From: lamontg@milton.u.washington.edu (Lamont Granquist)
Newsgroups: alt.drugs
Subject: Re: Info. on nutmeg
Date: 24 Jul 92 09:57:15 GMT
Organization: 'Operation: Mindcrime'



BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Christ, I really didn't need this at 3:00am tonight.

neal@cmptrc.lonestar.org (Neal Howard) writes:
>Oil of sassafrass is CARCINOGENIC!!!

Its also in root beer, which just makes me wonder a smidgen as to how
carcinogenic nutmeg is (considering that peanut butter and barbequed
meat are also carcinogenic...)

>and is very chemically similar to the
>illegal psychaoctive amphetamines known MDA (methylene dioxy amphetamine)
>and MMDA (methylene dioxy methamphetamine, better known as ecstacy - the
>disco drug)- they all have 3,4-methylenedioxy phenyl functional groups on
>the left hand side of the molecule. The safrole molecule looks like
>phenylethylamine on the right hand half

Wrong.  safrole isn't an amine.  Its a three carbon chain with a double-bond
on the last one. 

 and MDA and MMDA have an amphetamine
>structure on their right hand halfs. The presence of the amphetamine portion
>on MDA and MMDA causes these molecules to interfere with the natural
>reactions in the body normally performed by epinephrin and nor-epinephrin
>neurotransmitters and phenylalanine (an essential amino acid).

To my knowledge it doesn't fuck much with any of those.  Dopamine is
the chemical you might be thinking of (actually it may fuck with 
phenylalanine, but what in gods name is your point?)

>Myristycin
>is chemically similar to another illegal psychoactive amphetamine known
>as MDMMA (3,4 methylene dioxy, 5-methoxy methamphetamine)

No, its chemically similar to MMDA which is 3,4-methylenedioxy-5-methoxy-
amphetamine.  Although it could be N-methylated, but I don't recall this
as being scheduled.

, better known 
>on the street as "EVE".

Eve is N-Ethyl MDA (MDE) not MMDA or MDMMA.

>The toxicity and cancer causing properties of these
>two substances are not very well known.

Yippie.  same goes for lots of shit.

>MDA, MDMA, and MDMMA are all three
>known to kill off the cells in the human brain's hypothalamus which generate
>the neurotransmitter dopamine, which eventially results in Parkinsonism.

The hypothalamus doesn't generate dopamine.  And MDA/MDMA/MMDA do not
kill *any* neurons, and most definitely THEY DONT FUCKING IMITATE IDEOPATHIC
PARKINSONS DISEASE.  PLEASE STOP BEING AN UTTER FUCKING IDIOT AND SPREADING
BULLSHIT MISINFORMATION LIKE THIS.

<achm>  sorry, its just a little bit late and I'd like to get to sleep...

MPTP (4-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophyridine) is the only drug
which imitates ideopathic parkinson's disease and it has nothing at all
in common with MDMA other than a four letter abbreviation that starts
with M and repeats two characters.  MPTP selectively kills dopamine
neurons in the striatum and is really lousy shit.

MDMA et all cause decrease in spinal 5-HIAA and 5-HT levels, and they
cause destruction of 5-HT axons (not cell bodies).  Levels in animals
needed to produce behavioral modifications is 90% destruction of these
axons.  The levels needed to produce MDMA neurotoxicity are on the human
equivalent of 300mg administered i.v. twice daily for four days.  The
cumulative dosing could be quite important because since fluoxetine and
anti-oxidants both block this neurotoxic effect, it may be that a metabolite
of MDMA is the culprite, and could cumulate with repeated doses.  Also,
Ricaurte has done an unpublished study on the human equivalent of 200mg p.o.
weekly for eight weeks which did not produce any neurotoxic effect (source:
Alexander Shulgin, personal communication).

>Even after a single dose of MDMA, laboratory chimps have been tested and the
>reduction of dopamine is startling... and it never returns to original
>levels.

*seratonin*.  And the reduction is only startling when you consider a
cumulative dose of the human equivalent 5.6 grams i.v. over 4 days, which
does in fact rebound...

Yeah, there are people who take this much MDMA, but if you stick with
sane recreational doses, you'll be okay. 

>Therefore be well advised not to experiment with these substances,
>you are really risking your future health.

Yawn.

 One note of curiosity, the island
>of Greneda is the world's largest producer of nutmeg. At the time of Reagan's
>invasion of Greneda, the flow of illegal Ecstacy into the southern US was at 
>a very high level according to the news media at that time. There was a 
>medical university(with laboratories sufficient for producing this drug),
>and the government there at that time was of dubious intent. Do you think 
>there may have been other motives for the invasion than what we were told
>by our own governmment and the media? Makes you kinda wonder.

They invaded Grenada over nutmeg and not because the Gipper was noided out
about the commies breathing down our necks...

I really need some sleep...

-- 
Lamont Granquist  lamontg@u.washington.edu  (anon: ap.2187@cupid.sai.com)
University of Washington, Seattle.    Disc: if UW ever finds out what I post... 
alt.drugs FTP site: ftp.u.washington.edu[128.95.136.1] dir:/public/alt.drugs
               For quotes and other useless info see my .plan
Newsgroups: alt.drugs