Archive-name: drugs/alt-drugs-FAQ
Posting-Frequency: weekly
Last-modified: 1994/29/10
Version: 1.1

                   ALT.DRUGS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
                 Maintained by: gnosis@brahman.nullnet.fi

Note: This is *not* an attempt at a comprehensive FAQ on all aspects 
of
all drugs, that's what the individual drug FAQs are for.  Instead, 
this is a
guide on how to behave in alt.drugs, how to use net resources and an 
answer
to some *really* frequently asked questions.  The info has been 
collected
from sources too numerous to list, but a special tip of the hat must 
go to
Lamont Granquist for his extensive help in compiling this.

A) The alt.drugs hierarchy

   alt.drugs is a forum where people who enjoy the use of mind-
altering
substances, not necessarily even illegal ones, get together to share
information and swap stories.  If you are against drug use and post 
about
it, be prepared to have lots of references and solid info on hand, 
since
otherwise you WILL be flamed.  Also, don't even THINK about trying to 
buy
drugs on alt.drugs...  you won't get any, period.

   alt.drugs is subdivided into a number of groups.  In addition to 
alt.drugs,
which covers everything without its own group, there are the 
following:

alt.drugs.caffeine       Coffee, tea, and more exotic caffeine 
sources.
alt.drugs.chemistry      Neurochemistry as well as manufacture.
alt.drugs.culture        Trip accounts, hippie culture, pot etiquette, 
etc.
alt.drugs.pot            All forms of cannabis and everything related 
to it.
alt.drugs.psychedelics   LSD, DMT, mushrooms and company.
alt.drugs.usenet         The most addictive drug of all!  A joke 
group.

   Most of the groups are relatively new and thus not received by many
sites.  If your site does not receive them, ask your sysadmin to add 
them.
In addition, there are some drug-related groups not under alt.drugs:

alt.coffee               Coffee, with and without caffeine.
alt.drunken.bastards     Abusers of the drug ethanol.
alt.hemp                 Various uses of the plant, focus on 
industrial use.
alt.psychoactives        Primarily nootropics, ie. "smart drugs".
alt.smokers              Nicotine addicts' discussion group.
rec.food.drink.beer      Beer discussion.
sci.med.pharmacy         Technical discussion about pharmaceutical 
drugs.
sci.med.psychobiology    Technical discussion about legal 
psychoactives.
talk.politics.drugs      The politics of drugs.

   Rumors abound about the Feds/the cops/the DEA monitoring alt.drugs,
but evidently nobody has been busted/investigated *solely* because of
posting.  But if you're going to admit to something illegal, it's a 
good
idea to post it via an anonymous server.  Just mail your message to
alt.drugs@anon.penet.fi, and the rest is magic.  For more details,
mail help@anon.penet.fi.

B) Other FAQs (WHICH I WILL *NOT* MAIL TO YOU)

   The following FAQs are posted regularly:

   Weekly:   Drug-Related Network Resources FAQ, Newsgroups Notice
   Biweekly: Addresses FAQ, FTP Instructions FAQ, Natural Highs FAQ
   Monthly:  Anti War-on-Drugs Activists' List, The Drug Price Report

   There are a whole bunch of FAQs for individual drugs and drug 
classes,
which are posted highly irregularly.  You will find most (not all) of
these at the FTP/Gopher/WWW site hyperreal.com in /drugs/faqs, along
with megabytes of other information.  The following FAQs are known to
exist, in various stages of development:

   Absinthe, Bibliography, Bong-Pipe, Caffeine, Cannabis Hemp 
(alt.hemp),
   Codeine, Dextromethorphan, Ecstasy, Eating Marijuana, Grain 
Alcohol,
   Gravity Bong, Growlights, Institute for Hemp, LSD, LSD-Tattoo, 
Marijuana
   Consumption, Marijuana Law, Marijuana Myths, MDMA (Ecstasy), MDMA
   Synthesis, Methamphetamine (Speed), Morning Glory, Natural Highs
   Australia, Neuropharmacology, Nutmeg, Opioid, Opioid Analgesics, 
San
   Pedro Potency, Smart Drink, Solvents, Tryptamine Carriers, W

   If you can't use FTP, Gopher, WWW or other services that need a 
direct
connection, fear not, you can use the FTP-by-mail services!  Here's a 
list
of server addresses, mail a message consisting of the word "help" to 
one:
ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com, ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu, bitftp@pucc.bitnet

C) Really Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is there strychnine (rat poison) in LSD?

   No, there is no strychnine in LSD.  EVER.  It is physically 
impossible to
fit enough strychnine on a blotter tab to cause an effect; besides, 
since
strychnine is expensive and the manufacturing process never uses it, 
there's
absolutely no point in putting it there.  Large-scale lab analyses of 
street
samples have never found any strychnine in LSD.  The 'speedy' effects 
of
acid, often attributed to the mythical strychnine, are in fact caused 
by a
bad set and setting, not impurities in the drug.  See the LSD FAQ.

2. Does LSD leave crystals in your brain/spinal fluid that cause 
flashbacks?

   No. LSD is water soluble and entirely cycled out of your system 
within
a few days.  Full-fledged "pathological" flashbacks can be caused by 
any
traumatic or extraordinary experience, including an LSD trip, but are 
not
directly caused by the drug.

3. What happens if I take LSD while I'm on Prozac or other 
antidepressants?

   With SSRIs like Prozac, the effects of psychedelics are reduced 
greatly;
however, the medical consequences are unknown.  Do NOT mix 
psychedelics with
MAOIs, TCAs or lithium.  If you have a story, mail 
kbonson@helix.nih.gov who
is doing a study on this.  In general, avoid mixing the two.

4. I have a recipe for making LSD with moldy rye bread and hair 
spray...

   No.  The -synthesis- of LSD is a very, very difficult process that
requires dangerous chemicals and lots of experience in organic 
chemistry.
If the 'recipe' involves morning glory seeds, it's usually just an 
extraction
of LAA, a related but far weaker substance; see the Morning Glory FAQ.
If the recipe involves moldy rye bread, it's a nasty way to kill 
yourself.
Likewise, the fabled synthesis of methamphetamine from Vicks inhalers 
is
just a crude extraction of l-methamphetamine, a much weaker relative.

5. Can you overdose on acid/pot?

   No, overdosing on pot would require smoking several KILOS of the 
stuff
within 15 minutes.  Assuming you did manage this feat, you would 
instantly
throw up most of it.  Overdosing on LSD is equally difficult.  There
is a case where a number of people snorted a massive overdose (equal 
to
around 1250 hits) of pure LSD tartrate, believing it to be cocaine; 
some
of them fell into comas and had other severe physical reactions, but 
lived
through the experience with no permanent physical or mental damage.

6. What is Ecstasy (E, XTC)?

   Ecstasy should be 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), but on
the street it is often a close chemical relative like MDA or MDE.  It
may also on occasion be a mixture of unrelated chemicals like LSD 
and/or
methamphetamine (speed).  Contrary to popular belief E is *never* 
laced
with heroin, heroin costs too much and is very different in its 
effects.
What people think of as effects caused by heroin are often just MDA or 
MDE.

7. Does MDMA cause brain damage/Parkinson's disease/deplete spinal 
fluid?

   No, although investigations on possible brain damage continue; 
there
is certainly no drastic brain damage though.  The Parkinson's rumors 
come
from a journalist confusing MDMA with MPTP, a product of screwed-up 
opiate
manufacture which has nothing at all to do with MDMA.  See the MDMA 
FAQ.

8. Are shroom kits legal, and do they work?

   The spores in the kits contain no psilocybin, so they are legal, 
except
in California.  They work, but only if you're willing to put a lot of 
effort
into growing.  See /drugs/psychedelics/mushrooms in the FTP sites for 
more.

9. Will marijuana do <X> to my body?

   Marijuana does *not* cause brain/immune/reproductive system damage,
concentrate in the brain/testicles, enlarge breasts in males or damage
chromosomes.  It *can* cause lung ailments such as cancer, and driving
while stoned *can* cause accidents.  MJ smoke is *not* 10 times worse 
than
tobacco, they are roughly equal, it may even be less harmful.  See 
Marijuana
Myths or the Cannabis Hemp (alt.hemp) FAQ for more details.

10. I just got a microdot of synthetic mescaline...

   No.  An effective dose of mescaline would not fit in a microdot or
on blotter, and mescaline in the black market is extremely rare 
anyway.
Most of what is called mescaline is in fact LSD.

11. My friend told me that pot is often laced with acid...

   No.  Pot is one of the cheapest drugs around, and just about 
anything
added to it would make it more expensive.  If somebody tells you that
their pot was laced, almost always it just means they got hold of some 
really
good pot and/or just got much more stoned than usual.  If the pot was 
laced
with acid, the acid would be destroyed by the heat when you smoked it.

12. Help, I have a piss test next week and...

   To summarize: Stop smoking and drink water.  8 glasses a day for 
two
weeks should put you in the clear, but even a week is often 
sufficient.
Supplements like Golden Seal are not necessary.  Also, most urine 
tests
cannot detect LSD or psilocybin.  Check the FTP sites for more.

13. What is "skunk"?

   Skunk is a type of hemp (cannabis).  It originally meant Cannabis 
indica
in general, but over the last 20 years has come to refer to a name of
particular sativa/indica cross. While Dutch skunk is famous, the name
did not originate there (although the cross now known as skunk may 
have).

14. What are the monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs)?

   The drugs Nardil (phenelzine) and Parnate (tranylcypromine) and 
plants
containing harmaline, namely passionflower, Banisteriopsis caapi and 
Peganum
harmala.  THAT'S IT!  Prozac, MDMA, beer, wine, cheese, chocolate etc 
are
things you should AVOID when on a MAOI, they are *not* MAOIs 
themselves.

15. Can I smoke bananas/peanut skins or take Coca-Cola and aspirin or
    a box of Dramamine or lick toads to get high?

   Bananas/peanuts: No, the Anarchist Cookbook's "bananadine" is a 
myth.
   Coke & aspirin:  No, and aspirin is lethal in high doses.
   Dramamine:       No, you'll just get *real* tired.
   Licking toads:   Some rare toads, namely Bufo alvarus, secrete a 
venom
     containing the powerful hallucinogen 5-MeO-DMT.  Check the 
directory
    /drugs/psychedelics/tryptamines on the FTP sites for more.


