MDMA

  • Stimulant, Ecstasy, Hallucinogen,
  • '3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine'
  • Made from safrole, an oily liquid extracted from the bark or fruit of the sassafras tree
  • History
    • 1912 - Synthesised by German chemist Anton Kollisch, in an attempt to develop a haemostatic drug to stop abnormal bleeding
    • 1970 - First report of recreational use of MDMA in the US
    • 1970s - Pharmacist Alexander Shulgin synthesises MDMA and publishes reports of its mood enhancing effects and improvement of therapeutic engagement.
    • 1980s - Increasing popularity
    • 2010s - Decrease of MDMA usage due to scarcity of saffrole

Cannabis

  • Originated in the mountainous regions northwest of the Himalayas.

  • Two varieties

    • Sativa - Greater fibre content, higher psychotomimetic effects
    • Indica - Lower fibre content and low psychotomimetic effect

  • Cannabinoids are the main psychoactive component in the cannabis leaf

    • Phytocannabinoids - found in plants
    • Synthetic - man made

  • There are many phytocannabinoids that have been isolated from the cannabis plant, but the most researched ones are THC (delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol)

"There is initial evidence that although CBD has little psychoactive effect it may reduce the psychotomimetic effect of THC (Jo et al. 1999)"

  • Psychoactive effect refers to a change in one's mental state through affecting the functions of the brain and nervous system

  • Psychotomimetic effect are the effects of psychosis (hearing, seeing, believing things that aren't real)

  • Cannabis can be grown that is low in THC but high in other cannabinoids, which can be used to treat ailments without the psychotic effects

    • Currently there are more positives than negatives of the use of cannabis
    • Classified as prohibited in Australia, but can be used legally for medical/research use

  • Synthetic Cannabis

    • Organic chemist John William Huffman synthesised a series of drugs (JWH-018)
    • Raphael Mechoulam (Hebrew University) - developed HU-210
    • Pfizer - CP 47,497
  • History
    • 2700BC - Chinese Pen-tsao Ching medicine
    • 2000BC - Hindu Vedas text reference
    • Turpan, China (1000BC) - Evidence of a person holding cannabis