Untaped Gems

[K9Unit]

Ok, Let me start by asking for the verification of a thought that lingers in my head. Ok, Amphetamine, and Meth-Amphetamine are the simplets Active compounds in the phen-ethyl-amine family of drugs, correct? And they are also the First SYNTHETIC Phenethylamines to be discovered Active, Correct? Now then, in the recent years, and alot of Thanks to Scientists like Shulgin a number of other drugs that belong to the Phenethylamine family have been discovred, ranging from Hallucinogens, to Empathenogens, to Deleriats, to Extremly potent poisons. And all of this started from a simple chain of Alpha-methyl-Phenethylamine.
Now,Cocian is a naturaly found stimulant, and has a somewhat simple chemical structure. A few things I cant find on Cocain are which family of drugs does it belong too? Are there any other compounds that are active, that belong to the same family of as cocain, if So what sort of effects do they have? Since Cocain was illgalized in 1914, it left very lil to be researched about, this my just be a hunch, but I think there are a huge amounts of Untaped gems, that start from the simple comound 1R-(exo,exo)]-3-(Benzoyloxy)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-2-carboxylic acid methyl ester. We Normaly know of as Coke.
I think this exact same potential lies in Piperzines and maybe even Caffien.
Any one else share simmulare views?
Any Does any one have any info on research that has been done, in relation to my curiousity involving any three of these drugs. Almost nothing is known about piperzines, Caffien has left very lil for any potential, but I think alot lies in the chains of Cocain.

 

[JerryBlunted]

I'm not that knowledgable about the pharmacokinetics of cocaine, but I believe it is related to benzocaine, which is a topical anasthetic they sell at pharmacies for people with braces and cancker sores.
It is unfortunate that the US doesn't allow legitimate research on illegal drugs, this only fosters ignorance.

 

[K9Unit]

Well actualy the Gov does allow research on illegal drugs, its just a pain in the ass, to meet all the qualifications, to get the lisence, ect ect. Since Cocain is a Sch 2 Drug that means it has medicinal value. Medicly what is cocain used for?

 

[ikarus]

Originally posted by JerryBlunted:
It is unfortunate that the US doesn't allow legitimate research on illegal drugs, this only fosters ignorance.
Actually they DO allow legitimate research on illegal drugs. Why do you think Shulgin was allowed to synthesize LSD, mescaline, etc. etc. ? You just have to have permission from the DEA (which is probably like saying "you just have to get the golden fleece Jason!"). Awhile back our own U.S. government approved a study to find out if there are any possible medical uses for MDMA in psychotherapy.

 

[Grand Master of Somniferon]

Originally posted by K9Unit:
Since Cocain is a Sch 2 Drug that means it has medicinal value. Medicly what is cocain used for?
I believe that it is used very rarely as a local anesthetic (sp?), I think mostly in eye surgery. I don't think that it is used hardly at all anymore, perhaps only when other locals (lidocaine, benzocaine, procaine) aren't appropriate or effective.

 

[quale]

First of all a couple of drugs already mentioned are variants of cocaine (procaine, lidocaine, benzocaine) which all function as local anestetics like cocaine (some for of Na+ channell blocker). They however do not have the same high effect as cocaine (I think perhaps they don't cross the BBB, or they might just not have the right structure).
Actually there is some evidence that high doses of procaine can produce mild visual hallucinations fear or euphoria.
Also I think BZP is a cocaine analog so there are some new chems going on here, however, it is doubtfull that cocaine type structures will give anything as rich as the phenethylamines.
Cocaine appears to be a straightforward reuptake inhibitor (ignoring its non-CNS effects). Modifying it would probably produce variations in the ratio of its actions with various neurotransmitters and some effect on its distribution in the brain but almost certainly wouldn't give the broad class of drugs we get from phenethylamines.
The reason is that reuptake transporters don't appear to be specialized (or at least speacilized very much). While there are tons of dopamine receptors current evidence suggests only one or two reuptake transporters, and there is no evidence to suggest that differnt nueral subsystems have differnt reuptake transporters. Thus phenethylamines can achieve huge variance in effects by modifying the very large number of types of receptors they can antagonize or agonize which are often associated with specific brain functions. On the other hand a reuptake inhibitor always increases the concentration of the same chemical which fixes the relative stimulation of the differnt types of receptors.
The amphetamines and MDMA do deserve special consideration. One might rightly point out their primary effect is on the reuptake transporter and the pre-synaptic vesicles, why should they be of similar chemical structure. The reason here is somewhat accidental, it appears to achieve their effect amphetamine type molecules must be reuptaken by the presynaptic cell thus they need to fit reasonably well into the reuptake transporter so end up chemically resembeling the monoamines which phenethylamines resmeble.
Cocaine on the other hand, only having to block the reuptake transporters, does not look very much like a neruotransmitter. Therefore modifications of it won't probably produce anything spectacular. However, I would really like to see a good GABA reuptake inhibitor.

 

[perky pat]

Originally posted by K9Unit:
Since Cocain is a Sch 2 Drug that means it has medicinal value. Medicly what is cocain used for?
it's also used as an anaesthetic (sp?) for nose jobs when it's medically necessary.
does anyone feel like breaking my nose?

 

[Mr Brownstone]

Originally posted by K9Unit:
Medicly what is cocain used for?
I aint sure about medical use but i know your president liked a few lines of it in his time ;-)

 

[skydigger]

Being a stimulant, I don't believe cocaine is used as an anaesthetic (pain killer).
My cousin works in a pharmacy, where they have cocaine (and weed!). She said that they use it to stop nose bleeds.

 

[MoFo_S]

Using coke to stop nosebleeds? They've got a few things to learn!

 

[Pander Bear]

ever licked a coke bag and gtten a numb tounge... well thats how its an anesthetic. It's a topical anesthetic.

 

[Ayrios]

Originally posted by skydigger:
Being a stimulant, I don't believe cocaine is used as an anaesthetic (pain killer).

No one said it was an analgesic (pain killer). Anesthetic is for numbing before surgical procedures and the like.

 

[Murple]

Cocaine is an ecgonine derivative, as are most of the other coca alkaloids. I believe the chemical family they belong to is called tropines (not tropanes, though they are related distantly)... not sure.
The other 'caines (procaine, lidocaine, etc) are not chemically related to cocaine, or even to each other. All they have in common is that theyre all topical anesthetics.

 

[travis2600]

Ever see the movie Novocaine? Well, you should. It's pretty entertaining. And it is also relevant to this discussion, although only a little. Cocaine is used as a local anasthetic, often in dentistry. It is similar to novocaine, and lidocaine, etc. Also, ever had novocaine injected into a veine? It acts as a stimulant.
I don't know where I'm going with this, and I should probably be writting papers for school so I can sleep this week instead of posting to forums, but I'll finish by saying that I read an article, can't remember where, that mentioned a chemical similar to cocaine but about 100 times as strong. It was discovered by researchers a while back, and not availible as a pharmaceutical. Maybe someone's heard more of this story?
And the thing murple said about the 'caines not being related to eachother is wrong.
[ 30 April 2002: Message edited by: travis2600 ]