irritation, but serious injury is not expected. Skin contact for single, brief exposures ordinarily causes Htde or no local irritation. 

Carbon tetrachloride is the oldest and was the most extensively used chlorinated solvent in degreasing and dry-cleaning operations for many years. Consequently, its narcotic and toxic properties have been the subject of much investigation. Carefiil investigations have repeatedly shown carbon tetrachloride to be one of the most harm fill of the common solvents (37). 

Trichloroethylene [79-01-6J, trichloroethene, CHCL=CCL2, commonly called "tri," is a colorless, sweet smelling (chloroformlike odor), volatile Hquid and a powerhil solvent for a large number of natural and synthetic substances. It is nonflammable under conditions of recommended use. In the absence of stabilizers, it is slowly decomposed (autoxidized) by air. The oxidation products are acidic and corrosive. Stabilizers are added to all commercial grades. Trichloroethylene is moderately toxic and has narcotic properties. 

Toxicological studies conducted on DCPD indicate that it is a moderately toxic material and, to some extent, an irritant and a narcotic. By oral administration in the rat, the LD q is 0.82 g/kg of body weight, and by skin absorption in the rabbit, the LD q is 6.72 ml,/kg. An atmospheric concentration of 2000 ppm causes death in rats exposed for a period of 4 hours. 

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