Psychoactive substances

Dronabinol. Marinol ( ii7R-/n7 j )-6i7,7,8,I0i7-tetrahydro-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6JT-diben2o(B,D) pyran-I-ol is the principal psychoactive substance present in Cannabis sativa F., ie, marijuana. It is a controlled substance, formulated in sesame oil and encapsulated in soft gelatin capsules for oral adrninistration. 

In practice a few iodine crystals are usually placed on the bottom of a dry, closed trough chamber. After the chamber has become saturated with violet iodine vapor the solvent-free plates are placed in the chamber for 30 s to a few minutes. The iodine vapor condenses on the TLC layers and is enriched in the chromatogram zones. Iodine vapor is a universal detector, there are examples of its application for all types of substances, e.g. amino acids, indoles, alkaloids, steroids, psychoactive substances, lipids (a tabular compilation would be too voluminous to include in this section). 

Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance. Peak plasma caffeine is reached between 15 and 120 minutes after oral ingestion in humans at doses of 5-8 mg/kg. The caffeine half-life ranges from 0.7 to 1.2 h in rodents, from 3 to 5 h in monkeys, and from 2.5 to 4.5 h in humans (Nehlig 1999). 

Most psychoactive substances can induce dependence to a greater or lesser extent. Alcohol is the most widely studied drug of dependence (see above). Many of the... 

Abelson, H. 1., and Atkinson, R. B. (1975) Public Experience with Psychoactive Substances, Part I Main Findings Part III Methods and Procedures. Report prepared for the National Institute of Drug Abuse, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Rockville, Maryland. 

Additionally, chronic drug use has been linked to neuropsychological problems that in turn make it harder to stop the cycle of abuse. Psychoactive drugs by definition affect the brain, and long-term or acute exposure to psychoactive substances can be toxic. Furthermore, we know that drug abuse can increase the risks of stroke, brain injury related to accidents, malnutrition, or liver damage, all of which can adversely affect brain function as well. 

Additionally, impulse-control and attention problems, hyperactivity, and even antisocial behavior could be caused by a prenatal exposure to psychoactive drugs that escaped detection. Research has linked these conditions with known prenatal toxicity, and the consequences of low levels of prenatal exposure to psychoactive substances can sometimes be missed. In these instances, the symptoms are more likely to be observed as behavioral and attributed to other causes (such as Attention-Deficit Disorder). Recent research also suggests that children of mothers who may have used substances during pregnancy also may be at risk for drug problems later in life (Baer, Sampson, Barr, Connor, Streissguth, 2003). 

Psychoactive. Substances that have mood- or reality-altering properties. Referral. A process of sending your client to another professional for care. Schizophrenia. A debilitating class of mental disorders that involve psychosis. Suicidal ideations. Thoughts about self-harm or suicide. 

There has been discussion in the clinical literature over whether chronic use of psychoactive substances can cause a lasting psychiatric disturbance, such as psychosis (Boutros and Bowers 1996). One review de-... 

Rudgley R. (1999). The Encyclopaedia of Psychoactive Substances. NY St. Martin Press. 

Chapter III of the IG report is devoted to a history of the threat. It concisely summarizes the changing American mentality following our success in World War II. After focusing almost completely on nuclear weapons, a succession of scientific and technical advances awakened military planners to the need also to consider the potentially serious threat posed by chemical and biological weapons. As intelligence reports about Soviet investment in psychoactive substances accumulated, their concern increased. In early 1951, for example, intelligence sources reported that Russia was experimenting with a... 

Thus drug discrimination can serve as an in vivo surrogate assay for receptor activation where the cne is selective for a particular receptor. It is a selective and sensitive in vivo measnre of nenronal and receptor mechanisms and can help researchers to understand more of the brain s fundamental processes. It is the only assay allowing a direct test in which subjects that do not have language (e.g. rodents) can detect the presence of a psychoactive substance in the body and define the extent of the similarity of its effects to those of other substances. 

Tetrahydrocannabinol (Marinol). Finally, tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive substance in marijuana, has also been used for its appetite stimulating effects. It is also ineffective in promoting weight gain in those with anorexia and has reportedly precipitated depression in a number of patients. It is also not used in the treatment of AN. 

Psychoactive Substances in Airborne Particles in the Urban Environment... 

Concentrations and Sources of Airborne Psychoactive Substances Around the World. . 441... 

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Airborne Psychoactive Substances in Cities.. 450... 

Finally, aside from strictly illegal substances and their metabolites, psychoactive substances or dmgs of abuse may also include active ingredients from pharmaceutical products with legal therapeutic uses such as morphine. 

In order to limit this ambiguity, the terms psychoactive substances (referring to licit and illicit substances, e.g., caffeine and nicotine but also cannabis and heroin) and dmgs of abuse (referring only to recreational dmgs, e.g., cocaine, cannabis, etc.) will be used throughout the present work. 

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