Purported legal highs
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claimed effects, such as it being a hallucinogen: no, it isn't. | claimed effects, such as it being a hallucinogen: no, it isn't. | ||
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Revision as of 17:36, 8 March 2009
Purported legal highs include common foods and other substances which, if consumed in a certain way or in sufficient quantity, are rumoured to have psychoactive effects. Most frequently they are claimed to have similar effects to marijuana.
The reality of this ranges from urban legend, to some truth to the rumor, depending on the substance. The placebo effect has a lot to answer for here. Keep in mind that if any of these really did have the claimed druggy effects, somebody would have made them illegal already. Mostly these are all a bunch of woo, for silly kids who can't get the real stuff because mommy won't let them out of the house.
Contents |
Urban Legends
Banana peels
This was a hoax published in the Berkeley Barb newspaper in 1967, claiming the scrapings from banana peels contained a fictional drug called "bananadine", which would produce a brief marijuana-like high when smoked. It caused a brief shortage of bananas in Berkeley, California, and Donovan had a hit single, "Mellow Yellow", about the fad. Researchers have found the banana peel contains no intoxicating chemicals at all, but this has not stopped bored teenagers from continuing to conduct their own banana "experiments".
Catnip
Catnip's apparent druggy effects on cats have not translated into a druggy effect on humans,[1] but goodness knows some have tried smoking or ingesting it in an attempt to replicate the effect. Best leave the catnip for your furry feline companion, and enjoy a cold beer instead.
Coca-Cola and aspirin
Purportedly, consuming aspirin together with Coca-Cola gets you high. This is a rumor that has made the rounds from time to time among gullible teenagers. According to snopes.com, this rumor goes all the way back to the 1930s, and like most of the others is baseless.[2]
Peanut skins
Along the same lines as the banana peel legend, a rumor that smoking peanut skins could get you high started among the late 1960s counterculture. As with banana peel, it takes a lot of fiddly effort and any resulting "high" is pure placebo.
Yohimbe
The yohimbe root has variously been claimed to be a stimulant, a mild hallucinogen, and an aphrodisiac or sexual aid (often included in "herbal Viagra" concoctions). Scientific studies have shown it may be effective in treating erectile dysfunction; yohimbine chloride (a pharmaceutical-grade derivative) is a prescription medication for that purpose. As for any of the other claimed effects, such as it being a hallucinogen: no, it isn't.
Actual "legal highs" (at varying degrees of activity, and toxicity!)
Alcohol
Alcohol is legal throughout most of the world, and it comes in a variety of refreshing flavours.
Legal stimulants
Caffeine and ephedrine can both produce a nice euphoric buzz.
Nicotine is more problematic in that it can also produce a nice euphoric buzz but just as often a nasty headache, is highly addictive, and is most often taken by using tobacco products such as cigarette smoking, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, and snuff, all of which expose the body to several carcinogens.
Arecoline is found in areca nuts (sometimes erroneously called "betel nuts" because they are sold wrapped in betel leaf) which are mostly used in rural parts of south and east Asia.
Salvia divinorum
Salvia divinorum is known to cause partial hallucinogenic experiences which are relatively brief but often very powerful. S. divinorum was featured on the TV show 99 Things To Do Before You Die, where the presenter claimed the effect was "like coming down from the fucking mothership". S. divinorum is legal in most countries, although its growing popularity may cause that status to change.
Laughing gas, or "whipits"
NO2 is used as a propellant for food products dispensed via aerosol cans, most notably whipped cream. If the can is not shaken, it is possible to get propellant without product from the can. Laughing gas does make the inhaler "high". Restaurant employees are often frustrated at finding that the "full" case of whipped cream is completely useless due to the dishwashers having "consumed" all the propellant.
Various fungi
Magic mushrooms contain the psychedelic agent psilocybin, are legal in most countries if you pick your own, and can even be sold legally in a few places. If you are tempted, make sure you know exactly what you are looking for, or preferably go picking with somebody experienced, since some other wild mushrooms can be fatal.
Peyote
Peyote is legal in some countries, but only for "bona fide religious ceremonies". It works.
Poppers
Various chemicals, including amyl nitrite, isobutyl nitrite, cyclohexyl nitrite, are legally sold as "video head cleaner" or "room odorizer", usually in adult book stores. It is illegal to sell these as a recreational drug, but that is practically the only real reason anyone buys them. These drugs produce a "high" of rapid onset when the fumes are inhaled, claimed by some to enhance orgasms during sex. Poppers are often associated with gay culture.
Toluene
An outdated active ingredient in glue for assembling styrene plastic models, this is the reason two members of the Ramones are dead already. Manufacturers started phasing it out of model glue in the late seventies. A person should only use it if they are really stupid and really hard up. It is very hazardous to your health, damaging many major organs, and not a particularly smart thing to use. The same goes for other solvents. Just say no.
Datura
Datura is a genus of evil plants found the world over. Easily recognisable by its trumpet shaped flowers, Datura flowers and/or seed pods can be brewed into a tea or eaten raw. What follows is an intense, 24 hour long, swim into delusion with effects tapering off after 3 days. Expect to smoke cigarettes that do not exist, talk to people who are not there, and throw cats into bathtubs. Datura is not for the faint-hearted - or anyone else, for that matter.
Codeine
An opiate which is the active ingredient in some strong cough syrups, largely available on prescription only, although in some jurisdictions certain kinds of codeine products can be sold by pharmacists without prescription. As with all other opiates, repeated use is addictive, and there is a risk of overdose.
Dextromethorphan
Available in some over-the-counter cough syrups and other properties, larger doses can cause dissociative and hallucinogenic effects, similar to those of ketamine or PCP. Excessive doses cause temporary psychosis and extreme discomfort. Nevertheless, this is a popular recreational drug among some teenagers.
Morning glory seeds
Morning glory is the common name for over 100 different species of flowering plants. Rumored to contain LSD, the seeds actually contain a very small amount of a related substance, LSA (lysergic acid amide), which is only mildly hallucinogenic and difficult to extract from the seeds. Urban legends and "recipes" abound on the Internet claiming to give instructions for extracting "LSD" from morning glory seeds.
Nutmeg
Nutmeg contains myristicin, which really does have a psychoactive effect in larger amounts. The amount of nutmeg usually used as a spice has no effect. Up to a tablespoon may produce mild euphoric effects; anything over a tablespoon can cause vertigo, nausea, extreme thirst, and other unpleasant effects along with a "high" and hallucinations. Unfortunately, myristicin has a horrible dose-to-toxicity ratio and a sufficient amount needed to produce a "high" will also inevitably produce vertigo and nausea. Even larger doses can cause seizures or lead to a visit to the emergency room for nutmeg poisoning. Because of this, nutmeg has never gained much popularity as a recreational drug.
See also
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