koty: Psychoactive drug

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, mind-altering drug, consciousness-altering drug, psychoactive substance, or psychotropic substance is a chemical substance that alters psychological functioning by modulating central nervous system (CNS) activity. Psychoactive and psychotropic drugs both affect the brain, with psychotropics sometimes referring to psychiatric drugs or high-abuse substances. Novel psychoactive substances are designer drugs made to mimic illegal ones and bypass laws. Psychoactive drug use dates back to prehistory for medicinal, recreational, or religious purposes, with evidence of widespread cultural use. Many animals intentionally consume psychoactive substances, and…

Evidence: 57 • authority: 62

Counting down until you can enjoy a post-work drink? You’re not alone. We have been using psychoactive substances since the earliest human records. [Link will open in a new window] But are we humans alone in our love of mind-altering substances? Of course not! There are plenty of party animals in the animal kingdom, here are just a few. Are we humans alone in our love of mind-altering substances? Of course not! There are plenty of party animals in the animal kingdom. While some animals accidentally stumble across their narcotic fix, jaguars in the Amazon will hunt for their high. Like a cat with catnip, jaguars go gaga for the bark of the Yage vine ( Banisteriopsis caapi ). After they have a chew, the big cat’s eyes widen and they are way chill; rolling about and rubbing up against trees like playful kittens. Local tribes also enjoy a hit of the vine mixed in a special brew called ‘jaguar eyes’. Legend has it long ago shamans saw a jaguar chewing on the vine and its subsequent state of ecstasy and they thought, ‘damn, I want some of that.’

Evidence: 57 • authority: 72

Entheogens are psychoactive substances used in spiritual, religious, recreational, therapeutic, and experimental contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. While the term itself emphasizes ritual and sacred applications, the same substances are also frequently employed recreationally—sometimes in ways that diverge from or disregard traditional protocols. Hallucinogens such as the psilocybin found in so-called "magic" mushrooms have been used in sacred contexts since ancient times. Derived from a term meaning "generating the divine from within", entheogens are, in religious and shamanic contexts, intentionally employed in the attempt to facilitate experiences of transcendence, heali…

Evidence: 57 • authority: 72

Psychoactive plants are plant species that, when consumed by humans, are known or suspected to produce changes in nervous system function that alter perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. Many of these plants are used intentionally as psychoactive drugs, for medicinal, religious, and/or recreational purposes. Some have been used ritually as entheogens for millennia. These plants are listed according to the specific psychoactive chemical substances they contain; many contain multiple known psychoactive compounds.

Evidence: 51 • authority: 72

Several non-human animal species are said to engage in apparent recreational drug use, that is, the intentional ingestion of psychoactive substances in their environment for pleasure, though claims of such behavior in the wild are often controversial. This is distinct from zoopharmacognosy, in which animals ingest or topically apply non-food substances for their health benefits, as a form of self-medication.

Evidence: 44 • authority: 72

Poppers are recreational drugs belonging to the alkyl nitrite family of chemical compounds. When fumes from these substances are inhaled, they act as potent vasodilators, producing mild euphoria, warmth, and dizziness. Most effects have a rapid onset and are short-acting. Their recreational use is believed to be potentially dangerous for people with heart problems, anaemia, or glaucoma. Reported adverse effects include fainting, retinal toxicity, and vision loss. As poppers include a broad range of chemical types, their legality differs across different jurisdictions. They are often packaged under the guise of room deodorizer, leather polish, nail polish remover, or videotape head cleaner t…

Evidence: 44 • authority: 92

The Blurred Lines Between New Psychoactive Substances and Potential Chemical Weapons.. The historical use of toxic chemicals to cause intentional harm has evolved from blister agents in World War I to highly lethal organophosphates and emerging families of chemicals, such as Novichok. In turn, medical or recreational substances like fentanyl, lysergamides, and phencyclidine pose a growing risk of hostile use, particularly related to the rapid proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPSs). A narrative literature review was conducted covering specialized databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect, SciELO, Google Scholar) and sources from international organizations (OPCW, UNODC, ONU), analyzing h…

Evidence: 38 • authority: 71

As for the elephants, the science is pretty clear. The animals are so massive that it would take a tremendous amount of the marula fruit to become intoxicated. Physiologists Steve Morris, David Humphreys, and Dan Reynolds of the University of Bristol first heard the rumours of the drunk elephants while in South Africa for a scientific conference, so they set about determining whether the legends might reflect some truth. It's a seductive idea, isn't it? That other animals are as interested in getting as drunk and high as we are? While there are a few legitimate accounts of wild animals intentionally seeking out mind-altering substances, most such tales are based on legend and hearsay, and others simply have insufficient evidence to understand. Morris, Humphreys, and Reynolds point out that the majority of drunken animal stories are "anecdotal, mired in folklore and myth". And in a few cases, it’s possible that people are mistakenly attributing certain movements or temperaments to how humans act when inebriated. Wild animal drunkenness may only exist in the (occasionally tipsy) eye of the beholder. Vervet monkeys are one species that researchers hoped could help answer this question. Sometimes called green monkeys, they are native to Africa, but a handful of isolated groups wound up scattered across islands in the Caribbean. In the 18th and 19th Centuries, slavers often took the monkeys as pets, and when their ships landed in the new world, the monkeys easily escaped or were intentionally released. There, free of most of their predators, the small primates adapted quite well to tropical island life. For 300 years, the animals lived in an environment dominated by sugar cane plantations. And when the sugar cane was burned, or occasionally fermented before harvest, it became a treat for the monkeys. As they became accustomed to the ethanol in the fermented cane juice, the monkeys may have developed both a taste and tolerance for alcohol. Local stories are told of catching wild monkeys by supplying them with a mixture of rum and molasses in hollowed out coconut shells. The drunk primates could then be captured without hassle.

Evidence: 0 • authority: 69

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Evidence: — • authority: 80

Substance-specific environmental influences on drug use and drug preference in animals and humans

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Social Issues in the Use of Novel Psychoactive Substances

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Analytical and Biochemical Evaluation of New Psychoactive Substances. Abstract This chapter provides a summary of the analytical and biochemical techniques used to evaluate new psychoactive substances (NPS). Understanding the molecular identity and pharmacological mechanisms of these substances is vital for effective legal regulation, scheduling, and harm-reduction strategies. The chapter reviews cutting-edge spectrometric and spectroscopic methods for detecting known and emerging NPS, highlighting advances in experimental approaches for assessing receptor interactions using in silico tools and animal assays. By integrating analytics with these methodologies, the chapter underscores the pro…