Stimulants: Khat and Cathinone Flashcards
the use of Khat comes from which plant and from where and what year?
- comes from Catha Edulis plant in Africa since at least the 1930s
what was the early use of the drug and what is the present use of the drug?
- early: a form of a beverage called Abyssinian tea
- present: the main form of use is by chewing leaves, and typically takes place in an afternoon or evening social party
what are the main groups that use this drug?
- Ojibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Yemen
what happens when someone chews the leaves of khat?
- characterized by mild mental stimulation, feelings of contentment, mild psychomotor excitation, suppression of fatigue and the need for sleep, and anorexia
what is the active ingredient in khat?
- cathinone
when did khat become illegal in Canada?
- 1997 under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act
What is Methcathinone and when was it synthesized? Why was it created? is it still in use?
- a modified version of the active ingredient in khat and was synthesized in the former Soviet Union around 1930 to treat depression and has a history of abuse in that country up until the present
- similar to methamphetamine so there’s some evidence that some users of methcathinone (like methamphetamine) result in the destruction of dopaminergic neurons
Synthetic cathinone (aka New Psychoactive Substances - NPS) - what are they called
- bath salts, Zoom, Cloud Nine or Vanilla Sky
what are the best know synthetic cathinones and when did it first gain attention? what is the general characterization of effects?
- Mephedrone (4-methylmethcathinone) and methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV)
- gained attention in England and Europe in 2010 and started appearing in convenience stores, gas stations, head shops and online in North America
- a general characterization of effects is “excited delirium”
what is the main neurochemical action?
- causes the release and block the reuptake of monoamines (dopamine and serotonin)
