Psychoactive Substances (initial notes and growing)
1. Definition of 'psychoactive substances' (from 'NEUROSCIENCE OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE AND DEPENDENCE (full version', see reference below);
'...Psychoactive substances, more commonly known as psychoactive drugs, are substances that, when taken, have the ability to change an individual’s consciousness, mood or thinking processes.'
Now, why would anyone want to do THAT?
Possibilities;
'Attitude adjustment'
'Unwinding after a long day'
'Celebration of the hunt' (or the seasons, or the harvest)
'Rites of passage'
'Worship of the spiritual'
'Exploration of the self'
'Trying to understand the nature of reality'
'The lamentable desire to get blindly totally intoxicated to kill the pain of existence'
2. Classification and Regulation
In 1970 the Federal Government of the United States enacted the Controlled Substances Act (Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act). This classifies drugs (or other substances) by their use, potential for abuse, and safety issues. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_Substances_Act )
Now why would anyone want to do THAT?
The following is a paste of the drug classification schedules. (From 'The National Substance Abuse Index')
http://nationalsubstanceabuseindex.org/drugclass.htm
'Federal Drug Classification Schedules
Schedule I
(a) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(b) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(c) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
Schedule II
(a) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(b) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
(c) Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence.
Schedule III
(a) The drug or other substance has a potential for abuse less than the drugs or other substances in schedules I and II.
(b) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(c) Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to moderate or low physical dependence or high psychological dependence.
Schedule IV
(a) The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule III.
(b) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(c) Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule III.
Schedule V
(a) The drug or other substance has a low potential for abuse relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV.
(b) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(c) Abuse of the drug or other substance may lead to limited physical dependence or psychological dependence relative to the drugs or other substances in schedule IV.'
That's the schedule. But the question remains. Why WOULD the government feel the need to classify and regulate the use of 'drugs or other substances'?
Granted the possibility of other motivations, the fact is, people make stupid decisions. It's not just drugs, people can do such insanely stupid things that you have to wonder what they were thinking. A recent example; even after years of discussion, news stories, laws, etc., an 18 year old gets behind the wheel of a car, with 3 friends as passengers, drives down the road, starts texting on a cell phone, wrecks the car, with multiple fatalities. It is reported that alcohol was also involved.
That is criminal stupidity.
To put it one way; the Earth was created with multiple resources, multiple temptations, multiple hazards. You learn, or you die.
Despite all appearances to the contrary, we are a compassionate species. We don't want our young to die.
3. Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substances
From the World Health Organization (WHO); (both documents worth reading. You may prefer the summary. The full version is my preference)
NEUROSCIENCE OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE AND DEPENDENCE: SUMMARY
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/en/Neuroscience_E.pdf
NEUROSCIENCE OF PSYCHOACTIVE SUBSTANCE USE AND DEPENDENCE (full version)
http://www.who.int/entity/substance_abuse/publications/en/Neuroscience.pdf
Editorial note; Do you see the change from 'Use and Dependence' in the title, to 'Abuse' in the shortcut for the web site? This is a leap, and a profound difference. Not all use is abuse. (See the section on 'substance use and abuse'.) In text, also, there is a tendency to use the term 'Substance use Disorder' (italics mine). All use does not define or imply a disorder.
4. Classification of Psychoactive Substances
Excepted from the WHO report; CHAPTER 4 (Psychopharmacology of Dependence for Different Drug Classes p. 88-124);
'Table 4.2 Features of major classes of psychoactive substances'
Class Examples Most common behavioral effects
Stimulants Amphetamine Stimulation, arousal, increased energy,
Cocaine increased concentration, decreased appetite,
Ecstasy increased heart rate, increased respiration,
Nicotine paranoia, panic
Depressants Alcohol Relaxation, disinhibition, motor impairments,
Sedatives/hypnotics memory and cognitive impairments,
Volatile solvents anxiolysis
Hallucinogens Cannabinoids Hallucinations, increased sensory awareness,
LSD motor and cognitive deficits
Phencyclidine
Opioids Morphine Heroin Euphoria, analgesia, sedation
5. Wikipedia's discussion of 'psychoactive drugs'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drugs
6. Other Perspectives; modern, historical and prehistorical (many need expansion, some have their own pages under the topic of 'Substance Use and Abuse')
Indigenous traditions
Intoxication versus sacred experience
Naturally occurring psychoactive substances; 'Why are they there?'
Researchers
Shultes and Hoffman
Gordon Wasson
Shulgin; 3 references for Shulgin;
http://www.mdma.net/alexander-shulgin/professor-x.html
http://www.archive.org/details/Plant_origins_of_drugs_-_A_chemical_performance_-_Alexander_Sasha_Shulgin_-_Entheovision_2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD260LPqHKA
This video begins with a reference to 'mindlift tv',
http://mindlift.tv/
Some of their links are inactive, but there is enough to get you started if this is a subject of interest to you.
(other possible topics, not yet expanded)
Current theory
Brain Chemistry
Government Research
'Designer Drugs'
'Bath Salts' (see following pages)
National and International concerns and legal restrictions (Refer to 'Substance abuse' page)
Criminalization
Prohibition
Drug Wars
The Iran Contra Affair
Money and Hypocrisy
On many levels, 'It's all about the money'.
What is happening to the human mind and human behavior?
We've come a long, long (looong) way from the tribes and bands of the past, celebrating by the campfire, curious about anything that will tweak the mind and bring visions allowing interaction with the sacred- or just a good time and a hangover the following morning.
The problem is that we don't understand how the brain works (when it works well); we don't understand why things go awry resulting in what we call 'mental illness'. And yet growing numbers of people are adding psychoactive substances into the mix. It is a foregone conclusion that human curiosity will result in this continuing. People who allege that marijuana leads to psychosis fail to account for the pre-existing potential for psychosis in some individuals. (This has never, to my knowledge, been investigated by controlled experiment. There have been attempts to predict the likelihood of developing mental illness based on familial tendency.)