Flexistentialist
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Party drug uses toad toxin
Leanne Edmistone
Health Reporter
The Courier Mail
9/06/04
Purified versions of a toxin found in the skin of cane toads and a certain type of mushroom are the latest illicit drugs to hit the streets.
American toxicologist and associate professor of emergency medicine Dr Chris Tomaszewski said hallucinogens known as tryptamines were quickly gaining popularity in the US, and could soon be seen in Australia.
Dr Tomaszewski, the Carolinas Medical Centre in North Carolina, said the drug, available as a tablet usually decorated with the picture of an alien or as crystals for smoking, triggered hours of hallucinations in users but had fewer side-effects than other drugs.
He said these were “less dangerous” than other hallucinogenic drugs but there was little data to suggest what the long-term effects were.
Dr Tomaszewski, who will address the International Federation of Emergency Medicine conference in Cairns today, said US authorities were tracking 10 known formulations of tryptamines and the most common was known as Foxy Methoxy.
“It’s not a party drug. It’s a drug you have at home and hallucinate for hours …the party’s in your head,” he said.
Dr Tomaszewski said “genius” backyard chemists had found a way to formulate “nice, clean tryptamines”, similar to materials found naturally in cane toads’ skin and psilocybin mushrooms.
“The big thing in drug abuse is that (ancient) society figured out how to use natural materials (plants or animals) for rituals or to get a slight high, but modern man has concentrated these in tablets, forgotten about moderation and that’s where they get in trouble,” he said.
But Dr Tomaszewski said there had also been cases of people licking cane toads to get high, at the same time putting themselves at risk of being poisoned by other toxins in the animal’s skin.
Two teachers had been jailed in North Carolina about a year ago for farming large numbers of cane toads in their back yard for the specific purpose of licking them.
Dr Tomaszewski said ecstasy, also known as MDMA, remained Australia’s biggest problem drug and the main concern was that drugs were often mixed so people did not get what they asked for.
“There’s no truth in advertising (in the drug trade),” he said.
Ecstasy was often mixed with methyl amphetamines, which causes more side effects such as brain damage and cardiovascular disease, which affects blood pressure levels, the central nervous system and can kill.
“We’re also seeing aggregate toxicity where people are taking the same dose that could be safe at home, at a party where they are in a crowd, get over-heated, drink lots of water, the sodium levels in their blood drop, which result in seizures or heat stroke and sometimes death,” he said.
Dr Tomaszewski said liquid ecstasy, also known as GHB, was also fast gaining popularity as a date rape drug.
Leanne Edmistone
Health Reporter
The Courier Mail
9/06/04
Purified versions of a toxin found in the skin of cane toads and a certain type of mushroom are the latest illicit drugs to hit the streets.
American toxicologist and associate professor of emergency medicine Dr Chris Tomaszewski said hallucinogens known as tryptamines were quickly gaining popularity in the US, and could soon be seen in Australia.
Dr Tomaszewski, the Carolinas Medical Centre in North Carolina, said the drug, available as a tablet usually decorated with the picture of an alien or as crystals for smoking, triggered hours of hallucinations in users but had fewer side-effects than other drugs.
He said these were “less dangerous” than other hallucinogenic drugs but there was little data to suggest what the long-term effects were.
Dr Tomaszewski, who will address the International Federation of Emergency Medicine conference in Cairns today, said US authorities were tracking 10 known formulations of tryptamines and the most common was known as Foxy Methoxy.
“It’s not a party drug. It’s a drug you have at home and hallucinate for hours …the party’s in your head,” he said.
Dr Tomaszewski said “genius” backyard chemists had found a way to formulate “nice, clean tryptamines”, similar to materials found naturally in cane toads’ skin and psilocybin mushrooms.
“The big thing in drug abuse is that (ancient) society figured out how to use natural materials (plants or animals) for rituals or to get a slight high, but modern man has concentrated these in tablets, forgotten about moderation and that’s where they get in trouble,” he said.
But Dr Tomaszewski said there had also been cases of people licking cane toads to get high, at the same time putting themselves at risk of being poisoned by other toxins in the animal’s skin.
Two teachers had been jailed in North Carolina about a year ago for farming large numbers of cane toads in their back yard for the specific purpose of licking them.
Dr Tomaszewski said ecstasy, also known as MDMA, remained Australia’s biggest problem drug and the main concern was that drugs were often mixed so people did not get what they asked for.
“There’s no truth in advertising (in the drug trade),” he said.
Ecstasy was often mixed with methyl amphetamines, which causes more side effects such as brain damage and cardiovascular disease, which affects blood pressure levels, the central nervous system and can kill.
“We’re also seeing aggregate toxicity where people are taking the same dose that could be safe at home, at a party where they are in a crowd, get over-heated, drink lots of water, the sodium levels in their blood drop, which result in seizures or heat stroke and sometimes death,” he said.
Dr Tomaszewski said liquid ecstasy, also known as GHB, was also fast gaining popularity as a date rape drug.
I like the headline "Party drugs blah blah..." then the good doctor himself says "These are not party drugs".
I mean, it's kind of funny when reporters get all confused, like this one seems to be. Unfortunately, there'll probably be a bunch of kids going out and trying to lick the backs of cane toads based on this article.
Bufotenine is not fun kids. Please don't try this at home.
I can see it now:
