Psychotomimetic

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A drug with psychotomimetic (also known as psychotogenic) actions mimics the symptoms of psychosis, including delusions and/or delirium, as opposed to only hallucinations. Psychotomimesis is the onset of psychotic symptoms following the administration of such a drug.

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Some rarely used drugs of the opioid class have psychotomimetic effects. Particularly, mixed kappa receptor agonist mu receptor antagonist opioid analgesics can cause dose-related psychotomimesis. [1] This adverse effect, incidence 1–2%, limits their use. Pentazocine and butorphanol fall under this opioid class. [2]

There is evidence that cannabinoids are psychotomimetic, [3] especially delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol9-THC). D'Souza et al. (2004) found that intravenous THC produced effects that resemble schizophrenia in both the positive symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, and disorganized thinking) and negative symptoms (avolition, asociality, apathy, alogia, and anhedonia). [4] Certain strains of cannabis may be more psychotomimetic than others, probably due to the action of cannabidiol (CBD), which inhibits P450 3A11's metabolic conversion of THC to 11-Hydroxy-THC, which is four times more psychoactive. [5] p. 39

Carl Sagan used the word "psychotomimetic" in his anonymous article "Mr.X" [6] to describe the effects of cannabis, writing that "I smile, or sometimes even laugh out loud at the pictures on the insides of my eyelids. In this sense, I suppose cannabis is psychotomimetic, but I find none of the panic or terror that accompanies some psychoses."

Psychostimulants, such as cocaine and amphetamines are known to produce psychotic symptoms similar to paranoid schizophrenia and manic-depressive psychosis.

Synthetic cathinones such as bath salts as well as dissociatives drugs such as PCP also elicit psychotic behavior in its users which may result in medical intervention.

Drugs and substances such as BZ (QNB) also fall into the class of psychotomimetics.

List of psychotomimetic drugs

Substances that can induce psychotomimetic effects include:

See also

Related Research Articles

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Tetrahydrocannabinol Chemical compound

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Cannabis edible Food product containing cannabis extract

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Effects of cannabis Effects resulting from the use of cannabi

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Medical cannabis Marijuana used medicinally

Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana (MMJ), is cannabis and cannabinoids that are prescribed by physicians for their patients. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production and governmental restrictions, resulting in limited clinical research to define the safety and efficacy of using cannabis to treat diseases.

Dissociatives are a class of hallucinogen which distort perception of sight and sound and produce feelings of detachment – dissociation – from the environment and/or self. Although many kinds of drugs are capable of such action, dissociatives are unique in that they do so in such a way that they produce hallucinogenic effects, which may include sensory deprivation, dissociation, hallucinations, and dream-like states or anesthesia. Some, which are nonselective in action and affect the dopamine and/or opioid systems, may be capable of inducing euphoria. Many dissociatives have general depressant effects and can produce sedation, respiratory depression, analgesia, anesthesia, and ataxia, as well as cognitive and memory impairment and amnesia.

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Pentazocine

Pentazocine, sold under the brand name Talwin among others, is a painkiller used to treat moderate to severe pain. It is believed to work by activating (agonizing) κ-opioid receptors (KOR) and μ-opioid receptors (MOR). As such it is called an opioid as it delivers its effects on pain by interacting with the opioid receptors. It shares many of the side effects of other opioids like constipation, nausea, itching, drowsiness and respiratory depression, but unlike most other opioids it fairly frequently causes hallucinations, nightmares and delusions. It is also, unlike most other opioids, subject to a ceiling effect, which is when at a certain dose no more pain relief, or side effects, is obtained by increasing the dose any further.

Stimulant psychosis is a mental disorder characterized by psychotic symptoms which involves and typically occurs following an overdose or several day 'binge' on psychostimulants; however, it has also been reported to occur in approximately 0.1% of individuals, or 1 out of every 1,000 people, within the first several weeks after starting amphetamine or methylphenidate therapy. Methamphetamine psychosis, or long-term effects of stimulant use in the brain, depend upon genetics and may persist for some time.

Cannabidiol Phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid discovered in 1940. It is one of 113 identified cannabinoids in cannabis plants, along with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and accounts for up to 40% of the plant's extract. As of 2019, clinical research on CBD included studies related to anxiety, cognition, movement disorders, and pain, but there is insufficient high-quality evidence that cannabidiol is effective for these conditions.

Cannabis (drug) Psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant

Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant. Native to Central and South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various traditional medicines for centuries. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis, which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD). Cannabis can be used by smoking, vaporizing, within food, or as an extract.

JWH-018

JWH-018 (1-pentyl-3-(1-naphthoyl)indole) or AM-678 is an analgesic chemical from the naphthoylindole family that acts as a full agonist at both the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors, with some selectivity for CB2. It produces effects in animals similar to those of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a cannabinoid naturally present in cannabis, leading to its use in synthetic cannabis products that in some countries are sold legally as "incense blends".

A hallucinogen is a psychoactive agent that often or ordinarily causes hallucinations, perceptual anomalies, and other substantial subjective changes in thought, emotion, and consciousness that are not typically experienced to such degrees with other drug classifications. The term hallucinogen almost invariably refers to any drug which causes what is called a "trip". The common classifications for hallucinogens are psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants. Although hallucinogens all can induce altered states of consciousness with some overlap in effects, there are quantifiable as well as vast qualitative differences in the induced subjective experiences between the different classes of hallucinogens due to differing and distinct pharmacological mechanisms. Contemporarily, certain potentially hallucinogenic GABAergic drugs such as muscimol, gaboxadol and zolpidem may be grouped into a distinct, separate or new category of hallucinogens that may be referred to as hypnotics despite many hypnotic and GABAergic drugs not being hallucinogenic like the three previously mentioned compounds. Additionally, cannabinergic compounds may also be considered distinct from the other categories as well despite sharing characteristics; specifically with both the psychedelic and dissociative classes.

Synthetic cannabinoids Designer drugs

Synthetic cannabinoids are a class of designer drug molecules that bind to the same receptors to which cannabinoids in cannabis plants attach. These novel psychoactive substances should not be confounded with synthetic phytocannabinoids or synthetic endocannabinoids from which they are in many aspects distinct.

Long-term effects of cannabis Overview of long-term effects of the consumption of cannabis

The long-term effects of cannabis have been the subject of ongoing debate. Because cannabis is illegal in most countries, clinical research presents a challenge and there is limited evidence from which to draw conclusions. In 2017, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued a report summarizing much of the published literature on health effects of cannabis, into categories regarded as conclusive, substantial, moderate, limited and of no or insufficient evidence to support an association with a particular outcome.

Substance-induced psychosis is a form of psychosis that is attributed to substance use. It is a psychosis that results from the effects of chemicals or drugs, including those produced by the body itself. Various psychoactive substances have been implicated in causing or worsening psychosis in users.

Cannabis use disorder Continued use of cannabis despite clinically significant impairment

Cannabis use disorder (CUD), also known as cannabis addiction or marijuana addiction, is defined in the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and ICD-10 as the continued use of cannabis despite clinically significant impairment.

Harris Isbell

Harris Isbell was an American pharmacologist and the director of research for the NIMH Addiction Research Center at the Public Health Service Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky from 1945 to 1963. He did extensive research on the physical and psychological effects of various drugs on humans. Early work investigated aspects of physical dependence with opiates and barbiturates, while later work investigated psychedelic drugs, including LSD. The research was extensively reported in academic journals such as the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Psychopharmacologia, and the AMA Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry.

<i>delta</i>-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol Psychoactive drug from hemp

Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol is a psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis plant. It is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound commonly known as THC. ∆8-THC is under preliminary research for its biological properties.

References

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  2. Musacchio JM (1990). "The psychotomimetic effects of opiates and the sigma receptor". Neuropsychopharmacology. 3 (3): 191–200. PMID   2163646.
  3. Sewell R. A.; Ranganathan M.; D'Souza D. C. (2009). "Cannabinoids and psychosis". International Review of Psychiatry . 21 (2): 152–162. doi:10.1080/09540260902782802. PMID   19367509.
  4. D'Souza DC, Perry E, MacDougall L, Ammerman Y, Cooper T, Wu YT, Braley G, Gueorguieva R, Krystal JH (2004). "The psychotomimetic effects of intravenous delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in healthy individuals: implications for psychosis" (PDF). Neuropsychopharmacology. 29 (8): 1558–1572. doi: 10.1038/sj.npp.1300496 . PMID   15173844.
  5. Brenneisen R. Chemistry and analysis of phytocannabinoids and other Cannabis constituents. In: ElSohly MA (ed). Marijuana and the cannabinoids. Humana Press Inc: Totowa, New Jersey, 2007.
  6. Sagan, Carl. "Mr. X". Marijuana-Uses.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012.