That is exactly the case; misunderstood your comment
initially. Sorry.
> On decongestants: I took pseudoephedrine (sudafed) to
be
> something of a stimulant--that ephedrine is also in
the chinese herb
> mahuang (sp?), brewed for colds, which was
incorporated into some of the
> smart drugs the kids were taking before they were
banned in the last few
> years (under names such as "herbal
ecstasy").
All the stuff mentioned are so called sympatheticomimetics,
which is to say they all act like adrenaline, which of
course is what you feel like when you get a rush of
adrenaline when you are threatened or frightened, etc.
So-called "fight and flight" response to danger: pupils open
(so you can see better in bad light), mouth goes dry
(as part of slow-down of digestive system--you don't want to
digest your pizza while being chased by a charging
rhino), heart beats faster, blood pressure goes up, etc
etc..
> Also, since we're just
> getting our hard-boiled drug facts straight for
versimilitude, could you
> comment on using stimulants to counter heroin and
other narcotic
> overdoses
sure
> . Do people do this?
No. People take speed "uppers" to counteract effect of
"downers", i.e. sedatives: barbiturates, Doriden, etc
etc.
And vice-versa. This is what happened, for instance, to Jimi
Hendrix, who was fed the stuff by managers, etc, so
that he could do 24 straight recording sessions. Same in
reverse with Judy Garland when the studio stuffed her
with speed to keep her skinny, and then with barbiturates to
let her rest.
> What do they do in hospitals?
Specific narcotic antagonists, the most widely used of which
is Narcan (naloxone). This reverses the major effect
of narcotic overdose, which is that you stop breathing, which
is not good for your health :-)Naloxone also is used
to reverse effects of severe alcohol and benzodiazepine
overdose, and is also used in some neurological
diseases,
such as spinal injury and strokes due to blood clots.
Mechanism of action is not entirely clear in any of
these
uses.
> Also,
> aren't benzodiazepines (sp?) used to counter ill
effects of speed or
> other drugs?
It is used very commonly to avoid acute withdrawal symptoms
in alcoholics and in speed and similar drugs and to
treat drug-induced seizures. It is also used in
benzodiazepine addiction, by tapering slowly.
> While we're on the subject, what's in a Mickey
Finn.
Chloral hydrate, which was once a popular sleeping
medication, and is still around. Very cheap, but rarely
prescribed these days. It comes in a soft capsule, but was
once available as a liquid (hence: knock out drops).
Had no taste, and could be put into a drink, giving you the
famous cocktail "Mickey Finn".
> When
> Marlowe is getting drugged in Chandler books is it
just morphine, or
> some other noxious substance.
Don't know--will check it out. Morphine though, would not be
a drug of choice to "knock someone out."Before the
US Narcotic Laws came into effect (not sure exactly when)
morphine was available easily. Some famous nostrums
like "Lydia Pinkham's Mixture" for "Female Problems", i.e.
menses and what we now call PMS was loaded with
laudanum, which is deodorized tincture of opium --yummy-- and
is still around but used only for diarrhea
occasionally. Paregoric is camphorated tincture of opium,
same stuff but mixed with camphor to give it that vile
taste and smell so people will not use it to get
stoned.
Besides Sherlock's addiction to cocaine, we have Sigmund
Freud with the same problem. Three of the four founders
of John's Hopkins Medical School (including one of the
greatest American surgeons), were addicted to morphine.
God knows what Nancy Reagan would have said had she
known.
> Thanks for the expert witnessing.
>
> Doug
Hope this information is not overkill.--
Dick T
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