25I_am_so_wonderfu
Bluelighter
Has anyone heard of the incident regarding this American Prohibiton-era medicinal drink made from alcohol and ginger? Apparently, the drink once caused its consumers, many of whom were poor or immgrant, to mysteriously experience paralysis and even death. Although the victims did not have much in common, they all happened to be from lower socio-economic status. It was eventually discovered what they all had in common was recently consuming Jamaica Ginger. Containing 70 to 80% ethanol, the drink was an easy way to bypass the Prohibition laws of the 1930s and a cheap way for the poor to get drunk.
In order to get around the Prohibition laws and keep the beverage available to consumers, makers were given a minimum requirement of ginger to put in the cocktail, which resulted in a bitter drink that was difficult to swallow. How inspectors tested for compliance was by boiling the mixture and weigh the remaining content. How bootleggers attempted to overcome this obstacle was by making the drink with small amounts of ginger and either castor oil or molasses.
However, a pair of chemists were looking for an alternative adulterant to the drink that was at least somewhat palatable. With advice from a unwitting MIT professor, Harry Gross and Max Reisman came to the conclusion to use a plasticizer called Tricresyl phosphate or TOCP. Believing the new ingredient was non-toxic, TOCP would later be found present in the bottles of Jamaica Ginger of those who had experienced paralysis or death resulting from the neurotoxic chemical. The neurotoxin, TOCP, had caused axonal damage to the nerve cells in the nervous system of human beings, especially those located in the spinal cord. The resulting type of paralysis is now referred to as organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy, or OPIDN.
"In 1930, large numbers of Jake users began to lose the use of their hands and feet. Some victims could walk, but they had no control over the muscles which would normally have enabled them to point their toes upward. Therefore, they would raise their feet high with the toes flopping downward, which would touch the pavement first followed by their heels. The toe first, heel second pattern made a distinctive “tap-click, tap-click" sound as they walked. This very peculiar gait became known as the jake walk and those afflicted were said to have jake leg, jake foot, or jake paralysis. Additionally, the calves of the legs would soften and hang down and the muscles between the thumbs and fingers would atrophy.
Within a few months, the TOCP-adulterated Jake was identified as the cause of the paralysis, and the contaminated Jake was recovered. But by that time, it was too late for many victims. Some users did recover full, or partial, use of their limbs. But for most, the loss was permanent. The total number of victims was never accurately determined, but is frequently quoted as between 30,000 and 50,000. Many victims were immigrants to the United States, and most were poor, with little political or social influence. The victims received very little assistance, aside from being the subject of a few blues songs recorded in the early 1930s (e.g. "Jake Walk Papa" by Asa Martin, "Jake Leg Blues" by the Mississippi Sheiks, "Alcohol and Jake Blues" by Tommy Johnson and "Jake Liquor Blues" by Ishman Bracey)."
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"The ginger jake paralysis episode was a result of delayed neourotoxicity induced by tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate, which is one of the organophosphates generally recognized as having the ability to selectively inhibit the acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity in mammals and hence to cause fatal hyperactivity of their acetylcholine neurotransmitter. "
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Read more:
http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec2381/005.htm
http://www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Ginger+Jake
I hadn't heard of this story until today but it just sort of brought to mind parallels with the recent incidents involving synthetic cannabinoids, branded "potpourri" and other grey-area chemicals developed to current drug laws. These include kidney failure, brain damage and even death. I can't help but wonder if some of these events were not caused by the drugs themselves, but what contaminants might be in them. Or even by both.
In order to get around the Prohibition laws and keep the beverage available to consumers, makers were given a minimum requirement of ginger to put in the cocktail, which resulted in a bitter drink that was difficult to swallow. How inspectors tested for compliance was by boiling the mixture and weigh the remaining content. How bootleggers attempted to overcome this obstacle was by making the drink with small amounts of ginger and either castor oil or molasses.
However, a pair of chemists were looking for an alternative adulterant to the drink that was at least somewhat palatable. With advice from a unwitting MIT professor, Harry Gross and Max Reisman came to the conclusion to use a plasticizer called Tricresyl phosphate or TOCP. Believing the new ingredient was non-toxic, TOCP would later be found present in the bottles of Jamaica Ginger of those who had experienced paralysis or death resulting from the neurotoxic chemical. The neurotoxin, TOCP, had caused axonal damage to the nerve cells in the nervous system of human beings, especially those located in the spinal cord. The resulting type of paralysis is now referred to as organophosphate-induced delayed neuropathy, or OPIDN.
"In 1930, large numbers of Jake users began to lose the use of their hands and feet. Some victims could walk, but they had no control over the muscles which would normally have enabled them to point their toes upward. Therefore, they would raise their feet high with the toes flopping downward, which would touch the pavement first followed by their heels. The toe first, heel second pattern made a distinctive “tap-click, tap-click" sound as they walked. This very peculiar gait became known as the jake walk and those afflicted were said to have jake leg, jake foot, or jake paralysis. Additionally, the calves of the legs would soften and hang down and the muscles between the thumbs and fingers would atrophy.
Within a few months, the TOCP-adulterated Jake was identified as the cause of the paralysis, and the contaminated Jake was recovered. But by that time, it was too late for many victims. Some users did recover full, or partial, use of their limbs. But for most, the loss was permanent. The total number of victims was never accurately determined, but is frequently quoted as between 30,000 and 50,000. Many victims were immigrants to the United States, and most were poor, with little political or social influence. The victims received very little assistance, aside from being the subject of a few blues songs recorded in the early 1930s (e.g. "Jake Walk Papa" by Asa Martin, "Jake Leg Blues" by the Mississippi Sheiks, "Alcohol and Jake Blues" by Tommy Johnson and "Jake Liquor Blues" by Ishman Bracey)."
---
"The ginger jake paralysis episode was a result of delayed neourotoxicity induced by tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate, which is one of the organophosphates generally recognized as having the ability to selectively inhibit the acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity in mammals and hence to cause fatal hyperactivity of their acetylcholine neurotransmitter. "
---
Read more:
http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec2381/005.htm
http://www.toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Ginger+Jake
I hadn't heard of this story until today but it just sort of brought to mind parallels with the recent incidents involving synthetic cannabinoids, branded "potpourri" and other grey-area chemicals developed to current drug laws. These include kidney failure, brain damage and even death. I can't help but wonder if some of these events were not caused by the drugs themselves, but what contaminants might be in them. Or even by both.