Oakland Tribune Online
Death toll mounts from not-so-perfect designer drug
January 28, 2002
ANOTHER "PERFECT" designer drug is degenerating into a body count.
The quasi-legal substance 2C-T-7, known as T-7, 7-Up and Tripstasy, was created by former UC Berkeley professor of forensic chemistry Alexander Shulgin, who now lives in Lafayette. His tune was familiar: He told Rolling Stone he was developing a vehicle for spiritual exploration, not a recreational hallucinogen.
Described as a psychoactive cross between Ecstasy and LSD, T-7 is swallowed or snorted, and early reports indicate snorting increases the effect exponentially. Because it is not (yet) formally regulated, few users know what constitutes a safe dose; the difference between a fun evening and an ugly death is a few milligrams of powder.
T-7 has been making the rounds of rave scenes across the country. The local ravers I talked to had heard of people using it, but none had tried it themselves. It is purchased over the Internet as a "research chemical" that buyers promise not to ingest.
The dangers are becoming evident. Most users vomit soon after they ingest it, and some don't stop dry-heaving until they die. Rolling Stone reported three T-7 overdose deaths, in Oklahoma, Memphis and Seattle; the victims ingested excessively large doses and died of heart failure or cerebral hemorrhaging.
Sounds great and all, but I can think of better ways to die.
Death toll mounts from not-so-perfect designer drug
January 28, 2002
ANOTHER "PERFECT" designer drug is degenerating into a body count.
The quasi-legal substance 2C-T-7, known as T-7, 7-Up and Tripstasy, was created by former UC Berkeley professor of forensic chemistry Alexander Shulgin, who now lives in Lafayette. His tune was familiar: He told Rolling Stone he was developing a vehicle for spiritual exploration, not a recreational hallucinogen.
Described as a psychoactive cross between Ecstasy and LSD, T-7 is swallowed or snorted, and early reports indicate snorting increases the effect exponentially. Because it is not (yet) formally regulated, few users know what constitutes a safe dose; the difference between a fun evening and an ugly death is a few milligrams of powder.
T-7 has been making the rounds of rave scenes across the country. The local ravers I talked to had heard of people using it, but none had tried it themselves. It is purchased over the Internet as a "research chemical" that buyers promise not to ingest.
The dangers are becoming evident. Most users vomit soon after they ingest it, and some don't stop dry-heaving until they die. Rolling Stone reported three T-7 overdose deaths, in Oklahoma, Memphis and Seattle; the victims ingested excessively large doses and died of heart failure or cerebral hemorrhaging.
Sounds great and all, but I can think of better ways to die.