Psychoactive effects inhalants

The psychotropic effects of Salvia divinorum have generated interest among psychopharmacologists and other scientists. Chemical analysis of the plant has succeeded in identifying the active substance, which is now known as salvinorin A. Research on animals and human volunteers indicates that the psychoactive effects of salvinorin A are comparable to those of mescaline. As little as 200-500 meg of salvinorin A will reliably produce hallucinations in people, when the crystallized substance is vaporized over a flame and inhaled. On the basis of effective dose, salvinorin A is the most potent natural hallucinogen known. The leaves have been determined to contain 1—4 mg of salvinorin A per gram of dry weight. 

A wide variety of chemical products that give off fumes are inhaled for their psychoactive effects. Many inhalants are chemicals that are found in household products, such as cleaning solvents and aerosols. Since the chemicals are cheap and easily available, this kind of drug abuse is popular with some kids as young as seven, many of whom are not aware that even one use can be deadly. 

Inhalants are the only abused substance classified solely by their means of administration—abusers take them by breathing in vapors from volatile substances. Thus, researchers must try to characterize a wide variety of substances and chemicals found in hundreds of common household, industrial, commercial, and medical products that can be inhaled to produce a psychoactive effect."... 

After inhalation of marijuana smoke, THC is rapidly absorbed through the lungs and reaches peak blood concentration within minutes thereafter, blood concentration rapidly declines to about 10% of peak levels within 1 to 2 hours. This rapid decline in THC concentration is a result of its facile distribution to tissue such as brain, fat, and muscle. The rapid tissue distribution phase, a consequence of the lipophilic nature of THC, is followed by a slow redistribution of THC back into the blood stream and subsequent hepatic elimination. The terminal elimination half-life of THC is about 1 day in casual marijuana users and 3 to 5 days in chronic users. The peak psychoactive effects of THC generafly lag behind the peak blood concentration by about 20 to 30 minutes. Undoubtedly the concentration of THC in venous blood poorly reflects the THC concentration in the brain. 

N,N-Dimethylttyptamine (DMT) is a representative of the tryptamin i.e. indole-3-alkylamine, family. Note the stmc-tural similarity to serotonin which is 5-hydroxyttyptamine (Fig. 18.33). DMT is parenterally, but not orally, active at around 60-100 mg of the free base since rapid deamination by monoamine oxidase oteurs following oral administration. Pharmacological effects are therefore induced by inhalation of the free base vapour or by injection of a water-soluble salt. The fumarate salt has been used in a number of human dinical studies and it was reported that the psychoactive effects are relativdy short-lived, with durations less than 1 horn. Smoking of the free base leads to very intense but short-lived effects for around 5-15 minutes. A number of N-mono and dimethylated tryptamines are also present in several human tissues. Thdr exact function has been debated for several decades but so far no definite condusion has been reached. 

Inhalant intoxication dehrium can occur as a consequence of disturbances in dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic neu to transmission secondary to acute, high-level exposure to psychoactive ingredients in solvents such as toluene, trichloroethane, and trichloroethylene. Systemic effects of solvent inhalation such as cerebral hypoxia and/or metabolic acidosis may also be involved (Rosenberg 1982). Under these circumstances, inhalant intoxication dehrium develops over a short period of time (usually hours to days) and tends to fluctuate during the course of the day. Usually, the delirium resolves as the intoxication ends or within a few hours after cessation of use. 

Most abusers are drawn to inhalants for their psychoactive, or mind-altering, effects. Users of nitrites are the exception. The nitrites make up an inhalant subcategory that includes amyl, butyl, and cyclohexyl nitrites. These substances were nicknamed poppers because in the past, they were packaged in ampules. Users cracked the ampules to release the vapors. Nitrites are abused, internationally, because they produce a sexual rush, accompanied by a sense of power and exhilaration. 

The body s systems respond more slowly after marijuana is eaten. People who ingest marijuana, which may be cooked and incorporated into a meal, experience a slower onset of effects because the drug has to first go through the digestive process before it reaches the bloodstream and is carried to the central nervous system. The stomach absorbs marijuana unevenly after it is eaten owing to the fat-soluble properties of THC. Regardless of whether THC is inhaled or ingested, heat is required to convert marijuana to its psychoactive properties... 

Today the OTC inhalers and sprays sold to unblock stuffy noses are not considered psychoactive. Some of the inhalers contain no drugs but only aromatic substances such as menthol. They may be pleasant to use but are not nearly as effective as chemicals that constrict blood vessels. The sprays and those inhalers that do contain drugs certainly work in the short run, but though the manufacturers claim otherwise, they are still stimulants and frequently cause dependence... 

Chemicals whose vapors or gases can be intentionally inhaled to give the user a high are called inhalants. The use of inhalants produces psychoactive or mind-altering effects on the user. Inhalants are usually solvent fluids, a category that includes thousands of diverse chemicals. A few such chemicals and products that are abused are lighter fluid, markers, spray paint, and glue. 

Inhalants A variety of psychoactive substances have been inhaled as gases or volatile liquids. Many popular commercial preparations, such as paint thinners and cleaning fluids, are mixtru es of volatile substances making it difficult to be speciflc about their various effects. 

---