John Caldwell1, Peter S. Sever1
1Department of Biochemistry, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School, London, England
Tóm tắt
All of the so‐called drugs of dependence have a powerful central nervous system (CNS) action as their main attraction for the prospective drug abuser. In the first part of our review, we cover the maior CNS stimulants, amphetamine and cocaine, and the hallucinogen, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Cocaine is not of great significance in the current drug abuse scene due to its high cost (it is a plant product) and the difficulty in obtaining it. It now finds little application in medicine, so that it can rarely be obtained either by prescription or burglary of pharmacies. Its place has been taken by the amphetamines, most notably by methamphetamine (Speed); the amphetamines are readily available synthetic drugs. Cocaine and the amphetamines are popular with drug abusers seeking mood elevation. The appeal of LSD is to the introverted who perhaps seek self‐knowledge, and it has been used experimentally as an adiunct to psychotherapy of a range of mental disorders. While the therapeutic uses of LSD are outside normal practice, its illicit use to achieve self‐awareness has led to the appearance of the psychedelic subculture and to the development of alternative views of society.
